Fantastic Four: First "New Marvel" Bomb?

[jjreason]

Hey there, gang. Well, I've seen the trailer for FF twice now (it's on before ROTS here, not sure if that's all over or not) and it looks absolutely terrible.

1. The Thing looks like he's made from NERF.

2. Jessica Alba does not look right as a blonde (okay, so she did in Sin City, that was different :) ).

3. The Human Torch comes off to me as even more aggravating and annoying during the trailer than he does in the comic - which I never would have believed possible.

4. Reed Richards just plain looks wrong to me somehow, like they didn't do a very good job disguising the fact that the actor is being made to look older for the role or something.

"New Marvel" has been responsible for some good and not-so-good movies, including everything from "Blade" forward (by my count that's 3 Blades, 2 X-Men, 2 Spideys, Punisher, Hulk, Daredevil and Elektra so far). Most of these have done alright at the box office. I think this one is going to tank, based on what I've seen.

Anyone else wishing this movie was looking a little more promising?

[Beast]

I think the movie looks great so far. And from everything I'm hearing about the script, and the positive reviews it's getting, it should be an excellent film. It's certainly not going to be a Bomb, compared to Hulk or Elektra.

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[Captain Spoon]

I think it looks pretty good also. plus I don't care what color her hair is seeing Jessica Alba in a blue, skin tight, jump suit is worth $9 to most people by itself. It won't be 100% true to the books which I can live with, and it won't be as good as Spidey.. but I bet ya it makes at lease $130-$150 million this summer. The only thing that will hurt it is that BatMan is the big superhero movie this year. Personaly I tink BatMan will kick some serious a**.

[JON9000]

Audiences seemed to react well to the trailer at ROTS. I agree with JJ that the casting is somewhat suspect- and casting is important. The best thing about Spidey was goofy Toby McGuire as Peter Parker. Jackman made an excellent Wolvie, Reeve a great Supes.

(I heart) Jessica Alba (a lot) as Sue Storm? I just can't see that...

[mabudonicus]

JJ- must be a Canadian "thing" (pun most definitely intended, sad tho it might be)
Every buddy I've spoken to so far (and now reading your thoughts, too) has had the same "misgivings" myself included

From the trailer it had the look of a mid 80's film where there are 3 "big" scenes and a bunch of nothin
Johnny human torch really bugged me, too, somehow, for the few seconds he had he had the "kick me" turned up to eleven
Reed- the way it was cut together, I kinda didn't even notice him, which is odd given the importance of the character (although if he is as bad as you suggest, maybe I was spared)
Thing- NERF is about right, he did indeed look really "spongy" and the cracks between the "rocks" look like they were just sorta pressed in with a hot iron or something, you'd really think we could expect better in this day and age

Invisible Girl- meh, don't know much about hollywood so he was the only one that didn't bug me too much (although to do the character in perfect silver-age fashion would get a lot of folks up in arms these days)

Doom- well, looked okay, I guess, but the fact that the storyline incorporates Doom and sue dating, then doom getting his "Doctor Doom Powers" at the same time as the Four is right stupid, kinda reminded me of the Red Skull in Captain America in a way (although even that POS got the story straight- if only they could have avoided using the plastic ears they might have had something.... MIGHT have ;))

So yes, JJ, I'm hoping that the trailer was made 2 years ago before they had any footage at all, really (that was my first impression, for a blockbuster that's a couple weeks away it looked like a whole lot of nothing)
:beard:

if not, well, the Corman version is getting released officially, right :D ???

[James Boba Fettfield]

"New Marvel" has been responsible for some good and not-so-good movies, including everything from "Blade" forward (by my count that's 3 Blades, 2 X-Men, 2 Spideys, Punisher, Hulk, Daredevil and Elektra so far).

And 1 Man-Thing. :sur: F4 should count itself lucky it's not premiering on the Sci-Fi channel like Man-Thing.

As for it tanking, what do you mean by that? You mean it won't make back its production and marketing cost or what? I certainly do not expect to perform any worse than Elektra. I think that broke just $50 million, and that's counting domestic and overseas box office takes. That's a stinker there.

I think money wise, the film won't have a problem with that. Really, if Daredevil could make $100 million, then so should F4. Now how well it is received by audiences and critics (think along the lines of the HULK film and some of the backlash it received despite the money it made here and abroad)...well, I can see that happening. In fact, I somewhat expect it to. So in that sense, I suppose it will tank.

