Cheap Fantastic Four (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) (Tim Story) Price

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Customer Reviews of Fantastic Four (Widescreen Edition)

Not Fantastic But Pretty Good Fun
After a succession of dark and/or self-important comic book adaptations, such as batman, sin city, spiderman and the like, fantastic four makes a very refreshing change. It is very bright, lots of colour, and a fun, light-hearted tone, with a plethora of puns and gags which will have you giggling and groaning at the same time. <
>It also makes a refreshing change to see them (eventually) embracing their powers as gifts, and using them and not being shy about remaining anonymous, as most other superheroes will do. This perhaps makes the four seem more human - the public know exactly who they really are. Anyway, this also gives a touch of grounding in realism - guys that looked like that, with powers like that - we'd know all about them surely? It's not like a pair of glasses each would make them Joe (or Josephine) regular, a la Clark Kent (how did Lois buy that for so many years anyway?) <
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>But I digress. Ioan Gruffudd manages a competent if rather textbook American accent, and Jessica Alba fulfils her assigned role by being as hot as ever (though why are female scientists always knockouts? They never were in my school!). The stars of the piece though are Michael Chiklis' heartfelt portrayal of the thing, and Julian McMahon camping it up superbly as the villain. Chris Evans (no, not that one!) rounds out the heroic quartet as the arrogant guy who takes full advantage of his fame, cut straight from the template. <
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>The special effects are superb (although that comes almost as standard nowadays), and all of our heroes get chance to fully show off their powers, even if some of them have been amplified from the original comics. <
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>One criticism of the film is that although running at 1 hour 45 minutes the story was too short in itself, and that most of the film seemed to be all about setting up a series of sequels - as if this was merely the first chapter of the full film. Be that as it may, as a franchise launcher, it has certainly whetted the appetite. A sequel will be eagerly anticipated, and will be expected to improve on its predecessor.

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Fantastic Four--great start
Fantastic Four is one of the oldests comics in Marvel's collecction. The original comic books were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to tell the story of family and friendship--this group of family and friends just happen to be superheroes. Fantastic Four was never meant to be as glitzy or high-powered as X-Men, but it is just as fun to anyone whose been a fan of the comic book or watched the cartoons on TV. <
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>Fantastic Four is the story of Sue and Jonny Storm, Ben Grimm, and Reed Richards. In the movie, <
>Jessica Alba plays as Sue Storm, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm, and <
>Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards. Richard Reed is a down-on-his-luck genius who gets help from a rich former schoolmate to research human DNA in outer space. Reed invites his best friend, Ben Grimm, his former girlfriend Sue Storm, and Sue's brother Johnny along for the ride. <
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>But things don't go as planned--something unexpected happens in outerspace and the team is exposed to something while in space that mutates them and gives them superhuman powers. That at least, is the set up for the story. The rest of the movie is about the super heroes learning their powers and exploring what being a superhero means. The movie includes the debut of Dr. Doom, one of the greatest supervillians of all time, played excellently by Julian McMahon from Charmed, Nip/Tuck.

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Believe it or not, this light fanfare film is fun!
Fantastic Four received a lot of criticism for being to campy, corny, not enough action, etc. Well, guess what? Fantastic Four is NOT Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man. I think those who were expecting it to be were the ones who ended up being disappointed. <
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>The Fantastic Four is one of Marvel's oldest comic books. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, it was intended to not only be a storyline about superheroes, but a storyline about family. And that is what much of the Fantastic Four has always been about: family. This, obviously, largely includes how they interact with each other. <
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>In my opinion, the film actually does a pretty good job bringing these popular characters to life. Part of the success is in the story. It's a simple story, and sometimes the simple stories are the most successful. <
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>The Fantastic Four does not have the complexity of Spider-Man's inner battle with his guilt and shame, nor the psychological complexities of Batman. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why the Fantastic Four's fan base is among the most diverse. Not only is it collected by young boys and men, but also women like it for its relationship values. <
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>First of all, the casting is pretty darn good. They nailed every single one of the characters. Ioan Gruffud does a good job of playing the highly intellectual, Reed Richards. Even in the comics, you wonder where Reed's love really lies...with Sue, or science. <
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>Jessica Alba was great as Sue Storm. I had my reservations, at first, but then she loves to play comic-book icons, and she more than nails this role, bringing out Sue's emotional and maternal instincts as well as her toughness when she has to be. <
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>Chris Evans was a good choice to play the somewhat reckless Johnny Storm. He brings a lot of energy to the part, which is necessary to play Johnny. <
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>Michael Chiklis is a perfect Ben Grimm. Apparently, the character was Michael's favorite as a boy. It's obvious by how accurate he plays the gentle, wounded soul of the Thing who is constantly afflicted his appearance which already robs him of his girlfriend. <
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>The interactions between these four characters is really what make the film work. The banter between Johnny and Ben is fun, which is also true to the comic book as these two characters are always needling each other, even though it's obvious that they love and care about each other. There is something sweet and touching in the relationship between Sue and Reed as she tries to break through that intellectual shell that he's always behind. They really do feel like a family. <
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>The only question of casting I have is Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom. He just doesn't have that presence that Doctor Doom should have. Doctor Doom without question is one of Marvel's most feared and iconic "bad guys," and you need something more than what Julian is able to bring to play him. <
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>The origin is slightly altered for the film, but it works well. The only origin that was drastically changed was that of Victor. In the comic, he wears armor. He doesn't change into some kind of metallic man. <
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>There are action scenes in the film, but again, it's not along the same lines as what you may be used to seeing in comic book film. The final showdown with Doom in the streets of New York is well done, and not over-the-top like it could have been. <
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>I think a lot of fans were duped in by the PG-13 rating, thinking that it was going to be more action-packed and grittier than it is. If they had gotten a PG rating instead (which it should have if a couple of elements were changed) then expectations may not have gotten so badly out of proportioned. <
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>I found this to be a fun and enjoyable film. I won't lie to you though. If you're looking for action and grittiness, then the Fantastic Four probably isn't for you, and you might be better off to try something else. <
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>But for Marvel's first family comic book, this movie does them pretty well.