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The Movie:  As the picture begins, Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) is desperate to find fiancing for his latest project, which involves studying the effects of a radiation storm in space, which looks to be headed near Earth. Billionaire Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) agrees to back the trip up, and soon Richards is heading into space with pilot Johnny Storm (Evans), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis). The only problem: once they actually arrive at the space station, it's not long before they find that the wave is actually ahead of schedule, and before they can prepare, the group is hit. When they arrive back on Earth, they eventually all come to realize that they have superpowers - Grimm has superhuman strength and is covered in stone, Sue can turn invisible and throw force fields, Johnny can use fire at will and Reed is now elastic. Of course, Von Doom also has his own plans. The movie takes a suprising amount of time trying to set-up the characters and story. While this isn't done in a particularly successful way (Ben's wife leaves him when she sees what he looks like, then we really never hear much about it after, there's an absurdly long and somewhat random-feeling snowboarding sequence with Johnny and a nurse), the picture still moves past the first hour with only a few draggy stretches. The list of considerable flaws starts off with a lackluster villian. While the movie is obviously set-up to try and make the picture an "origin" tale, if it's going to have a villian, at least try to make something out of them. Von Doom's whole plan is awfully thin and the character is not very developed. The other main issue is simply, who decided to make this movie so silly? The film doesn't seem to take itself seriously at all, offering a lot of jokiness. While some of the bits actually work well (the squabbles between the Evans and Chiklis characters, for example), the movie could have used some gravity to give material some impact. Michael France and Mark Frost’s script seems surprisingly average for a production this major, with some familiar subplots and so-so one-liners. Tim Story, who had previously helmed "Barbershop" and "Taxi", doesn't have anything on his resume that would suggest he'd be a right fit for this film, and it shows with the results, as the main fight sequences here are not as memorable as they should have been. Coming with the jokey tone is a less epic feel. The casting is a mixed bag, as well. Alba is miscast here, as she gives a performance that's essentially free of personality. Even worse is the wooden Griffudd. Much better are Evans and Chiklis, as Evans - despite being stuck in an arrogant character - is actually funny at times and gives some energy to the proceedings and Chiklis gets the character's sorrow, even if the script doesn't seem to. "Fantastic Four" is by no means a great movie, or one of the better films in the comic book/superhero genre. However, despite all of its faults (and there are certainly a few, as this definitely could have been a stronger, more memorable film had someone else been at the helm and the screenplay been reworked), the movie still somehow remained a passable and occasionally entertaining time waster, as the film's unique tone sometimes worked surprisingly well. The DVD VIDEO: "Fantastic Four" is presented by Fox in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen (a pan & scan presentation is also offered.) The presentation quality is largely excellent, as the image appeared well-defined and crisp at all times, with no moments of softness, even in wide shots. Images often showed off nice small object detail and depth. Unfortunately, while mostly stellar, the presentation was taken down a notch by a few minor instances of concerns, including some slight edge enhancement and a couple of very slight traces of pixelation. No print flaws or shimmering appeared. Colors looked bright and well-saturated, with no smearing or other concerns. Black level remained solid, as well. SOUND: "Fantastic Four" is presented by Fox in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. The presentation provided the expected audio assault during the action sequences, using the surrounds quite nicely to spread sound effects, ambience and score around the listener. Audio quality was also first-rate, as dialogue sounded crisp and clear, effects had punch and score remained crisp and clear. Bass also sounded tight and deep during the action moments. The DTS presentation remained a step above the Dolby Digital option, as the DTS soundtrack sounded richer and a bit more dynamic. The Dolby Digital effort also seemed slightly less detailed than the DTS edition. EXTRAS: actors Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd provide an audio commentary for the film. The commentary has the three having a grand time joking around and discussing their experiences working on the movie. Unfortunately, while the three are having fun, the commentary itself is a bit uneven for the listener, as while there are stretches that offer some good behind-the-scenes tidbits, there's also moments where a lot of praise is offered and what's going on in the film is essentially narrated. "Fantastic Four: Video Diary" has Alba filming her experiences going on the press tour for the movie. The other actors are there, but Alba is the one capturing all the goings-on. It's interesting to see all the promotional activities that the actors have to do on the lengthy tour. Rob Schneider even finds his way into the documentary. "Making of Fantastic Four" is a short promotional featurette. "Making a Scene" is a brief featurette that looks into the making of the "Bridge Rescue" sequence. Although fairly brief, this is a pretty informative piece and worth watching. The deleted scenes section offers three sequences, including a jokey moment where Griffudd's character becomes Wolverine for a second. We also get a piece on the casting, two music videos, two trailers, a soundtrack promo and an "Inside Look" promo teaser (no footage, just discussion) for "X-Men III". Final Thoughts: "Fantastic Four" could have been much improved had there been a different director, not to mention a reworked screenplay. It's a movie that takes the unexpected route of not taking itself seriously, which works for a few laughs, but also results in the movie lacking as much tension, conflict and emotion as a movie like this needs to succeed entirely well. Fox's DVD edition provides excellent audio/video quality, along with a nice collection of supplements. Overall, those interested who haven't seen it should try it as a rental first. 
Film Grade The Film B- DVD Grades Video 91/A Audio: 92/A Extras: 83/B |