... The Fantastic Four is born - and everyone seems to love them. Everyone, that is, apart from Victor Von Doom who believes that Reed Richards has stolen everything that he ever loved. But now he intends to exact his revenge…..
After Spiderman, The Fantastic Four was pretty much my favourite ... Read review
Fantastic Fouris a light-hearted and funny take on Marvel Comics' first family of ... more
superherodom. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help of former schoolmate and rival Victor...
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Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis head a sexy, star-powered cast in this ... more
explosive adventure about a quartet of flawed, ordinary human beings who suddenly find themselves with extraordinary abilities. After exposure to cosmic radiation, fou...
Fantastic Fouris a light-hearted and funny take on Marvel Comics' first family of ... more
superherodom. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help of former schoolmate and rival Victor...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
After exposure to cosmic radiation, four astronauts become the most remarkable, if ... more
dysfunctional, heroes of all time. Unfortunately, the mission's sponsor has also been transformed - into the world's most lethal super-villain - setting the stage for a confrontation of epic proportions.
In the absence of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman Black Panther and Storm take up ... more
the challenge as the newest members of the Fantastic Four. But there is no time to ease into the job as the Four are flung into a space epic that will see them battle the cosmic-powered Epoch; the Silver Surfer and Stardust; and the FF's most powerful foe the planet-eater Galactus! Back on Earth the Wizard plots revenge on Mr. Fantastic - and he isn't about to let millions of miles of airless vacuum get in the way following his enemy to the moon Titan with a new and expanded Frightful Four! Can the new FF defeat Galactus and return in time to save the team's absent founders? This title collects "Fantastic Four" numbered 544-550.
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Production Year: 2005 - Science Fiction - Director: Joe Ahearne, Keith Boak - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri, Penelope Wilton
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Production Year: 2005 - Science Fiction - Director: Keith Brook, Euros Lyn - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri, Simon Callow, Zoe Wannamaker
Advantages: Chris Evans. Naked. Disadvantages: Bit superficial
...of his very humanity. The Fantastic Four is born - and everyone seems to love them. Everyone, that is, apart from Victor Von Doom who believes that Reed Richards has stolen everything that he ever loved. But now he intends to exact his revenge…..
After Spiderman, The Fantastic Four was pretty much my favourite comic book. Ever. I loved it. I loved the way the character interacted, from the romantic stability of Reed and Sue through ... ...the film version of The Fantastic Four. Tim Story is respectful and affectionate towards the subject matter, which means that whatever your criticisms might be, he never stomps all over something that millions of people hold dear. When I first watched Spiderman, I remember have a tingle of excitement throughout as I watched the comic book come to life before my eyes, and whilst this sensation was certainly not as strong in The Fantastic Four, at ... more
OK. What happens when you make a movie adaptation of one of my favourite comic books of all time and then put the second sexiest man in the whole world in one of the leading roles? It must surely be a recipe for success, right? Well, maybe…
When Reed Richards wants to undertake groundbreaking research in outer space, he needs the financial backing of multi-millionaire Victor Von Doom. With this secured, the only thing left to do is enlist the crew. Apart from Reed himself, he takes on Benjamin Grimm, a lifelong friend and trusty assistant, Susan Storm (Victor Von Doom's assistant)and Johnny Storm (her hot-headed brother). With Victor along for the ride, everything is going swimmingly, until a cosmic storm hits Von Doom's space station, bathing the four main crew members in cosmic radiation.
When they awaken, they are all in hospital, seemingly unharmed by their ordeal. But as the hours roll by, each of them starts to manifest a strange new power. Johnny finds that he can ignite his entire body to terrific heat. Susan can turn herself invisible at will. Reed finds that his body acts like some bizarre plastic, enabling him to bend and stretch like a human rubber band. Poor Ben Grimm comes off the worst. His body mutates into an orange, rocky matter that makes him super strong but robs him of his very humanity. The Fantastic Four is born - and everyone seems to love them. Everyone, that is, apart from Victor Von Doom who believes that Reed Richards has stolen everything that he ever loved. But now he intends to exact his revenge…..
