fumanstan

I'm assuming because they're unable to generate enough power for the reversal process. It was only with Dr. Doom that it worked.

fumanstan

For this particular film, i wouldn't say there's animosity. But it's certainly odd that the general response on this forum has been overwhelmingly positive versus the rather poor reviews the film has gotten.

As for rare posts by film snobs? Maybe its because those threads were deleted

darkside

Its a good mindless popcorn film and there is nothing wrong with that, but I totaly agree with all the critics that panned the film. Definitely not a movie I will get on DVD or ever care to see again. I had low expectations going into the movie and sure enough the Fantastic Four lived up to all of them. Cool special effects, mediocre story and bad acting. Standard summer blockbuster movie all around. For what its worth I enjoyed this film more than War of the Worlds. This film was at least fun to watch if you overlook some of the flaws. War of the Worlds was not fun to watch for me in anyway.

Compared to Batman Begins this film looks like something that should have been direct to video.

Goldberg74

To me it was a good film.

I wouldn't mind a sequel and I will be buying the DVD.

Too bad I saw this the day after seeing Batman Begins. I might have liked it more if I hadn't just watched one of the Best. Comic. Book. Movies. Ever!

scott shelton

I didn't realize I was a film snob.

That's the first I've heard of that.

gerrythedon

The only 2 good things about this movie:

Lauren Sanchez
Jessica Alba

ok I give it this. It's not a piece of shit like Hulk & Punisher [haven't seen Catwoman].

Dr. DVD

Saw it. Not great, but not bad as some reviews would lead you to believe. The acting was solid from everyone, and if they ever make a movie about Thing with Michael Chiklis in the lead, I will be first in line to see it, he was amazing. The movie did capture the spirit of the comic for the most part, I just didn't care about the contrived efforts to sell a soundtrack and other products being all over the place. FWIW, one could say that Jessica Alba gets naked in the movie and they wouldn't be lying!

Unlike many others, I had no real problem with Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom, at least until he actually donned the mask. For the most part, they captured the essence of Doom always trying to outdo Richards in one way or another, and McMahon's acting was very good IMO. The problem lay within how the character was written towards the end. Doom was never a whimsical wisecracking villain prone to playing games, I don't know why they felt the need to make him such. Also Hell, at one point Doom was not only a Fantastic Four villain, but the main villain of the whole Marvel World. He always had others do his dirty work.

Overall, a solid B, and like everyone else, I too hope we get a sequel. Also, kudos to Fox for making a big budget movie where every cent was evident on screen. One of the problems I have with big star movies that cost a lot is that they invest so much in the names, that they don't have much left to put into the rest of the film. Since no one in this was really a big marquee name (I think Alba was the biggest name they had) , they were able to use their budget to make the movie look good, and it showed.

OldBoy

Is Ben Grimm (Thing) really that short in the comics? In the movie he seems shorter than the rest. Is this how it is supposed to be?

LivingINClip

They ruined Doom and the FX was medicore.

Still, it was the best Marvel movie to date.

Terrell

maingon

hey i think it comes close, i had a great time watching it

calhoun07

Thinking more about it, I realized where they went wrong with Victor Von Doom. In the comics, he is always (or at least in the runs of FF I have read) portrayed as a close, personal friend of Reed Richards, but their relationship goes sour (was it always over Sue??? I believe in the Ultimate FF, Victor gets angry at Reed for unleashing the power of the Negative Zone which gives them their powers). I think that makes him one of the most interesting comic book villians, perhaps of all time. For years growing up reading the FF, I ranked Dr. Doom up there with Darth Vader for the best villian over all, and it's not just because of the masks both chose to wear. Dr. Doom always seemed to possess this sinister presence whenever he graced the pages of the comic book, and he was almost terrifying, even in his two dimensional world. Yet in the movie, he doesn't really feel that threatening, nor even that great of a villian where a newbie to the FF universe would say, "Wow, this guy is bad ass as Darth Vader!"

It's too late now, obviously, but I think I would have gone with the original character arcs, where Reed causes a scarring of Victor, and their relationship is severed, but perhaps they don't know who this Dr. Doom character is until later into the story, then maybe we get a bit of a flash back to where Reed and Victor were good friends and what happened. His sinister presence not being so sinister aside, what hurt Dr. Doom in this movie is that he had no emotional ties to Reed Richards as a good friend wronged. They struck me as opponents from long ago instead of once great friends.

Baron Of Hell

Just saw this and thought it was a good movie. I'm not a big f4 fan and have only seen doom go up against other like the avengers, spiderman, and the xmen. I think comic doom is a lot more powerful than the movie doom and had a better origin. I think the actor playing doom did the best he could with what they gave him.

Everyone did a good job acting wise and effects were ok. I don't think this is a must see but you should rent it if you like superhero movies.

Deftones

Saw it just now. Wasn't super, wasn't horrible. Probably middle of the road in terms of superhero flicks. I think the best choice they could have ever made was getting Chicklis for The Thing. Hands down one of the best casting choices for any superhero flick.

brainee

I just saw this, and I find myself agreeing with the consensus here much more than the published critics. No where near as bad as the critics suggest. I was heartened to see many little ones in the theater enjoying it. As an adult who enjoys comic stories, it's easy to wish they were darker, more serious, mature. But the stuff that got me into these types of movies as a kid weren't like that -- my idea of prime superhero action was the 60s Spiderman cartoon, Superfriends cartoons, Richard Donner's Superman. It would be rather sad if the superhero genre changed so that it no longer appealed to kids (which I fear is the state of many of the superhero comics in print).

Everyone's hit on the flaws of the FF: Doom and Invisible Girl were weak, effects maybe not up to par all the time, a silly origin story, plot holes/inconsistencies (not to mention laughable science). But overall it was entertaining, which is the top think I look for from my superhero movies.

