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The Fantastic Four
Many people tend to forget that there was a Fantastic Four film before the 2005 Tim Story version. German production company Constantin Film (who still own the rights today) bought the rights from 1983 but due to budget concerns were unable to find a company to distribute it. Of course, Fox are behind the Fantastic Four distribution as of current. The rights were due to expire in 1992; after being refused the extension producer Bernd Eichinger decided to make a low-budget version with B-movie director Roger Corman. The film was never actually released but you can watch it for free on YouTube.
The film tells the story of the Fantastic Four's origin; Reed (Alex Hyde-White), Susan (Rebecca Staab), Ben (Michael Bailey-Smith) and Johnny (Jay Underwood) gain their powers from cosmic rays that break through Reed's cosmic shield and together they become the Fantastic Four - a dysfunctional superhero family unit who work together to fight supervillains. The Fantastic Four have a number of memorable villains in the comics ranging from the Puppet Master to Galactus (it's a shame Marvel/Disney currently can't use them); here, they are shown fighting Doctor Doom (Joseph Culp) and 'The Jewler' (Ian Trigger) who I still can't work out if he was supposed to be the Mole Man of the comics or not. What I really admire about this film is the way that it improves the team's origin. In the comics, it kind of falls flat because you would expect someone with the intelligence of Reed Richards would have been able to invent something capable of stopping the cosmic rays from entering the spacecraft. Here, however, the origin makes more sense as it is a deliberate sabotage due to the replacement of a diamond being used to power the cosmic shield with a fake copy (meaning that they fail). This is the origin that the Fantastic Four deserve - it remains faithful to the comic book's origin whilst also improving on it so it makes more sense.
Another plus is how faithful it remains to the Fantastic Four comics. Reed has his trademark grey pieces of hair, Doctor Doom actually looks like Doctor Doom and the spacecraft crash happens in a field that resembles where they discover their powers in the comics. It's extremely close to the first comic book story. If the Jewler is the Mole Man, then they even have the Mole Man appear in their first adventure as in the comics. It also squeezes in the brilliant character of Alicia (Kat Green), the kind blind girlfriend of The Thing who due to her disability sees him only as Ben Grimm and not the monster he has become. It feels like watching a Fantastic Four comic; more so than any of the other Fantastic Four films so far.
It is unfortunately let down by some poor acting. Reed and Victor's (who, of course, later becomes Doctor Doom - why does he always have to have some connection to the Fantastic Four in the films?) friendship is never convincing largely because Alex Hyde-White and Joseph Culp have no chemistry together. In fact, both seem a little dull. I wasn't entirely convinced by Alex-Hyde White and Rebecca Staab as a couple either because it largely feels forced and it's a bit weird seeing them meet once when they were younger then suddenly seeming so familiar with one another ten years later. Michael Bailey-Smith is a little better as Ben Grimm but you don't really get to see enough of his friendship with Reed before the fast-forward and the formation of the Fantastic Four. The best of the four leads is probably Jay Underwood as Johnny. He's nothing compared to Chris Evans' Human Torch but still brilliantly plays the cocksure hotheaded attitude of Johnny Storm. He pretty much steals the film and provides the most memorable performance of any of the actors in the film.
The acting is likely not the reason why this take on Fantastic Four was never released commercially though. Whilst special effects aren't a major concern for me when I decide to watch a TV show or movie, a lot of the effects in this film are terrible and you can tell they were made on the cheap. The most obvious example is The Thing, who looks horrendous - like something you'd put together with items from Poundland. It's not just the costume that looks bad but simple movement like the lips when he talks or the raising of the eyebrows. Nothing really looks convincing about it. The flying effect for Johnny Storm looks pretty ropey too; you can tell it's a very early cheap CG sequence and his body really isn't flying or on fire and it could take some viewers out of the movie. If you're used to watching low-budget films or TV shows like the classic series of Doctor Who you'll probably be fine though.
Overall, the 1994 Fantastic Four film is a faithful adaptation of the comics that is unfortunately let down by bad acting and some ropey special effects. It's still the most accurate version of the Fantastic Four so far though, if not the best (I still prefer the Tim Story films) and it manages to improve on the Fantastic Four's origin story.