[General_Grievous]

I dunno about F4. I was excited about it up until Jessica Alba was cast in it. She doesn't seem to fit the part. Plus, Dr. Doom looks stupid to me, too. For some reason, I see more people going to "Batman", which I'm also more excited about, BTW.

[El Chuxter]

It's not a Canada thing. This looks like an amazing pig terd to me. I'll give it a chance, unless everyone I know says it sucks, but my hopes are pretty low.

Doom looks especially wrong.

[Bacta Beast]

I think FF looks interesting, but Alba as Invisible Girl is idiocy. But I'm sure I'll like it better than the Hulk, I didn't even bother with Elektra.

[Bacta Beast]

Come to think of it, I don't like Chiklis (however you spell it) as the Thing. But I thought he was cool in "Commish".

[kool-aid killer]

Im going into this movie with low expectations, i know my younger brother thinks its going to be the stuff. I dont have any problem with Jessica Alba being the Invisible Woman, im a bit concerned with the actor chosen to play The Thing. As good as Chiklis is in The Shield, he just isnt physically big enough to be a good Thing. Plus his costume does look a tad bit wacko. I will probably catch it on the first day, but i have a bad feeling about it.

[jjreason]

I guess I should have clarified - by "tank", I meant "suck" or "not live up to the expectations of myself and most other fans of the comic series".

With respect to X-Men, Hulk and Spidey - I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable fan, with a lot of affinity for the respective characters. The movies were all absolutely fine with me.

With respect to Daredevil - I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable fan, with a lot of affinity for the character and a special fondness for the source material on which the movie was based. This movie "tanked" or "sucked" - fell markedly short of my expectations. Regardless of how much money it made.

With respect to Punisher and Blade, I'm not as knowledgeable a fan. I don't care about the characters, and I haven't even seen the movies. I'll likely watch Punisher at some point.

Now, with respect to FF. I like the book, and have been reading it for quite a few years. There are certain ideas I have about the characters that just aren't realized by the casting and effects I've seen in the trailer. To me it looks cheap, and like they were trying to hard to cast people (okay, I'm only talking about Alba) for the sake of drawing teenagers into the theatre as opposed to creating a believable Sue Richards.

If this movie doesn't disappoint, I'll be as surprised as anyone.

[Rocketboy]

I don't think FF looks that bad. It looks like a fun summer popcorn movie.

But I do agree with pretty much everyone - Thing's costume looks bad. I think a CG Thing could have been a good idea.


I just wonder if we'll finally get answers to Brodie's questions from Mallrats. :D

[General_Grievous]

Well, I think it will be better than "Hulk". Man, Ang Lee must have been smoking some strong weed when he made that. It wasn't a comic book movie, it was a psychological thriller, which is exactly what the Hulk SHOULDN'T be like. People want to see him running around beating bad guys up and shouting "HULK SMASH!", not moping over daddy issues.

Anyway, back on topic. I just think it would have been better if they cast someone else for Sue Storm. Sure, Jessica Alba's hot, but she just doesn't seem to fit the part, as I stated before. Maybe they should have cast Naomi Watts or Charlize Theron, an actress with more experience.

[2-1B]

Do watch The Punisher, Reason, it's fun ! :)

[The Overlord Returns]

Honestly, it looks like something the WB would be responsible for. However, having zero interest in a Fantastic Four movie, my expectations for the film are non-existant. I'll see it on dvd just like I did Punisher, daredevil, and elektra.

[darthvyn]

they definitely cast with an eye toward franchise as opposed to making the characters look like they do in the book. what i mean by that is, they're young enough that they can do a couple of consecutive sequels without getting too old. except for chiklis.

and therein lies the rub, ladies and gentlemen... the whole idea about the thing is that he was a good looking all-american high-school football team quarterback type of guy. part of the tradgedy of the character is that he's turned into this... THING, which is in opposition to his lifestyle previously. now, chiklis isn't made of orange rock or anything, but he ain't exactly your idea of the perfect mystery date... what i'm saying is, they needed a better actor to portray the huge transformation from handsome to hideous.

[evenflow]

I am looking forward to it, i just dont like how they have changed the Dr. Doom back story.

