I went to see Fantastic Four, and yet again I was too lazy to write out the review. So, once again I’ve decided to put it up in a video format. This time it’s in Windows Media format instead of Real Player.
Let me remind you yet again that this IS NOT a glimpse at The Video Edition which is coming soon. This was filmed with a webcam and is much lower quality than The Video Edition will be.
Anyway, to view my 3 minute review of Fantastic Four just click here.
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Just one thing to point: people will remember “The Incredibles” when watching this one probably because they don√Ǭ¥t know anything about the Fantastic Four. Actually, “The Incredibles” was a parody of the fantastic four characters. FF was created much earlier than TI, but it never get a movie worth releasing. The actual F4 movie was to be released BEFORE TI, but due to budget problems and lack of dates it had to be delayed… even more to avoid comparisons between them.
I watched F4 and I√Ǭ¥d give it a 6.5 out of 10. It√Ǭ¥s not a bad movie at all, it√Ǭ¥s just not pretentious. I would tell you this is a “popcorn movie”.
Could you name your videos with a prefix of MOVIEBLOG_xxxx ?
As for your review, the first thing I thought of at the END of the movie was the incredibles. The reason why The Incredibles is a better film is because there’s so much more you can do with CGI and animation than with human actors that leave room for interpretation.
Interesting that you didn’t mention Dr. Doom’s character at all. Maybe it’s because you forgot about him – trust me, he wasn’t that much of a stand out villian in this movie, but what I couldn’t get was how he was so much more sinister as PRE Dr. Doom than he was as Green Robed and Masked Dr. Doom.
AND – where did the green robe and orange dress come from? What are those materials made out of?
And why couldn’t the “Fantastic Four” figure out that thier companion would have side effects too and yet ignore what side effects those may have been??? They didn’t even have any concern for him whatsoever!
Another thing that angered me – how can you possibly explain why the telelvision studios used the word “Fantastic” to describe these four super heros? Why not the “Awesome Four” or the “Incredible Four”?
Also – The Thing and the Human Torch STOLE this movie. I found the character of Mr. Fantastic the weakest, and the character of Dr. Doom the second weakest. Unfortunately the middle of the road character was Jessica Albas, only because she made the most out of a role that really didn’t have much to do or say. Her alleged love for Mr. Fantastic wasn’t really conveyed properly, and we don’t believe that she’s been “with” Victor Von Doom for 2 years either.
The ending was the best part, though it was way too similar to The Incredibles.
Then again, the Incredibles STOLE all of the characters from the Marvel Universe and decided to use them as thier own, which is an unfair advantage.
As well, this “Sky High” movie completely obliterates all of the major storylines that come out of any and all characters created by both DC and MARVEL.
As for the action sequences in the movie, the highlights were Mr. Fantastic Vs. The Thing and The Thing Vs. Human Torch. Doom Vs. The Thing reminded me of Spiderman 2 too much when they were falling down the building.
And why would they let Dr. Doom just stand there in a frozen state and not destroy him? Why did Alba suddenly decide to show some emotino for her lover, even after seeing how he was going to allow not only her friends but HER to die, as well as attack her to try to kill her??
Poor acting on Alba’s part, but then again, I feel that sequences were cut from the film that would have communicated this better.
One final thing.
Did anyone catch the Sam Raimi esque close-up sequences that have trademarked every single one of his action movies since Evil Dead I? There’s a closeup of the truck driver … a sort of quick camera-zoom that was completely unnecessary, and it happens a couple of other times during the film. Totally stolen from Raimi. If you don’t believe me, watch the truck driver sequence again if you see the movie again, and then watch Spiderman 2 – very beginning – when Parker looks at the time on the clock tower – camera zoom toward the tower, and then a camera quick-zoom to Parker’s face. THAT’s the way it should be done. There was no reason to zoom in on the truck driver that was already shot in a previous frame.
My synopsis? It was *EXACTLY* what I expected. A weak storyline with mediocre special effects and lots of humor. I wasn’t expecting so much infighting between characters, though, and I was throughouly unmoved by the ending, even after “THE END” popped up on screen.
My god! Watching that review made me actually want to go see this. Not spend $8 “see this” but I’ll no doubt go see it when it drops to the 2nd run theatres.
– Video Review Review –
That wood paneling behind you, the orange hue from the lighting and the blocky video makes you look like youre a terrorist prisoner pleading for rescue.
Good review, but i was more concerned for your safe return rather than what you had to say about the movie.