After Spiderman, The Fantastic Four was pretty much my favourite comic book. Ever. I loved it. I loved the way the character interacted, from the romantic stability of Reed and Sue through to the ever constant childish mockery between Johnny and Ben. I loved Ben's eternal search for humanity and his continual, luckless relationships with women. Most of all, I loved the story telling where, 500 issues after a character first appeared, he would still come back and wreak havoc and be just as frightening as he was the first time. These things meant that director, Tim Story, really had his work cut out when he decided to bring the comic book characters to the big screen. But with the recent Spiderman and X Men successes, Marvel Comics were on a roll and with a massive budget guaranteed, it was never really clear which way things might go.
I really enjoyed the film version of The Fantastic Four. Tim Story is respectful and affectionate towards the subject matter, which means that whatever your criticisms might be, he never stomps all over something that millions of people hold dear. When I first watched Spiderman, I remember have a tingle of excitement throughout as I watched the comic book come to life before my eyes, and whilst this sensation was certainly not as strong in The Fantastic Four, at times it was definitely there. Never particularly dull, the film romps its way through what was always going to be a story of origin, to rest at a satisfying point that leans quite pointedly to what was always going to be an inevitable sequel.
Of all the Summer 2005 blockbusters, this one seems to have the greatest sense of fun. The cast seems to enormously enjoy bringing the characters to life and the director seems to enjoy creating the right medium for them to do it in. Fantastic Four is never a dark tale, overshadowed ominously by the year's other comic book successes Sin City and Batman Begins. Fantastic Four is the saccharine antidote to the bitter pill offered by the competition and such is its charm that you can't really fail but be taken in. There are lots of little comic flourishes, some of the obvious and some of them quite gentle, but the appeal is enormous and throughout the film struck me as being more family-friendly than most of this year's other blockbusters (including Harry Potter.)
The action isn't as prolific as I had expected, but when it comes, it is competently put together and makes capable use of all the latest special effects. Visually, everything looks great. As a huge juggernaut crashes into The Thing, it really looks as though it is wrapping itself round his orange rocky body. There's a superb "brawl" between Reed and The Thing that perfectly captures the fantastic things that Mr Richards can do with his body. It all feels sumptuous and slick, if not a little superficial too and I must admit, I wasn't quite so enthused by The Human Torch, whose fiery face didn't really ever quite look right to me. The climactic face-off with Doctor Doom is satisfying enough, particularly for comic-book fans who will revel in the foursome's combined thinking to bring down their foes. I couldn't help thinking, however, that for anyone with anything less than a passing interest, it would really have made the previous 100 minutes that worthwhile.
Of course, the most difficult part about transferring comic to screen is in the casting choices. Do you stick religiously to the comics and try and find the real-life equivalent, or do you employ some artistic license and blend fiction with what's feasible? Generally, Tim Story has gone for the latter, with mixed results.
Ioan Gruffudd always struck me as a strange choice for Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic) if for no other reason than the fact that he isn't American. Initially, I didn't like him, but you soon warm to him and he is ultimately quite convincing as the shy brainbox. Even the apparent ommission of his little white streak of hair is quickly resolved, meaning that comic book nerds can settle down once again.
Jessica Alba's Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) never really worked for me and it always felt as though she were selected for her sex appeal alone. Too young, too buxom and too sassy, she also fails to live up to the expectation that she is much more powerful than she looks and this hidden dimension is never explored. Perhaps, in the sequel we will be introduced to Malice, and the scales will be balanced….
Michael Chiklis is a perfect Thing. Obviously benefiting from extensive make-up, he nonetheless manages to inject the right amount of gruff humanity into his character and seems genuinely frustrated by his inability to hold cutlery. However, ever eagre to convey the idea that his body is formed from orange brick, various sound effects are used about his person, with differing levels of success and despite the use of every kind of trickery available, the character is never really able to distance himself from the idea of being an actor in a funny suit.
Chris Evans (not the speccy ginger one, I should add) is a triumphant Johnny Storm (Human Torch). Sexy (swoon!), sassy and naughty, he is everything that I had ever imagined Johnny to me and simply revels in every silly moment. He doesn't, of course, have that much action to do, because these scenes are generally computer-generated, but burning his clothes off and landing naked in an icy puddle was enough to keep me entertained.
Julian McMahon - another unusual choice - is less successful as Doctor Doom. It is with Doom's character that the director has changed things about the most and his entire origin is markedly different from the comics. Doom's bright green cloak and metallic mask don't really seem to make the transition to film particularly well - only McMahon's mad staring eyes through the eye holes really seem to have the right effect.