[darthvyn]

oh, no... what did they do to doom's backstory? i hadn't even heard anything about that!

[Jayspawn]

I think Fantastic Four looks great! A good summer movie. I was skecptical about the casting choices at first, but now that I've seen them in costume and seen the trailers -I'm convinced.

You have to take these comic book movies as they are. You cant go to them and think...Well thats not how in happened in the comic book! Now I'm offended and I hate it!" A lot of comic book purists think that way and thats not the way to see them.

[mabudonicus]

oh, no... what did they do to doom's backstory? i hadn't even heard anything about that!
SPOILER!!!



















if you haven't heard yet- Apparently, Doom is on the shuttle with the Four when the accident happens (since from what I've read he's dating/interested in Sue or some crap like that) and he gets "doctor doom powers" from it- didn't I mention this and how much I hated it somewhere else??? It has to be the stupidest thing I've heard in a long while

And yeah, Grimm doesn't looks "Golden Boy" enough for me either, good point- it was bugging me but I couldn't put my finger on it.

[evenflow]

Well i still think that these movies should be done comic accurate. The comics are entertaining enough that we all love them and that they can make movies out of them, then why not make them accurate. That is the Doom back story i am not feeling right now. It probably wont make a huge difference, but why change it?

[Sebulba_Fett]

Changing Doom's backstory doesn't bother me so much. If anybody here reads the Marvel Ultimate books (which are very, very, very good), you'll know that they did something similar when they started Ultimate Fantastic Four. In that version, the 4 and Doom work together (they are all students in a government think tank) on a device that can trasmit objects into the negative zone. Ben happens to be there as Reeds friend when they do the initial experiment. Of course it goes wrong, explodes, and gives everybody their powers. It just so happens that Doom gets powers too, including a body covered in metal that gives him his traditional look.

[darthvyn]

RICHARDS!!!!

oh, sorry, there... thought i was somewhere... else.

yeah, changing it so victor goes with them makes more of a neatly packaged story rather than, "years ago, while victor von doom and reed richards were attending college, victor burned his face off and created a mask..."

i've been reading both the regular FF and the UFF, and they've both been awesome. i didn't mind the changing of dooms back story in UFF.

the main thing (no pun intended, but still, there it is...) is that the thing is all wrong. ben grimm is supposed to be the high school quarterback, not the armchair quarterback. but i'll hold out judgement til i see it.

[Eternal Padawan]

RICHARDS!!!!

oh, sorry, there... thought i was somewhere... else.




hee hee. Oh the vynsanity....:D



I actually liked Johnny Storm's brazen cockiness in the trailer. That's how he is in the books, right? Is noone on the side of faithful adaptation? And how can you complain about Jessica Alba...AT ALL? Between her and Jessica Simpson's Daisy, my eyes are gonna get a tummy ache from all the candy this summer. It's weird hearing Julian McMahon's smoothe voice coming out of Doom's mask ( I always expected something more...gravelly, and with a pompous accent) but he rocks on Nip/Tuck so that's a plus.

I do agree that the Thing looks like a foam rubber disaster and for some reason all his lines in the trailer are muffled. Not until the third viewing did I realize he was saying "It's Clobberein' time!" at the end of the trailer.

I think Reed's presence in the trailer is spartan because they redid all his effects ( or are in the last minute process of redoing them). Apparently after Incredibles came out both the producers and Fox realized they needed to step up the stretching effects after seeing Elastigirl. Fox stepped up to the plate with an additional $15 million or so, so they could make Richards...well...Fantastic.

In conclusion, I think and hope I'll be presently suprised. Seriously, it can't be worse than Elektra.

[JimJamBonds]

Personally I HATE having to sit through the FF trailer. Even the first time I saw it it just seemed to drag on forever. Repeat viewings haven't helped the situation any.

And how can you complain about Jessica Alba...AT ALL? Between her and Jessica Simpson's Daisy, my eyes are gonna get a tummy ache from all the candy this summer.

I'll try EP. First off I'll say that I'm not familar with all the power's Jessica should have vs. what it will be in the film. My 'beef' is that her power on the whole does not seem to do much. Yes it contains an explosion or something but the thing I don't get is the "Susan lets no fight." and Alba responds "No LETS!" and shoots the forcefield but it does not do much other then stuns the guy for a second. How much good is that really going to do? Unless you are next to the side of a building or something like that that power seems stupid. Granted in the film it may show a 'follow up' move but in the trailer she just stands there negating what little good her move did! Maybe somebody with more FF knowledge can fill me in but I don't get it. Also I think those jumpsuits are horrawful. They remind me of the outfits from Galaxy Quest.

