The Fantastic Four (1994)

I went in expecting cheese, I went in expecting something similiar to the 1990 Captain America or even the 1970's Spiderman but what I got was something altogether different.This origin story Fantastic Four movie cost 1 million dollars to make which back in 1994 made it a high budget film. The fact it isn't well known and considered mainstream is because it's so bad it's been brushed under the carpet.With embarassing special effects, a cast who simply can't be bothered and some ridiculous over the top performances & soundtrack the whole thing is truly abyssmal.I don't know what it is with the Fantastic Four but cinematically they just can't get a break. Maybe when they finally get added to the Marvel Universe they'll have their day but for now I think the 2005 movie is the best one going.The Fantastic Four is like Batman Forever (1995) made by kindergarteners starring McDonalds workers.The Good:Erm...well....there is that part that....errr.....I got nothingThe Bad:Stupidly over the top in placesSome major differences from the comicAll looks so very dreadfulIs simply seven shades of terribleThings I Learnt From This Movie:A blind person can fall in love with a man she's never seen nor even really spoken toThe Fantastic Four are doomed to never have a great movie

Today, movies based on comic book superheroes are all the rage. They are routinely some of the biggest blockbusters of the year and several recent superhero flicks are among the highest grossing films of all time. But this was not always so. For a while, comic book heroes were relegated to cheap serials and B pictures, along with made-for-TV movies.SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) was a "real" movie: an A picture with a Hollywood-sized budget and a cast of name actors. Tim Burton's BATMAN (1989) was another "real" movie based on a comic book superhero. Both films spawned successful franchises, bringing the fantasy world of DC Comics to life on the big screen. But in the early '90s, it seemed that comic book properties (outside of Batman, that is) were still largely considered niche fare, worthy only of low-budget productions aimed at children (the perceived comic book-reading community). Marvel Comics did not have the kind of success enjoyed by rival DC. While Superman and Batman had been brought to the screen courtesy of Warner Bros., Marvel's characters were licensed out to small-time studios. A planned Spider-Man film fell through in the late '80s and a low-budget Captain America film was released direct-to-video in 1990.Which brings us to THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994). If comic book movies were thought to be too goofy or weird for mainstream, big-budget productions, then I guess THE FANTASTIC FOUR is the perfect low-budget, cheesy superhero movie. The film remains true to the comics with regard to the colorful costumes and the characters. (Evidently there was little concern in these movies to "adapt" the source material for mainstream consumption.) The special effects aren't too fancy, but it's interesting to see how the filmmakers make do with what they've got in order to tell their story.The movie tells the origin of Marvel Comics' First Family. An outer space mishap leaves four individuals with extraordinary abilities. Dr. Reed Richards ("Mr. Fantastic") can stretch his body like a rubber band. Sue Storm ("The Invisible Girl") can become invisible. Johnny Storm ("Human Torch") can conjure flames. Ben Grimm ("The Thing") has a rocklike exterior and super-strength. They must battle Dr. Doom, a hooded megalomaniac who wants to harness the secret to their powers.Rebecca Staab is too cute as Sue Storm (and in that blue spandex... wowsers). Joseph Culp hams it up to a high degree as Dr. Doom. His face hidden behind a metal mask, Doom takes to wild gesticulations and his booming dialogue is amusingly over-the-top. Jay Underwood, looking like Armie Hammer's long-lost older brother, plays the fiery-tempered Johnny Storm, who mainly shoots fire out of his hand. He doesn't realize his full "Human Torch" potential until the climax, when the producers shell out for some early CGI. The animatronic Thing mask is rather impressive, despite some lip-sync limitations. Of all the superpowers portrayed in the film, Reed Richards's stretchy effects are the most awkward.It's nice to see Reed Richards (Alex Hyde-White) portrayed as maybe a half-generation older than Sue and Johnny. Reed knew Sue when she was a kid and he was a college student. A decade later, Reed is a big-time scientist, complete with (somewhat ridiculous) gray temples and Sue and Johnny are grown-up enough to go with him on a space mission. Ben (Michael Bailey Smith), Reed's jock buddy from college, is the pilot.In this story, Reed Richards and Doom were college eggheads together before the accident that led Doom down his sinister path. Reed blames himself for his friend's apparent death, while Doom seeks revenge by sabotaging Reed's later expedition. In the ten-year gap Doom has somehow become the iron-fisted ruler of some foreign domain, living in a mountaintop castle and everything.A secondary villain, the Jeweler (Ian Trigger), leads an underground society of social outcasts. He has a poetic soul and serves as an interesting contrast to Doom.I'm only casually familiar with "Fantastic Four" comic book continuity, but this 1994 movie hits some right notes. The romance between Reed and Sue, starting as a schoolgirl crush on a mentor figure. The love story between the monstrously disfigured Ben Grimm and the blind Alicia Masters. The blue and white costumes (sewn apparently out of thin air by Sue Storm on a lazy afternoon at the Baxter Building). There's even an appearance by the Fantasticar.The film never mentions the heroes' well-known comic book nicknames, but in one particularly corny scene the team is given its "Fantastic Four" moniker. The movie also posits the theory that the cosmic rays that transformed them delved into their psyches and turned their personal weaknesses into their greatest strengths (shy violet Sue Storm has the ability to disappear, etc.). I don't know if this comes from the comic book origins, but the pseudoscientific explanation allows the film to move on to more important things.As a low-budget superhero romp, THE FANTASTIC FOUR goes down easy. It's not the polished studio blockbuster that we've come to expect from comic book movies, but it's a faithful adaptation on a small scale. A quaint little movie with a lot of heart. Somewhat tragically, the film was never intended to be released, unbeknownst to the cast and crew. All their hard work for nothing. Luckily the movie has found its way out into the world and can be tracked down by those interested in giving it a shot.