Ultimately, my main criticism of Fantastic Four is that it lacks any real substance. It's fun, funny, and entertaining but also rather cheesy. The plot isn't perhaps as involved as an adult audience would like and the whole thing does rather feel like an exercise in getting the origin out of the way so that things can really hot up in the sequel. The film also sways a bit towards the slushy end of the scale at times too, and Sue / Reed's blossoming re-romance wears thin pretty quick.
But, these things aside, in its class and genre, Fantastic Four is a great, popcorn, "no brain required" action movie.
Advantages: Some good special effects and CGI Disadvantages: Too slow, not enough of a story, lost interest before the end
...was one that featured a Fantastic 4 cartoon, so I was somewhat familiar with the characters and I do like a good fantasy type movie every now and then, so I thought I'd give this a watch. I'm glad I didn't purchase the DVD, it wouldn't have been worth it. - Main Credits (non-actors, which are mentioned further on in the review) -
Source:- IMDB (see:-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120667/fullcredits)
Director - Tim Story Written by - Mark Frost and ... ...main acting cast) - Fantastic Four is a Hollywood live action movie based on the well known Marvel comic. The movie starts off with four astronauts who work with a scientist, Reed Richards (played by Ioan Gruffudd) to try and harness the power of a cloud of cosmic energy. However, this has some strange side effects for the astronaust as once they return home, it soon becomes clear that they have all suffered some kind of strange mutation, Reed can ...
IzzyS 03.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fantastic Four (DVD)
Advantages: Fun, Entertaining and a Laugh. Disadvantages: Plot and Character Holes
...my sister. That film was Fantastic Four which I had heard from everybody was rubbish and not as good as the other comic book adaptations. Me I like to not compare films so I watched this one with an open mind and found that I really enjoyed it.
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What is the film about?
(Reading from the back of the box)
Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis head a sexy, star-powered cast in this explosive adventure about a quartet of flawed, ordinary ... ...made to be funny. Mr Fantastic being the brains of the group is my favourite as I would like to think I would be thinking about what to do to help everybody in that situation but in reality I would probably be enjoying my powers like fire boy who has some of the best one-liners in the film. The characters though are a bit underdeveloped in this film and you go through the film not really caring about them as there is hardly any character development ...
katygriff 02.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fantastic Four (DVD)
Advantages: Some nice effects Disadvantages: Lame script, They ruin Dr Doom, Incredibly stupid
I saw Fantastic Four on its cinema release, I don't why I did but morbid curiosity got the better of me. The trailers for the movie were pretty poor and the advance word told of the movie going in a direction not faithful to the original comic book. The only thing I was intrigued by was the thought of The Shield's Vic Mackie playing The Thing. The rest of the cast were bland and Fox had chosen to give a multi-layered comic book romp to the director ... ...no surprises. In fact the Fantastic Four aren't actually fantastic. They cause million of dollars worth of damage and destruction through their own doing but every one around them thinks it's cool. The only person who comes out with any credit is Michael Chiklis as The Thing/Ben Grimm.
Director Tim Story should stick to films like Barbershop as there's nothing inspirational here. This has the potential to be as good as Spiderman but instead it's ...
utero 30.12.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fantastic Four (DVD)
Advantages: Flashy effects, mindless fun, slight 'human' touch to storyline Disadvantages: Not exactly original, no attempt at scientific credibility
...more. Coming along in 2005, Fantastic Four was arguably scraping the barrel to catch onto the end of the bandwagon (if you'll pardon the mixing of metaphors) and received some rather poor reviews. Personally though I have to say I quite enjoyed it.
I'm not a comic book fan and the Fantastic Four are probably less famous than many other Marvel superheroes so, although I'd heard of them, I didn't really know much about them. I can't say whether the ... ...effects and, on that score, Fantastic Four delivers.
It'd be wrong to criticise the film for unoriginality or lack of realism. It's about mindless fun and it delivers 106 minutes of action while you eat your popcorn. While I wouldn't expect to watch it again for at least a good while, I was entertained and didn't find it a drag at all. 7/10 if I could.