[2-1B]

What Jim Jam said about the first trailer holds for me too - it really gets annoying after awhile. :D

Howevah, last weekend I saw a NEW trailer and it refreshed my interest . . . there's a great shot of The Torch staring at The Thing and asking, "where are you EARS ?" Too funny. :D

"The Human Torch was denied a bank loan."
--Ron Burgundy--

[Eternal Padawan]

Jessica Alba has the power to turn me into Mr. Fantastic. That is to say, certain parts of my anatomy start stretching. :D

[El Chuxter]

Has anyone noticed that there are about five commercials/trailers now, and they show the same stupid clips in different order?

Or that there have been several "exclusive sneak peeks" during season finales and such?

Or that Burger King isn't marketing the toys. (Though kudos to them on un-firing the Spicy Guy. In the BK EU, I think he's appointed to be the team's Herbie the Robot after the camera stops rolling.)

It looks like they realize they've got a dud on their hands.

And, although I'm not complaining, it looks like Sue will have many "I have to become invisible, but my clothes don't, so I have to take off my clothes, and then when I become visible again someone will see me, and much hilarity will ensue" moments.

[2-1B]

God willing.

[JimJamBonds]

And, although I'm not complaining, it looks like Sue will have many "I have to become invisible, but my clothes don't, so I have to take off my clothes, and then when I become visible again someone will see me, and much hilarity will ensue" moments.

Will there be the "waa waaa waaaaaa" type sound effect too? lol

Top three movies JJB won't be seeing this summer! (in no particular order)
1) Fantastic Four
2) War of the Worlds
3) Michael Jackson and the Chocolate Factory

In their places I'll just have to see "Wedding Crashers" more then once!!! :)

[2-1B]

In their places I'll just have to see "Wedding Crashers" more then once!!! :)

:taps nose in agreement:



So hey, now that BK has something with F4, does that mean they bumped SW out of the restaurants ? Maybe they're selling off old stock but yeah, what exactly IS BK doing for this promotion ? I'm really not sure, it's been poorly marketed in my opinion. :confused:

[JimJamBonds]

:So hey, now that BK has something with F4, does that mean they bumped SW out of the restaurants ? Maybe they're selling off old stock but yeah, what exactly IS BK doing for this promotion ? I'm really not sure, it's been poorly marketed in my opinion. :confused:

I went to BK yesterday (it wasn't by choice I had to quick get to work and my first option of T Bell was busy) and I didn't see anything SW related in the "restaurant." If I remember there are a few F4 figs (maybe only 4-5?) I should also note I didn't ask if they had any SW stuff laying around.

[Darth Alex]

I saw this with Brotha James today and while the reviews are MERCILESS like the ones on rottentomatoes and AICN, I give it a 3 outta 5.
NO, it's not the colors trilogy, Citizen Kane, 7 Samuri, Blue Velvet, or On The Waterfront.
But, it wasn't made by Corman, it's a heckuva lot better than Bana/Hulk, and in spite of the horrbile tragedy that was borne upon the world this week, FF4 made me laugh.
I had FUN.
Something none of us get enough of.
I loved M.C.'s envisioning of the Thing, what they did with the Human Torch, how Reed was a milquetoast, but still learning, and the fact that the B-movie elements and the comic pages sensibility were rooted in FUN. Loved the Lee cameo, even gets called LEE(seriously) even though he has a full name different than Stan...in the credits.
I'm sure some would lambaste me here for admitting to liking this, but we're in a golden comic book era for film, they DON'T have to be of Shawshank quality, and Marvel did OK with this one.
Go see it....it's lighter than WOTW, and while not as good as ROTS, LOTD, or Batman Begins, it's a nice 1:45min diversion.
Have fun...!

[Slicker]

If you get grilled then I'm gonna get it too Alex. I liked this one also. It wasn't the best movie in history but it was a good night out at the movies. Johnny was quite hilarious but not in an over the top way. Jessica Alba is hot. I loved The Thing, they picked the perfect actor to play him. Jessica Alba is hot. The action scenes were pretty decent. All in all a good movie.