BTW, here's something I may have missed:

johnnysd

Looks like it drew very well, way above even studio expectations. I think word of mouth will be strong. I really liked it and thought it captured the feel of a comic book maybe better than any movie before, and also "got" the FF. I look forward to another film. Not every movie needs to be dark, have a serious theme. Sometimes a movie can just be great entertainment, which this was. Unfortunately it seems many cannot get past a lot of their own biases and just enjoy it. I suffered from that for the first 15 minutes or so (Sue is too young, Reed is too young, Doom was not this way, blah, blah...) but I let it go and had a great time. Audience LOVED it and gave two rounds of applause at both "endings". Suprisingly, my favorite film of the summer.

gmal2003

I too enjoyed the movie. The critics were off base here as they were looking for a "deeper" plot I suppose. Every film cant be Batman Begins. This flick was a fun, lighter comic movie which works for me.

Ky-Fi

I read the comics as a kid (not too familiar with them since the late 70's), and the one thing that brought me out of the picture was the Reed Richards character---I just pictured someone older, and more importantly more authoritative, stern and obsessed with science. This RR seemed a bit too unsure of himself---I think the overall dynamic between the group would have been better with RR being older and more sure of himself. Still, I thought the overall movie was pretty good---not up there with the best Marvel adaptations, but not bad, either. The Thing was well cast, and I thought the actor playing Johnny was very good. Jessica Alba was almost TOO much of a hottie that it was a bit distracting, but I guess her acting was OK. Doom was a bit too much of a pretty-boy rather than a major heavy, IMO. But not a bad flick, and I'd probably pick up the DVD.

rafaeljose

I still havent seen the movie. Between the critics' reviews and your word of mouth, its quite a toss-up. I might go by tomorrow to avoid the crowds and get the discount movie tickets. Based on how it goes in worldwide boxoffice, I do hope that it gets a chance to become a franchise. X2 was a big improvement over the original X-Men movie.

The Antipodean

After the awful reviews and bad pre-release buzz, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to see it, but for the most part, I had an enjoyable time at the picture show. I walked out with a grin.

"Fantastic Four" is no "Spider-Man," but in its own way, it's solid popcorn summer-movie fun, with action, humor and decent effects. I'm not sure what the critics are reviling it for -- and I have to say, the constant comparisons to "The Incredibles," a movie that "FF" only has the most superficial of resemblances to, is a pretty lazy crutch in most of the reviews I've read. "The Incredibles" is about parenting, really - this is about friends. Is it perfect? Hardly. But it gets the job done. I appreciated its lighthearted tone, and that's why this movie is going to turn out to be a rather unexpected hit.

Even though I quite liked "Batman Begins" and its dead-serious take on Batman, and it's definitely a better movie than "FF," I was ready for a more joyful comic movie. After the gritty, sometimes dour takes like "Hulk," "Elektra," "Daredevil," even the "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" movies to lesser extents, it started to feel like every hero is shrouded in shadows and self-loathing. I also was very glad this movie didn't fall back on the movie comic cliché of modern times, the big ol' technological doomsday device that will destroy the city/area/world if it isn't stopped. (Even "Batman" was guilty of that one.)

My one big beef is that Dr. Doom in this movie bears so little resemblance to the comic Doom, I'm calling him "Earth 2 Doom." A combination of the "Ultimate Fantastic Four" version and Gordon Gekko from "Wall Street," this Doom is just kind of OK as a sneering zillionaire villain, played with oily menace by McMahon, but he gets real close to plain silly when he puts on his armor for the movie's climax.

I don't mind changing things from a comic if they stay true to the essence, and the comic book Dr. Doom's origin is way too complicated to do well in a 90-minute movie. But this Doom lacks any of the imperious presence, power or intelligence that has made him one of comic books' best foes for decades. This Doom - well, he's just another deranged madman out for revenge. Didn't ruin the movie, but didn't really help it, either.

I'll buy the "Fantastic Four" DVD, and if they make a sequel, I'll check it out too. It may not be "Fantastic," but it's at least a solid "B."

Goldberg74

Looks like FF pulled in an estimated $56M this weekend.

We have to remember that Hulk (2003)opened with $65M then went on to only make $132M and lost all hopes of a sequel.

While I would like to see another FF movie (and a Hulk one for that matter), I'm not holding my breath.

sinister

not to sound whiny but i won't see this movie. dr. doom is the greatest villain of all-time. he's ruler of his own country, he built his own suit of armor ala iron man. he's not a gay business man like they make him out to be in the movie. his voice makes people tremble in their booties. he's DOOM. he doesn't get defeated, he only suffers setbacks. the guy has his own time machine in his castle in latveria. show us his brilliance people at fox. hey avi arad, quit pushing out lousy scripts to second an third rate directors.

Deftones

I am pretty sure they've been talking about doing another Hulk. It made enough money overseas and w/ DVD to warrant a sequel.

maingon

i can see a fan of a comic book being mad that they changed stuff with dr. doom, but because it works in a comic book doesnt mean that would work well in a film at all

eXcentris

Yup, except that when faced with the above criticism, the mainstream movie-goer will shout "but it's only a popcorn flick!". Sorry, I don't see why, as a critic, I should lower my standards and overlook all the film's flaws because "it's a popcorn flick". If I find the film entertaining and I had a good time I'll mention it, but I'm sure as hell not going to give a film a free pass on criticism.

I never write comments like that either, except that I think C) is mostly true. General movie audiences tend to confuse "like" with "good". For different reasons (entertainment value, "camp" factor, etc...) I like a lot of mediocre films, but I sure as hell don't go around arguing that said films are cinematic masterpieces.