The Spoteye 5.19.07: Fantastic Four
Posted by Scotty Flamingo on 05.20.2007
One of the best/worst comic book movies of all time.
Do you have a certain movie, show, or celebrity that you love, but you don't see much praise about?
OR, do you have a certain movie, show or celebrity that you despise, but you feel like you are the only one because of mountains of undeserved praise?
This column is about those things that seem to be unfairly criticized or forgotten completely, OR it is those things that are overrated and overvalued. This isThe…Um…Bullight Spoteye!.
Yo, it is Scotty and it is another column here at 411. With Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer coming out soon, I thought I'd go after the original as it is one of the most disjointed movies I've ever seen. I never caught the first movie in the theater, or even DVD. I thought the effects looked week, and Dr. Doom looked silly. Eventually, I saw the film the same way I see most movies I don't care enough about to go to the theater and see, I caught it on HBO. I found that most of my instincts were correct. However, I also found pieces of a great comic book movie intermingled with the crap.
The Story
There is nothing wrong with the basic plot of FF. Four people get superpowers and struggle with supervillains and their own personal issues. Johnny Storm embraces his powers, while Ben Grimm is crippled with depression. In the end, the good guys learn to accept their powers and each other. Pretty simple and a good blueprint for a first movie. Of course, there are a few storylines that bring down the rest of the film, including having the Fantastic Four's arch nemesis, Dr. Doom, being part of the accident and gaining his own powers through it.
The Major Players
Reed Richards – The leader of the team and one of the smartest men on the planet. Ieon Gruffudd is ok here. There is nothing too horrible about his Richards. He is emotionally detached, which is good. However, the character comes off as too young and naïve. Reed is supposed to be the "Dad" of the group, and here he just seems like an older nerdy brother.
Sue Storm – I've heard a lot of complaints about Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman. I agree with a lot of them. She's basically eye candy. Don't get me wrong, Sue Storm is supposed to be a hotty, but she's the "Mom" of the group. Add to the fact that she's smart. Maybe not as smart as Reed, but she can hang with him. Here she is more like the damsel in distress who took a few science classes.
The Human Torch – Studios always want to get the teen heartthrobs in their movies for the teen audience. It is that mindset that hurt the characters of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Those characters should have been played by older, more mature actors. However, here is where you can use the Tiger Beat cover boy. Johnny Storm is your typical self-absorbed teenager, except he has superpowers. Chris Evans does a great job with being more concerned with being hot than saving the world.
The Thing – This is the strongest part of the movie. Michael Chiklis does an excellent job as Ben Grimm. He plays the character as an average joe who just had his life ruined by being turned into a monster. Unfortunately, Chiklis's (is that how you plural that??) performance cannot hide what is a pretty piss poor make-up job. The look of the Thing here is no better than the infamous Roger Corman Fantastic Four Thing. The Thing looks more like a fat burn victim than a man made of Rock. He looks incredibly rubbery and it is a distraction throughout the movie.
Dr. Doom – And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where Fantastic Four completely bombs as a movie. Dr. Doom is THE quintessential comic book villain. He's over-the-top, he speaks in third person, and he rules his own country. His is NOT a corporate shark. I swear, Hollywood cannot create a villain that isn't either a high power executive or a high ranking military officer.
Julian McMahon absolutely blows as the demented doctor. I've never liked McMahon's previous work. I hate Nip/Tuck and couldn't stand his character on that show. However, at least that character is SUPPOSED to be a slimy weasel. McMahon totally downplays being Dr. Doom. His Doom is more concerned about clearing up his skin and flirting with Sue Storm that ruling the world and destroying that retched Richards.
This is a part where you can totally ham it up and overact your ass off, and McMahon seems bored with it.
I don't blame McMahon for everything however. The writing for his character is atrocious, with plenty of lame one-liners. There is also the previously mentioned transformation of Doom from a mad scientist to corporate suit. Equally poor is the decision to make Dr. Doom a product of the same accident that creates the Fantastic Four. Rather than having a suit of armor that he designed, Doom's actual skin becomes metal. Also, the dynamic of Doom as a political figure is lost here. Part of what makes Dr. Doom what he is, is that he has other resources besides super powers to take on his enemies. He has an entire nation of followers, he has an army of Doombots, he has a brilliant scientific mind, and he has knowledge of sorcery and magic. Here, he's just a rival boyfriend, a rich guy, or the jerk that you work with. That's hardly intimidating.
In a couple of week's we will have the sequel. Will that film correct the mistakes of the original or continue down a forked path. Well, it seems that with a cool looking Silver Surfer, things could pick up. However, with the rumors of Galactus being little more than a giant storm cloud, it looks