BTW, Jessica Alba is hot.:kiss:

[Rocketboy]

Loved the Lee cameo, even gets called LEE(seriously) even though he has a full name different than Stan...in the credits.His name in the movie was Willie Lumpkin.

I liked the movie too.
I loved the fact that it didn't take itself too seriously. They had fun with it and gave it some of that silver age charm to it.

The only thing I didn't like was the Thing. His rock shouldn't have bended. But overall, I thought it was just a really fun movie.


Plus, any excuse (no matter how pitiful and blatant it was) to get Jessica Alba in her undies fine with me.
:D

[jonthejedi]

Mike Chiklis & Chris Evans stole the movie. Period. Hope Galactus is in the next one!

[Eternal Padawan]

Sam Raimi was passionate about directing Spider-Man.
Bryan Singer was passionate about making the best X-Men movie(s) he could.
Even Mark S. Johnson was excited about bringing DD to the screen.

Tim Story, hovever, seems trepiditious about filming a huge tentpole comic film, and it comes across in a huge way on screen. I don't blame the cast(which I thought through and through were excellent choices) and I don't blame the story ( which, to be frank, was a "filler issue" if you know what I mean). I blame a director who was doing a cookie cutter, by the numbers directing job on something which required a lot more tenacity, nuance and passion. i got the feeling that every time he told CHris Evans to say "Flame on!" or Michael Chiklis to say "It's Clobberin' time" it wasn't because he was giddy like a fanboy to hear those words out loud, but because someone TOLD him that's what the fans want to hear. He just didn't get it. I guess since it was the FF, I was expecting something more epic and a little less....pedestrian.

I expect Dr. Doom to have plans for world domination. A real world class threat. In this movie he comes across slightly more threatening than that drunk guy you see at the bar that used to be the star quarterback/homecoming king and now sells used used tires and beats his wife getting all up in your face after having one too many Jaegers. And since he doesn't actually attack the FF until the last 10 minutes of the film ( and gets thoroughly spanked) wel...lets just say if the REAL Dr. DOOM were reading the comic adaptation his reply would be "What fresh hell??.....RICHARDS!" Julian McMahon comes of as smarmy as he does on Nip/Tuck and I love the guy, but he's no Doom.

Ioan Gruffud does a satisfactory Reed. He doesn't reaaly come off as scatterbrained genius as Reed does in the books. I would like to have seen him in one of those rambling scenes where he's talking science nerd to himself really fast and everybody else is like "What??" or where he just does something and then he has to back up and explain himself. Ioan just barely doesn't come across as nerdily self involved as he should, but still does a good job.

Jessica Alba is HOT. HOT HOT HOT! Jessica Alba in bra and panties! Jessica Alba in a skintight blue jumpsuit with the zipper pulled down to somewhere near her belly button! HOT!! I laughed at one scene where she's talking to Reed about the reason she left is because she wanted to get an apartment at some point in their vague past and he was to dense to commit and I'm thinking "Was this when you were 12?" Yeah. But she's still easy on the eyes and does good as Sue, especially playing off her brother.

The high point of the movie came from both Chiklets and Evans. Their characterizations were spot on and they were having fun doing it.

Was this a bad movie. No way. I loved seeing the FF come to life. But was it great? No, surely not. And like I've said before, if a comic movie can't dare to be great, than it just sucks. It may sould like I'm not endorsing this movie, but I recommend checking it out, especially if you're a comic fan. It was good fun.

[General_Grievous]

I thought it was fun.

Jessica Alba is extremely hot.

Ioan Gruffudd was pretty good.

Michael Chiklis was awesome as Thing. I've been saying that since I first saw that he was cast.

Chris Evans was hilarious. The perfect Johnny Storm.

Julian McMahon sucked. He SUCKED as Dr. Doom. Lame lame lame. And how he was beaten was even lamer. Frozen into a statue? Please. I could've thought up a better way than that.

But Dr. Doom aside, I liked the movie.

But didn't Avi Arad or someone say something like there would be a cameo from another Marvel hero in the movie? I also read that due to The Incredibles, the movie had to have its ending changed? What's up with that?

