Fantastic Four (film)
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Fantastic Four is a 2005 movie based on the Marvel Comics comic Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story and released by 20th Century Fox. This is the second live action Fantastic Four movie to be filmed. The previous attempt, a b-grade film produced by Roger Corman was never released officially. See The Fantastic Four (film).
The film was released in the U.S. and Canada on July 8, 2005. It was the third superhero movie of the year, after Elektra and Batman Begins.
Plot
Brilliant, but bankrupt scientist Reed Richards is convinced that all evolution is caused by clouds of cosmic energy. He calculates that Earth is going to pass one of these clouds soon, and together with his partner, Ben Grimm, pleads his MIT classmate, ultra-rich Victor von Doom, CEO of his own enterprise, to let him onto his space station. Von Doom agrees, but only under the condition that he has the last hand in all the experiments. They also meet Susan Storm, von Doom's right hand, and her brother Johnny, the maverick pilot. Susan also attended MIT and dated Reed at the time, and this creates some tension.
The quintet travels to space to observe the cosmic energy clouds, but the clouds materialise well ahead of schedule, and all five are zapped by its vast energies. They make it home intact, but suddenly, they begin to mutate and develop their characteristic powers. Reed, Susan and Ben see them as a curse and work on a healing chamber. Only Johnny seems to embrace his powers, and clashes with Ben, who evidently drew the shortest straw, becoming a superstrong rock creature. His disfigurement causes his fiancee to leave him, but he later gains another girlfriend in the blind woman Alicia Masters, who recognizes his desirability beneath his rocky body.
While Ben broods about his situation on the Brooklyn Bridge, he stops a man about to commit suicide by jumping off. However, Ben's appearance so frightens the would be jumper that he falls into the bridge's traffic, forcing Ben to jump down to save him by forcefully stopping a truck, inadvertently causing a chain reaction pile up on the bridge. Just as Ben's compatriots looking for him arrive at the bridge, the accident soon escalates as a fire breaks out in the wrecks while an arriving fire truck crashes and almost falls off the bridge, forcing the four to use their powers to prevent disaster. They are successful and the media throngs them and immediately uses Johnny's impromptu group name for themselves, The Fantastic Four.
Doom is turning into organic metal capable of manipulating energy. He sees the opportunity to finish off his rival Reed once and for all, tricks Ben into turning on his friends, thinking that they were not working on a cure with due diligence. However, the machine is ready and Doom tricks Ben into using it and becoming normal again. However, Doom immediately attacks Ben and then captures Reed. After freezing him to prevent him using his stretch powers and torturing him in that state, Doom fires a missile towards Johnny who must use his powers to fly away to lead the missile to open water where he ignites a garbage scow to lure the missile away from himself. Susan realizes where Reed is and confronts Doom while Ben decides that he must become the Thing again to confront his enemy.
Eventually, Ben fights Doom on the street until the rest of the team joins him. Together under Reed's direction, the Fantastic Four vanquish their arch enemy with a coordinated attack that seemingly leaves Doom as a statue of inert metal.
In the end, the foursome decide to embrace their roles as superheroes and officially organize as the Fantastic Four with Reed proposing to Sue, and her accepting while Ben, with the help of Alicia, comes to terms with his condition. However, Doom's associate is transporting his employer's supposed dead body back to his homeland of Latveria (the country he ruled in the comics, where he could establish a real power base if he fully revives).
Reaction
After the disaster of the 1994 Fantastic Four film, expectations were high. The critical reaction was mostly negative, scoring only a 26% at Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review aggregation website. The movie was criticized for weak storytelling and flat characters — especially the bland Doctor Doom, arguably one of the hallmark villains in the Marvel Comics world. In addition, Jessica Alba's performance earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress.Many critics felt that this movie was widely surpassed by both Batman Begins and Sin City, two comic book movies that were released in the same period.
