Fantastic Four: Rise of the Advert-Packed Blockbuster
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer hit theaters today, featuring the lovely Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman. The film centers around the gang having to save earth itself from destruction, with an old character returning and difficulties getting hitched. The film is certain to be a huge summer blockbuster for FOX, but what I came away from the moving thinking about more than anything else was…
...the advertising. This sequel features probably the most egregious example of hyper-commercialism ruining a movie that I’ve ever been unfortunate enough to see. Sure, by now I’m used to seeing brands featured on the home screen and the big screen for just about everything. To name just a few, Fantastic Four 2 featured computers, beers and name brand clothes.
What worked to help ruin a portion of the movie for me was Dodge, though. That is, the prominently featured Dodge-Fantasti-Car built by Mr. Fantastic. The car, definitely one of the cooler action hero vehicles, is scarred by its overtly branded and advertised status as a Dodge.
When the thing flies on screen, you see the Dodge logo, front and center. When it lands, you see Dodge-branded seat covers. The first thing that is asked about the car is whether or not it’s got a hemi. Ugh, Disgusting! Come on, it’s a superhero car! Don’t screw up the coolness with some second-rate visual and verbal advertising for a car company.
Fantastic Four rides on the fact that it stars Jessica Alba, unfortunately, and remains one of the worst comic-to-film adaptations I’ve seen when it comes to plot and dialogue. Oh well, though. At least I can thank Jessica for getting Paris dumped from her talent agency.