[JetsAndHeels]

I saw it last night and really enjoyed it. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to the F4, but now after viewing the film I am a little more interested in them. I thought the cast was very good (however I do agree that Dr. Doom should have been a bit more solid). I also echo what has been said about Jessica....very, very hot to say the least. I liked seeing Stan Lee as the mail guy/deliverer...always fun to see where he is going to pop up in these Marvel Comics movies.
So anyway, like I said this movie was alot of fun and if you haven't seen it yet by all means do so. A very solid summer flick.

[jlw]

I've never read any of the Fantastic Four comics; but I saw the movie non-the-less. I like it. I thought it was good - not great. Not very much action, really only two scenes. I saw the movie as really being the launch pad for Fantastic Four 2. This movie basically introduces us to the characters, their powers and how they got those powers. I particularly liked the scene where Johnny Storm is pranking the Thing; and when Johnny sees Reed stretching from one bath room to the next to retrieve the toilet paper - that's a concept you don't ever consider: superheros using the bathroom!!

Yeah and I read that rumor too that another superhero would make an appearance in Fantastic Four; and also H.E.R.B.I.E the robot that replaced the Human Torch in the cartoon. With me not being familiar with the Fantastic Four I didn't know if things made it into the movie and I just missed them or what.

And what is the original back story of Dr. Doom? Evidently, not what was in the movie, which I thought worked out just fine.

[Hellboy]

For me the movie was entertaining. I've never really been a big fan of the Fantastic Four mainly because I've always felt the charcters were kind of shallow and uninteresting. I felt the same way as I watched this film but at the same time it wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. Far from being the worst Marvel movie, that award belongs to The Punisher IMO.

[Rocketboy]

Far from being the worst Marvel movie, that award belongs to The Punisher IMO.Couldn't help but notice the obvious typo...I get a feeling it should have read:
"Far from being the BEST Marvel movie, that award belongs to The Punisher IMO."
or
"Far from being the worst Marvel movie, that award belongs to Spider-Man IMO."


:D

[kool-aid killer]

I seen this yesterday and i like it. As i get to thinking about it i feel its a good movie, not as good as either of the Spiderman movies but much better than the Hulk. The comedy used in it worked because the actor used for the Human Torch was very believable in the role. I wasnt big on Chiklis as The Thing but felt he did a good job of conveying the pain Grimm endures from looking blatently different from everyone else. I wasnt really sold on Reed, his character seemed more like a background extra, no really significant moments stand out to me. Same goes with Albas character, aside from her obvious beauty she didnt really seem to be too involved. The Thing and Torch stole the movie for me. Doom was okay, i suppose, he didnt seem like i would expect him to be going from my limited knowledge of the Fantastic Four. But i think the story worked and because it did the movie was fine. Overall, i would recommend it to others, and i will be buying this on DVD when it comes out.

[jlw]

One thing about Fantastic Four that really didn't make any sense to me was...

SPOILER WARNING........................................... ............................







If the Thing needed Victor's help to keep enough electrical current running into the generator to turn back into Ben; then how is it that Ben was able to turn back into the Thing without Victor's help? And also, with Reed's failed attempt to reverse the radiation on himself; does this mean he is now permenantly "Mr. Fantastic"?

[2-1B]

I thought it was okay. I liked it. Not the greatest but still fun . . . I'd rank it just below DareDevil and ahead of Spider-Man 1.

[Jediboy]

I went into it with zero expectations other than hoping it would be better than Hulk and Elektra. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed. I hope they do get a chance to make more.

[scruffziller]

In alot of ways this movie was a fluff job. It seemed through the movie they were putting these charachters on the screen just for the sake of. It didn't have that good of story and the acting was pretty bad, except for Chiklis. He kept the movie going for what was there. I commend him for being in that suit for as long as he was. I bet it got REALLY HOT in that thing(sorry for the pun).;) Jessica Alba did a pretty good job. But maybe that is because I wasn't paying attention to her acting ability.;) :crazed: The fight between the 4 and Dr. Doom was a very short lived scene and should have been longer. Which made me realize that the entire movie was one big footnote- backstory. What a waste. I wonder if the boat that is taking Doom, is taking him to the country he will rule?:)

[kool-aid killer]

The boat did say "Latervia" on it, so i think its safe to assume he is going back to his home country. True, they spent a lot of time in developing the backstory, but that must be done in each of these Marvel (or anyother super hero movie for that matter) films in order for it to make any sense. Imagine if the Thing didnt spend so much time agonizing over his newfound appearance? If they do (and im hoping so) make a sequel we will most likely see a more exciting story since so much time will not be needed to aquaint the audience with the history/personality of the characters and subsequent struggles from the newly attained powers.

