I love Superhero movies…
I can’t help it, you know… it’s just really cool to discover how mainstream your interests are. I never thought I’d say this, but thank god for Blade and Wesley Snipes. I never really got into the character or the movie, but people did, and because they did… wham! You’ve got really decent superhero flicks like the current US Box Office #1, “Fantastic Four”.
The first thing that struck me when I saw the trailers was how amazing the casting was. Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd, last seen in King Arthur as Lancelot, is transformed into the splitting image of “Mr. Fantastic” Reed Richards. Even without the trademark white streaks in his hair (which later appeared a la Anna Paquin’s “Rouge”), the similarities were uncanny. Julian McMahon, of Nip/Tuck and Charmed fame, sizzles as Victor Von Doom, especially behind that mask. And Michael Chiklis as The Thing was nothing short of inspired. Apparently we have Jennifer Garner to thank for that casting decision, if imdb.com is to be believed. One wonders how she can pick the perfect guy for a superhero… and screw up picking the perfect guy for herself. Ah, stupidity.
But, back to the show. It was, as kakita put it, “nonsense!” and indeed, it never claimed to be anything else. One of the greatest trademarks of the Fantastic Four is that they are almost never derided by the public. Instead, the general populace has, from their comic book origins, always embraced these four unexpected superheroes as their idols. Which is admittedly a welcome change after every other superhero flick has portrayed the hero as one that is feared because of their differences - the “Spider-Man”/”X-Men” syndrome. It’s good to finally have a movie that reminds the audience, whether they realise or not, that the original Marvel superheroes were never feared. Personally, this also means I don’t have to sit through another fable with a moral about how we should always accept who we are.
Sure, the Thing is all about not initially accepting his grotesque appearance, leading to his eventual realisation that his hideous mug comes with the job description. That’s all well and good, but I guess having En next to me in the cinema kinda made the Reed/Sue subplot all the more enjoyable. But that’s another story.
Fantastic Four rules the roost as being the first superhero movie to just enjoy its status among the others in the genre. It doesn’t try to top the Spider-Man or X-Men franchises, but rather holds its own, even in the wake of the very successful (and similar) Incredibles movie. I gave it a 7 out of 10.
July 16th, 2005 at 12:13 am
In an offtopic pov: I was just skimming through your post, and I had to doubletake on “a la Anna Paquin” because of you should know why, haha. Sorry, that was completely out of nowhere, but just thought you might like to know, lol.
July 16th, 2005 at 10:01 am
*confuzzled* I should know why? I don’t know why… At least I don’t think I know why I should know why.
*confuzzled*
July 16th, 2005 at 1:25 pm
The problem: the cast definitely was competent, sadly, the story wasn’t. Most of it felt like a giant prequel, which I guess makes some sense, being an origin and all, but worst of all was how Doom was basically emasculated.
Yes, Doom was vain, but Doom wasn’t Doom enough. Doom isn’t meant to look entirely inept, being instead at the very least Richard’s intellectual equal. Doom was shortchanged.
July 16th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
But how would you make Doom more “competent” without making him less believable? But I agree, there aren’t enough fanboy moments.
July 18th, 2005 at 3:32 pm
no lah, just suddenly thought why my name appeared in your post.
July 18th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
Talk about egotistical…
July 20th, 2005 at 7:19 am
Wah piang eh… I didn’t even notice I did that till you pointed it out. Okay lah, I admit it! I have a secret crush on raydance and I’ve been secretly putting her name all over my blog!!!111!!1
*faints*
July 20th, 2005 at 4:12 pm
I still prefer Batman Begins… followed by Initial D (cos the ending was a tad disappointing).
I don’t get one thing, F-4 have no masks. Doesn’t that mean every super villain will know who they are? And if their uniform gets torn, who’s gonna sew it back and with what? Was never a fan of F-4 specifically, so I’m wondering what deviations from the comic there is.
Interesting how most comic book adaptations leave the ending with a “Hmm, looks like there’s gonna be a sequel” sort of scene.
I wonder how long the comic to movie adaptation will last…
July 20th, 2005 at 8:33 pm
The biggest deviation from the comic was Doom himself, but in answer to the other question, yes, the Fantastic Four are, and for a long while were the sole, public superheroes in the Marvel Universe. The whole thing about putting family and loved ones in trouble was kinda moot since three out of the Fantastic Four are family, and Ben Grimm’s girl Alicia Masters is, well… dead. For the moment. I think.
Interestingly enough, the current Marvel Universe has moved in this direction, with heroes like Captain America and Iron Man disclosing their alter egos publicly. It remains to be seen if anyone truly cares anymore.