Matt Ross

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC: 21st Century Parenting
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC: 21st Century Parenting

To title your film with the superlative ‘Fantastic’ is playing with fire. Firstly, in this age of Marvel’s silver screen domination and DC’s valiant attempts to catch up, it would be understandable for any jaded cinema-goer to skip this one, expecting another facile, spandex-clad superhero epic; secondly, if it fails the headlines write themselves, and every movie critic worth their salt would crowbar in a reference to the irony of the film’s title. Luckily, Matt Ross’ sophomore effort Captain Fantastic, following 2012’s 28 Hotel Rooms, will have few critics drawing knives, and anyone eagerly searching for an antithesis to the recent barrage of superhero blockbusters in cinemas will be satisfied, if not delighted, when the credits roll.

Captain Fantastic - Movies Opening In Cinemas On July 8
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC Trailer

Captain Fantastic will likely live or die based on Viggo Mortensen’s performance, as his character is the only one that understands both the isolated world he established for his children and the regular world they must now enter. The hope of what he and his wife were trying to accomplish must be communicated through him, and whatever ramifications come from their decisions will fall squarely on his shoulders. It’s a lonely role in a movie populated by a ton of characters, and it’s hard to come up with a guy more likely to pull it off than Mortensen.