[UKWildcat]

Boy am I glad I missed this one in the theatre. I'm also glad that I decided to rent it as opposed to purchasing the dvd.

I tried watching this movie last night and had to stop it like 40-45 minutes into it. I thought the acting was rather horrible and before too long it became painful to watch. I didn't have high expectations going in but I figured w/ Alba in the film it would be "alright". :rolleyes: I was disappointed in her acting the most, not that she is the greatest anyways, but it was lame and cheesy. Some/most of the special effects were lame and not so special as well. Like some of you pointed out, The Thing looked like... ahh whats the point? The movie seemed to be going no where as well. Within the time frame of what I watched, the dull characters got their super powers and were testing them and trying to figure out how to control them and whatnot (this was nearly halfway through the movie too). Not much going on there. I guess I was expecting much more than it had delivered, kinda reminded me of a little movie called The Hulk. Actually, it reminded me a heck of a lot like The Hulk.

I guess I am being somewhat harsh considering I didn't even finish the film, but does it really get any better??!?!? I just can't see that happening. I don't even know if I want to find out. I guess one day in the not so near future I will finish this movie. Maybe when it comes on HBO or something. I hear they are working on a sequel for the year 2007... oh boy!!! I do predict that the sequel will be better than the original, with all the fluff-n-stuff out of the way.

What was Stan Lee thinking when he wrote and produced this?..this?...film I guess you could call it?!?!

I also found an article that basically echo's my entire view of the movie (link below)

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=19084

At least we have Spider-Man and X-Men; both with more sequels coming out which will restore some hope, dignity and respect in Stan Lee and the Marvel franchise.

[DarthBrandon]

My son & I watched this on the weekend, I thought it was quite entertaining & so did he. They did a nice job introducing the characters, Ben (aka the Thing) was great & so was the Human Torch, awesome job by both actors. Mr. Fantastic & Invisible Girl were O.K., pretty much like in the comic, they never seem to see two much action (brains behind the group). Dr Doom, meh, the actor that portrayed him did an O.K. job with what he was given to work with, but I thought there was something missing. My son loved it, Torch is his fav & I guess that' all that counts because whether on not we want to admit it, these rides were built for kids.:thumbsup: :thumbsup: from a kids point of view.

[/QUOTE]Dr. Dooms Origin:

When arriving at the university, Victor runs into Reed Richards at the science labs and takes an immediate dislike to him. By this time, Victor had already developed a distrust for outsiders and it is very unlikely they would have ever become buddies. He also refused Reed's offer to share a room and Reed takes Ben as his roomie instead. Victor and Reed soon become rivals and both become so advanced that they even baffle the professors on campus. Victor starts to cut classes in order to dedicate himself to his own personal project, which is a transdiminensional warp device to contact the netherworld - - and his long dead mother.

As this forbidden project nears completion, Reed visits Victor's room to see what he has been up to. He notices that there are some flawed calculations and attempts to warn Victor. Enraged by the invasion of his privacy, Victor dismisses Reed and his warning, plunging ahead with his final test. The device literally blows up in his face and he spends months recovering in a hospital. When the bandages are removed, Victor is horrified to see his face his permanently scarred. The extent of the damage has long been debated among FF fans. Victor leaves the US and goes off to Tibet in search of a mysterious sect of monks, seeking knowledge of the dark arts. It is here that he develops the first version of his armor and mask. Years later, he confronts Reed and his companions after they have gone on the fateful rocket trip. In fact, Reed had thought him to be dead.

Victor continues to despise Reed with a white hot passion because he knows that in that one fateful moment, Reed was right and Victor was wrong. One of Victor's obssessions is proving himself to be Reed's superior. The other is achieving power and world domination at all costs.

(Taken from superhero hype's message boards)
[/QUOTE]

I guess now we can see why this wouldn't fit into a two hour movie & could not be true to the comics. It is however similar in some ways.

[darthvyn]

What was Stan Lee thinking when he wrote and produced this?..this?...film I guess you could call it?!?!

