Fantastic Four Reviews & Opinions

[crimsonquill]

Based on the fact that a Director's Cut of Fantastic Four was released before the new movie came out gives me the feeling that the missing footage from the movie is the yet-unfinished Galactus material that probably ended up being hinted at only because the FX footage was incomplete before the release date. FOX probably figured they would take some lumps from the fan community for this decision (note: the complete lack of representation at the Cons this past weekend because they knew that the audience would probably lynch them for going back on what they "promised" during the last screening) and would just release a 2 DVD "All-New Ending Director's Cut" to make up for it at Thanksgiving/Christmas. It's obvious from some of the plot holes that appeared at the end of the movie plus it being the shortest Marvel movie to date outside of Elektra.

- CrimsonQuill

[AncientSpirit]

Saw it.  Loved it.   Winced through the first part.  But the middle and the end were done brilliantly.

It's taken in $57.4 million in its first weekend; that's 1.3 million more than the first one.  And it came in as a PG film, instead of a PG-13 film.   As a parent, when my daughter was really young, my wife and I couldn't find enough PG films to take her to.  And like all kids, she wanted to see her favorite films over and over and over.  (I was forced to sit through the Lion King 4 x.)   So I figure that this movie will do well over the next few weeks where others get seen and then moved to the back of the line.

My now grown daughter saw the movie with me, and enjoyed it to -- and we discussed what story lines we'd like to see next.

The skrulls and Super Skrull, we figure, are out; they just used the S-Skrull device in this film.  So that wouldn't work.

What I really want to see is the whole sequence (probably two films) that starts with The original Frightful Four (using Spidey's Sandman, who was perfect) ... and then moving on to the Inhumans.   That would include the most awesome fight scene between Thing and Reed ever created, after the Wizard converts Ben to the dark side.   :D

My daughter doesn't think they'll get Sandman, and hopes for the Inhumans.  But I remain hopeful.  We also thought that Namor could be a great underwater epic.

When all the negative critic reviews came out I was disheartned.  But then I saw that everyday folks who had seen the movie and rated it on yahoo.com overwhelmingly enjoyed it.

Yes, they changed things for the movie ... and yes, some of the changes they made aren't great.   But still, this movie captures the essence of the Fantastic Four.    And it was fantastic.   :D

[Doctor TOC]

Finally got to see it this weekend, and I loved it. It's a great family superhero flick, which is just what an FF movie should be. My wife was unimpressed, but she's never read the comics and is comparing it to the first movie, which was definitely darker.

[spoiler]What I liked;

Reed - more assertive and in control, this is a Reed with more experience under his belt, who's getting used to the idea of his intellectual power and celebrity. Loved it.

Ben - Everyone forgets that Ben is smart, so I nearly cheered when Reed passed the satellite photos of the Surfer to Ben, who then comes up with a nice analysis of why the object can't be a meteor or comet. Loved the sense of humour he displayed, getting some payback with Johnny for the pranks and teasing. This is a Ben who's more comfortable with what he's become, grounded in the love of his family and his girl.

Johnny - Still a hothead and a grandstander, I really liked the way you could tell that, despite the models and the fast cars, what he really wanted was what Reed and Sue (and Ben and Alicia) have.

Sue - The conversation she had with Doom where she described just how easy it would be for her to kill him beatly highlighted the fact that she's easily the most powerful member of the team - and perhaps the most formidable. Out of all of them, she's the one who I have no problem believing would resort to lethal force if her family were threatened.

The Surfer - Holy ****, they just nailed him, didn't they? He was perfect. If the Surfer movie maintains that level of cool, I'm all over it. I loved everything they did with him, including his Teletubbies moment.

Doom's Armour - Lovely stuff, very close to classic Doom.

Galactus - I've heard a lot of criticism for the way they portrayed Galactus, but personally I thought it was way scarier than the big purple guy with the tuning fork helmet. This Galactus was unknowable, something beyond human experience, a living force of alien destruction. The shot they have of the Galactus cloud reaching out to grasp the Earth was a genuine scare, really emphasising the feeling that this one was for all the marbles. What I found really intriguing where the hints of the classic Galactus helmet during the climactic scenes inside the cloud; a subtle nod to the comics. Oh, and to those who think that Galactus was destroyed? Come on! Given the way that the thing seemed to implode, it looked to me more like the Surfer opened a wormhole or something and teleported it away. After all, if Galactus exploded, how come there wasn't any debris?

The Fantasticar! - Glee!

Things I didn't like so much;

Doom - Though I actually wasn't much bothered by Doom's return to the flesh after his encounter with the Surfer, I was bugged by what he did after he stole the board and the Power Cosmic. What was his plan after that? Just ride around and blow dren up? He knew Galactus was coming, and Doom is nothing if not a master schemer. He's always got a plan, so the apparent aimlessness of his little rampage seemed out of character.

Sue - Her whinging about the wedding and having a normal life didn't bug me too much, but her inactivity on the science front did. She's a scientist in the first movie, but didn't do much to demonstrate her intellect except wear "hot librarian" glasses in the second. And oh, I'm sorry, but as smoking hot as Jessica Alba is, that blonde hair looked fake in every single scene.[/spoiler]