Many people tend to forget that there was a Fantastic Four film before the 2005 Tim Story version. German production company Constantin Film (who still own the rights today) bought the rights from 1983 but due to budget concerns were unable to find a company to distribute it. Of course, Fox are behind the Fantastic Four distribution as of current. The rights were due to expire in 1992; after being refused the extension producer Bernd Eichinger decided to make a low-budget version with B-movie director Roger Corman. The film was never actually released but you can watch it for free on YouTube.
The film tells the story of the Fantastic Four's origin; Reed (Alex Hyde-White), Susan (Rebecca Staab), Ben (Michael Bailey-Smith) and Johnny (Jay Underwood) gain their powers from cosmic rays that break through Reed's cosmic shield and together they become the Fantastic Four - a dysfunctional superhero family unit who work together to fight supervillains. The Fantastic Four have a number of memorable villains in the comics ranging from the Puppet Master to Galactus (it's a shame Marvel/Disney currently can't use them); here, they are shown fighting Doctor Doom (Joseph Culp) and 'The Jewler' (Ian Trigger) who I still can't work out if he was supposed to be the Mole Man of the comics or not. What I really admire about this film is the way that it improves the team's origin. In the comics, it kind of falls flat because you would expect someone with the intelligence of Reed Richards would have been able to invent something capable of stopping the cosmic rays from entering the spacecraft. Here, however, the origin makes more sense as it is a deliberate sabotage due to the replacement of a diamond being used to power the cosmic shield with a fake copy (meaning that they fail). This is the origin that the Fantastic Four deserve - it remains faithful to the comic book's origin whilst also improving on it so it makes more sense.
Another plus is how faithful it remains to the Fantastic Four comics. Reed has his trademark grey pieces of hair, Doctor Doom actually looks like Doctor Doom and the spacecraft crash happens in a field that resembles where they discover their powers in the comics. It's extremely close to the first comic book story. If the Jewler is the Mole Man, then they even have the Mole Man appear in their first adventure as in the comics. It also squeezes in the brilliant character of Alicia (Kat Green), the kind blind girlfriend of The Thing who due to her disability sees him only as Ben Grimm and not the monster he has become. It feels like watching a Fantastic Four comic; more so than any of the other Fantastic Four films so far.
It is unfortunately let down by some poor acting. Reed and Victor's (who, of course, later becomes Doctor Doom - why does he always have to have some connection to the Fantastic Four in the films?) friendship is never convincing largely because Alex Hyde-White and Joseph Culp have no chemistry together. In fact, both seem a little dull. I wasn't entirely convinced by Alex-Hyde White and Rebecca Staab as a couple either because it largely feels forced and it's a bit weird seeing them meet once when they were younger then suddenly seeming so familiar with one another ten years later. Michael Bailey-Smith is a little better as Ben Grimm but you don't really get to see enough of his friendship with Reed before the fast-forward and the formation of the Fantastic Four. The best of the four leads is probably Jay Underwood as Johnny. He's nothing compared to Chris Evans' Human Torch but still brilliantly plays the cocksure hotheaded attitude of Johnny Storm. He pretty much steals the film and provides the most memorable performance of any of the actors in the film.
The acting is likely not the reason why this take on Fantastic Four was never released commercially though. Whilst special effects aren't a major concern for me when I decide to watch a TV show or movie, a lot of the effects in this film are terrible and you can tell they were made on the cheap. The most obvious example is The Thing, who looks horrendous - like something you'd put together with items from Poundland. It's not just the costume that looks bad but simple movement like the lips when he talks or the raising of the eyebrows. Nothing really looks convincing about it. The flying effect for Johnny Storm looks pretty ropey too; you can tell it's a very early cheap CG sequence and his body really isn't flying or on fire and it could take some viewers out of the movie. If you're used to watching low-budget films or TV shows like the classic series of Doctor Who you'll probably be fine though.
Overall, the 1994 Fantastic Four film is a faithful adaptation of the comics that is unfortunately let down by bad acting and some ropey special effects. It's still the most accurate version of the Fantastic Four so far though, if not the best (I still prefer the Tim Story films) and it manages to improve on the Fantastic Four's origin story.