WHOA, whoa, whoa, let's just strike this line from the record here. try not to besmirch the name of one of comicdom's legendary creators because of a movie adaptation written by someone else entirely. if anything, stan "the man" lee got writing credit for creating the characters in the first place, but the screenplay was written by Mark Frost and Michael France. also, if he got any producer credit, it was honorary. blame avi arad if you have to blame anyone for producing, although i don't see how the producer really has any blame.

now, i haven't seen it yet, so i'll reserve my judgement for after the viewing (which will be soon, as i rented it today, and will be watching it any day now...) but i had to respond to this wanton misrepresentation of stan lee's responsibility here.

[UKWildcat]

WHOA, whoa, whoa, let's just strike this line from the record here. try not to besmirch the name of one of comicdom's legendary creators because of a movie adaptation written by someone else entirely. if anything, stan "the man" lee got writing credit for creating the characters in the first place, but the screenplay was written by Mark Frost and Michael France. also, if he got any producer credit, it was honorary. blame avi arad if you have to blame anyone for producing, although i don't see how the producer really has any blame.

now, i haven't seen it yet, so i'll reserve my judgement for after the viewing (which will be soon, as i rented it today, and will be watching it any day now...) but i had to respond to this wanton misrepresentation of stan lee's responsibility here.

Okay... Okay... I see what your saying. I know Lee didn't write the entire screenplay/script and I'm not putting the blame solely on Stan lee, not at all. Everyone involved with the movie is at fault. I do hope Stan had very little or nothing to do with this film and he was just credited, or discredited depending on how you look at it. ;) I also hope that the script didn't pass over his desk and he approved it either, this probably didn't happen, though it should have.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that when movies like this come out, they make Stan look bad. When one thinks of Marvel, they think of Mr Stan Lee, then the studio gives Lee writing credit, producer credit, etc. so that doesn't help either.

I do apologize for the remark I made towards Mr Stan Lee. He is an amazing man, no doubt about that. Please forgive me :)

[darthvyn]

well, just finished it, and i have to say... i enjoyed it, overall. the only thing i really had a problem with was just about everything about doom. his writing, design, and acting were horrible. i know it could be really tricky to get this megalomaniacal evil genius right, but this is the text book on how to get it wrong.

but i thought the effects of the powers were well done, the banter between ben and johnny was dead-on, and i didn't have a problem with alba's acting. it caught me off-guard that sue and reed were broken up at the beginning, but i got over that one quickly. i was even impressed by the thing's suit, which i thought wasn't going to be done as well as it was.

[Jayspawn]

I dont know what UKWildcat was watching, but Fantastic Four was f'n awesome! It was a good, fun movie. It didnt try to be more than it was. The acting and good, special effects were sweet!

[Anakin Palpatine]

I loved the movie, I thought it was a little corny but I still loved it! It was worth buying on DVD!

[El Chuxter]

well, just finished it, and i have to say... i enjoyed it, overall. the only thing i really had a problem with was just about everything about doom. his writing, design, and acting were horrible. i know it could be really tricky to get this megalomaniacal evil genius right, but this is the text book on how to get it wrong.

I take it he didn't yell a lot and blast people who talked too much?

[darthvyn]

well, #1 problem was he didn't send anyone to the negative zone ;)

[Tycho]

This was mildly amusing (I just saw it on DVD for my first time), but I wasn't feeling the passion of the story or that involved with the characters. You had an ensemble cast, but you did with X-men as well - though you really were swept up with Wolverine's search for himself, Rogue's adapting to her new life, and Jean Grey's adapting towards the next step in her evolution - Magneto's divergent beliefs as well.

With Fantastic Four, they spent the whole movie trying to undo what was happening to them versus getting involved with a higher cause.

The Human Torch enjoyed himself though - while we enjoyed the idea of Jessica Alba unclothing in public. You felt some sympathy for Ben (The Thing), but the "violin music" was lacking there.

Cool ski-snowboarding scene though.

I don't know. Maybe I'll just have to watch this again. I didn't dislike it. But I'm not "into" these characters that much either. Not compared to Spider-Man, The Hulk, or X-men.

And X-men is a worthy comparison for this film as it is also an ensemble cast of a superhero team, but done just that much better.

I'll probably wait to see the sequel when it comes out on DVD as well. That being said, I also don't think I'll make any plans to buy this film.