Those who did like the film to some degree often praised Michael Chiklis for faithfully depicting his character's difficult adjustment to his transformation in a moving fashion while Chris Evans' character was considered a refreshing change of pace for modern superhero adaptations of a superhero who immediately takes delight in his powers without a resulting tragedy linked to them. However, many fans derided the producers' decision to place Chiklis in a bodysuit rather than using computer-generated effects or by the very least in a convincing body suit and make-up similairly to what was seen in the movie version of the comic book Hellboy. Film critic Roger Ebert put this film at number 10 on his list of the top ten worst films of 2005. MSN Movies ranks Fantastic Four as the fourth worst superhero movie to date, behind Batman and Robin, Daredevil, and Catwoman.[link]
However, Fantastic 4 proved a surprise box office hit on its opening weekend, apparently ending a major prolonged box office slump that was causing concern in the American film industry. As of September 2005, the film has totaled over $300 million worldwide. This has made the making of a sequel probable and fans hope that it will address the problems of the original much like how the Star Trek feature series progressed, or expanding and bettering the franchise as Spider-Man 2 had done. Fantastic Four 2 has been planned for a 2007 summer release. The sequel is reported to feature both Silver Surfer and Galactus as villains.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Ioan Gruffudd | Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic |
| Jessica Alba | Sue Storm / The Invisible Woman |
| Chris Evans | Johnny Storm / The Human Torch |
| Michael Chiklis | Ben Grimm / The Thing |
| Julian McMahon | Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom |
| Hamish Linklater | Leonard |
| Kerry Washington | Alicia Masters |
| Laurie Holden | Debbie McIlvane |
| David Parker | Ernie |
| Kevin McNulty | Jimmy O'Hoolihan |
| Maria Menounos | Sexy Nurse |
| Michael Kopsa | Ned Cecil |
| Stan Lee | Willie Lumpkin |
Trivia
- George Clooney was originally tapped to be Reed Richards, but due to budgetary concerns no negotiations were proposed. Brendan Fraser was also considered for the part of Reed Richards, Paul Walker was rumored to be Johnny Storm, and Tim Robbins was considered for Doctor Doom.
- The role of Susan Storm was heavily rumored from Rachel McAdams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Milian, Kate Bosworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Julia Stiles. Wrestling news sites reported professional wrestler Trish Stratus was going to play the role.
- Michael Chiklis fought to have a "real" Thing rather than a computer-generated imagery character. The Thing's appearance in this film differs from the way the character currently looks in the comic books (most notably with the absence of an exaggerated brow); instead, the suit and make-up was based upon the hero's appearance in the early issues of the comic book. When Michael Chiklis' wife, Michelle (who suffers from claustrophobia), first saw him in his Thing outfit, she suffered a panic attack and had to be escorted off the set.
- As in almost all of the previous Marvel Comics-based films, Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance. He is Willie Lumpkin, the mailman who greets the team on their way to the Baxter Building elevator.
- The film has nearly 900 special effects shots.
- Inspired by his role on Nip/Tuck, it was Julian McMahon's idea to have Victor's scars sealed by surgical staples.
- Michael Chiklis was offered the role of Thing after Jennifer Garner suggested him for the role.
- If you look closely, when Johnny shows the toy to Ben, it is the traditional potrayal of the Thing in the comics. It includes the low eyebrow, dark "skin", and is where the Thing's catchphrase is first heard.
Deleted scenes
Among the deleted scenes included on the December 2005 DVD release is a brief segment showing Reed morphing himself to look like Wolverine from X-Men. Actor Gruffudd breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at the camera as he does this, suggesting the scene might have been filmed as a joke (similar to a practical joke filmed for the first X-Men film in which an actor dressed as Spider-Man ran onto the set in the middle of a scene).There are 3 slightly modified penultimate scenes concerning the attack on and subsequent defeat of Dr. Doom - one in which Reed uses his body as a funnel to direct a stream of water at Doom, one in which he doesn't, and one in which Dr. Doom's line "Is that the best you can do, a little heat?" is cut short, having the "..a little heat?" portion removed.
After the release of The Incredibles, the ending of the movie was rewritten because it was thought to be too similar.
There are two different versions of a scene which includes Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd as Sue and Reed respectively. One version (the original) features the pair in the Planetarium in which they communicate their feelings for each other properly without an argumentative tone, this ends in an inevitable kiss. The second version (used in the theatrical release) features the two outside, looking towards the Statue Of Liberty, similar lines were used but it ended where Susan turns invisible before Reed can kiss her and a joke was used during the line "a stronger man" - by Reed where he makes his skin look like the X-Men's Wolverine.
Awards and nominations
One nomination:
- Worst Actress (Jessica Alba)
Two nominations:
- Best Hero (Jessica Alba)
- Best On-screen Team (The Fantastic Four)
See also
External links
- Best Hero (Jessica Alba)
- Best On-screen Team (The Fantastic Four)
See also
External links
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