I went into this movie expecting to completely hate it, but to my surprise I didn’t. I didn’t love it, but it was entertaining on a mindless popcorn level. I enjoyed the effects and thought The Thing was the best part of the movie. Though there was more chemistry between The Thing and Johnny than between Reed and Sue.
I hated Dr. Doom, he needs to be re-cast more than Jessica Alba. When the character made the final transformation he was nothing more than a talking mask. The actor has absolutely no strong voice inflexion, so you want to break into laughter as he talks through the mask. It’s sad how they turned this character into a greedy petty thug.
The rest of the cast played their characters decently, but I still think that Alba is too young to play Sue Storm. Not to mention she plays one character all the time – Dark Angel. Or maybe it’s herself? Who can tell.
And though this would not bother most, what was with the 5 layers of eye make-up through out the movie? I know, it’s a small thing most wouldn’t notice, but I use to have a job doing make-overs and it’s still a hobby of mine. So, when I go see a movie or even TV I tend to pay attention to the make-up on the actors.
All in all it’s a C+ movie because it does entertain and has some good funny moments.
I agree with the above. These video reviews rule.
On FF, I agree. Not one of the best comic book adaptations out there, but certainly not the worst either. The dialog didn’t bother me, and the visuals weren’t half bad either. If I had one huge bone to pick it’s with the portrayal of Dr. Doom. He was kinda lame, and in much need of a voice make-over after his transformation. I know the film wasn’t all that faithful to the original either, but then again – I’ve always felt the F4 were kinda dumb anyway. Kinda the *hot* red-headed stepchild book of the early Marvel books. You can’t totally discount it, but it has lasted all these years.
Keep up the good work, and look into using Quicktime video. Should make for filesizes equal to what you’ve already got, but better looking.
I agree the movie came along as it felt too fast..although i will say this that the comedy was funny, alot of one liners. I agree with John though, bad idea airing this movie two weeks right after Batman Begins. By the way John. Great review. Although im very happy you went with Media Player…for a minute i got worried you’d of gone to Real media…god that awful video player…anyhoo till next review…or news..lol
Just a word on their totally lame names.
Superheros of this age (1961) were not exactly inspired names. The “rules of cool” didnt exist yet, and more subtle names that embody not only their powers, but attitude didnt come until later (XMen started it a bit in ’63 with myth inspired character names like Cyclops and later Collossus) This was an age where putting MAN on the end of things made them a super.
That being said, the names will only seem hokey to new viewers who will think THIS is a tribute to Incredibles. Changing the names to something more creative to make it more modern would have instantly resulted in a RAMPAGE.
snicker
I really liked what ya did with the Video Review. A pretty cool way of incorporating clips from the movie, and your delivery was great. And thanks for not posting it in RealPlayer format =)
Hope to see more!
The Incredibles was a fun parody of super heros and still had it’s own uniqness too it. The Venture Bros. poked fun at the Fantastic Four as well with one of their episodes. I guess the powers of the Fantastic Four can only work well outside of the Fantastic world.
This is probably because the characters are dull and their powers are the only thing that keeps us entertained, from reading the comic books anyways. It was a real bore to read when I was younger, I skipped to the pages where the fighting and their powers were in use.
As of right now the best comic movies have to be X-2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Sin City, and Batman Begins. The rest are pieces of worthless crap made by people who are not creative in the terms of thinking about what makes a good story and what looks good on the big screen. I am waiting and hoping Ghost Rider will be good, along with Iron Man as well.
As a die hard comic book fan, will I cry over how sucky this movie is if I go see it? I mean is it so bad I will scream? John said the special effects were good and the humor was good, so i’ll check this movie out, but once my pissed off bar is filled to the top, i’m going to walk out before the movie is over and get my money back.
That’s the first believable review of the Fantastic Four that I’ve seen. Only one point of critique, and it’s just my opinion so I can’t say it really means much… You have to watch how you throw around that “best comic book movie” title. Batman Begins was a decent movie. And I say “decent” in the most mundane sense. I can’t quite put my finger on what was wrong with it. I’ll probably end up watching it a few more times in an attempt to pinpoint it. (By the way, I’m sure that I’ll enjoy watching it again, because it is, after all, a decent movie.) Still, there’s something off about it. Good enough for sequels, but not anywhere near the same league as the X-men and Spider-man franchises. And certainly not worthy of “best comic book movie” praise.
Just my two cents.
That was great. Can’t wait for the Video Edition.
really enjoyed this movie. (wasn’t a fan of the trailer)
only bad thing was that it ended to fast.
doom was cool.
rubber stone suit worked well on the big screen.
can’t wait for F4 2.
now to watch johns review :)