Rating: PG (fantasy violence)
Info from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120667/ ...
a-true-ben 02.01.2008 (08.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fantastic Four (DVD)
Advantages: Lives up to the Marvel Comic Heroes Disadvantages: None I can think of
...Special Features:-
Cast Commentary
Fantastic Tour Featurette
Music Videos
Inside look at X-Men 3
__________________________________________________
Starring:-
Ioan Grufudd - Reed Richards
Jessica Alba - Sue Storm
Chrs Evans - Johnny Storm
Michael Chiklis - Ben Grimm
Julian McMahon - Victor Von Doom
__________________________________________________
Reed Richards is an expert scientist, who is trying to raise the money alongside his partner ... ...superpowers, Richards becomes Mr Fantastic a man with the ability to stretch his body to superhuman lengths, Grimm becomes a creature resembling a rock with superhuman strength, Sue Storm becomes the Invisible Woman able to surround herself in force fields and become invisible and finally Johnny becomes a Human Flame able to turn his body into a ball of flames, to control fire and to fly.
Each of their superhero abilities has been taken on by their ...
allyoxley 09.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fantastic Four (DVD)
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Advantages: great story and acting, excellent effects Disadvantages: Dr Doom may be a bit too scary for younger viewers
the present day in America so all the scenery was very appropriate and fitted in well.
The DVD which we have is the two disk special which does have lots of bonus material which includes:-
Disc 1.
Cast Commentary
Fantastic Tour Featurettes
Music Videos
Inside Look and x-men 3
Disc 2.
Heroes are born - Making the FantasticFour Documentary
Four Featurettes
Four Deleted Scenes
Trailers and TV spots
Animatic comparisons
I have not taken the time to watch any of these and only got the 2 Disc special as it was cheaper than the single disc.
The running time of the film is 101 minutes which I found to be quite long enough and the certificate is a PG. I do agree with the rating but as my boys are only 6,4 and nearly 2 I did want to see if it was suitable for them. I found that the majority of the film was fine for them but I ...
Advantages: Better action than some with story line Disadvantages: slow in parts
If you love the first X-MEN then X-MEN2 is a must have, with less story building than the first this film has a lot more action - packed fun for all to love.
There are a few slow parts in the film but overall its a must. the charachters realy start to evolve and if you were a fan of the cartoon then the end makes a lot more to you than if you just watch the film.
Although you are left felling that they could have done more.
E.g. Magneto (Lan Mckellen) and the X-men could have helped eachother a little bit more instead you could still see they didn't want to work together to save the mutants.
Patrick Stewart ( Professor Xavier) still owns the show even though he is in a wheel chair. A top actor for a Top Film.
Fantasticfour is again much like X-men 1 you have to wait for the best bits as the story building takes its time however ...
Commentaries Cast Feature Audio Commentary By Ioan Grufford Jessica Alba Chris Evan Michael Chiklis And Julian McMahon, The Fantastic Tour Making Jessica Alba Visible, Inside Look XMen 3 And Fantastic Four And XMen 3, Producer Avi Arad Walks Through Xmen3, Music Video Everything Burns, Music Video Come On Come On, Music Soundtrack Spot
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
Sizzling special effects and blazing action from start to finish (Daily Star, )
The foursome are awesome (News Of The World, )
Liked Spider Man and X Men? The you are going to love Fantastic Four (Sunday Mirror, )
DVD Description
In this thrill-filled live-action Marvel Comics adaptation, director Tim Story ('Barber Shop') balances comedy, romantic intrigue, special effects, high action, and even scientific trivia for a rounded 'Fantastic Four'. Here, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing come together on a space mission that goes wrong. The ship's owner - who later transforms into evil Doctor Doom - refuses to abort the mission during a solar storm, which electrifies the ship and its entire crew, causing radical changes to their DNA. Back on earth, the transformed 'heroes' adjust to their new powers, which are specific to their personalities. Mister Fantastic, who lacks assertion, has stretchy limbs of rubber. Invisible Woman, who loves Fantastic but thinks he can't see her for who she really is, does a disappearing act. The Human Torch, an immature guy who is brimming with energy, can burst into flames. And finally, The Thing, a great friend who is as solid as a rock, actually turns into one - and loses his wife due to his weighty disposition. Holing up in Fantastic's scientific lab where they run experiments on themselves in hopes of changing back to normal, the crew learns that Doctor Doom - who is so power hungry that he turns into metal and is able to conduct electrical currents - poses a serious threat. The heroes quickly master their abilities and channel their scientific smarts for one truly fantastic five-way face-off. Visually, action sequences give way to tranquil interludes such as the New York City skyline with the Fantastic's lab glowing atop a skyscraper, while plot-wise, the interplay between the characters brings a human element to the film, with some touching moments from The Thing. At the end, a door is left open for what could be a super sequel.
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