There's something good within this Roger Corman made-for-TV movie, but it's overshadowed by side-characters and situations more befitting to the Krofft brother's universe. Not a bad thing in itself, but the actors playing this famous comic-book team-up had a lot of potential for a much cooler outing than this. Alex-Hyde White plays the assertively brainy Dr. Reed Richards, who, along with fellow college genius Victor Von Doom (with that last name, he's bound to be a villain), attempt an experiment that fails miserably, "killing" Victor and sparing Richards.We then cut ten years later: Richards is joined by Johnny Storm, an over-the-top Jay Underwood, and one of the prettiest women this side of life, Rebecca Staab as Johnny's sister Susan, whose childhood crush on Richards has carried over – and it's mutual. And not forgetting Ben Grimm, portrayed with brawny charm by Michael Baily Smith.Long story short, once in space they're pummeled with mysterious cosmic rays, crash land on earth and while unaffected by that, they've acquired powers: Richards is a human rubber band, Johnny can make fireballs with his hand, Susan turns invisible, and Grimm's turned into a Thing made of rocks. The side-characters include a band of thieving freaks, resembling rejects from the H.R. Puffenstuff set; two vapid thugs; and the black-masked Dr. Doom himself – way too much screen time's spent on these while the titular superheroes, and their particular skills, are used less than sporadically until the very end: which rushes to a quick conclusion.Perhaps if there was a part two, we'd get more of what, and who, this movie's all about. Either way, Reed Richards and Susan Storm have great chemistry. The Thing, although resembling a costume, works fine as a sympathetic hero. And The Human Torch, eventually morphing into animation, looks neat as he battles a giant laser.But all this should have occurred less than halfway through for THE FANTASTIC FOUR to successfully live up to its title.For More Reviews: http://cultfilmfreakreviews.blogspot.com

Look, I really don't have anything against comic book movies. But, WTF??? Even as a cheap copyrights-holder, this film makes no gawddam sense what-so-ever. There is simply no good excuse for this film existing. Watching it is like being lightly slapped in the face for 80 minutes with a pair of Invisible Girl's gloves - it stops being funny after a couple of minutes.Things happen for abso-tootly-ootly no reason in this film. Scenes change with no regard for coherency or continuity. Hardly any characters are introduced, they slink in and out of scenes as if they don't really want to be caught on film, then half of them disappear without the slightest explanation.Yes, I know it's Roger Corman. Yes, I know they spent $18.50 on the entire film. Yes, I know they shot it in 10 days. But there's another thing I know. I also know that only mentally impaired basement-dwelling comic book fanboys would find this cinematic abortion even marginally entertaining. You would be better off watching mold grow on a grapefruit than watching this pathetic excuse for a movie.