Product Description

Four astronauts obtain superpowers after exposure to cosmic radiation and set out to save the world and foil the plans of the evil Doctor Doom.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: EVANS/ALBA/CHIKLIS/GRUFFUDD/MCMAHON
Title: FANTASTIC FOUR
Street Release Date: 07/17/2007
Domestic
Genre: ACTION / ADVENTURE

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4894 in DVD
• Brand: EVANS/ALBA/CHIKLIS/GRUFFUDD/MCMA
• Released on: 2005-12-06
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.com
Marvel Comics' first family of superherodom, the Fantastic Four, hits the big screen in a light-hearted and funny adventure. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd, Horatio Hornblower) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help from former schoolmate and rival Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon, Nip/Tuck) in order to pursue outer-space research into human DNA. Also on the trip are Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis, The Shield); his former lover, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba, Dark Angel, Sin City), who's now Doom's employee and love interest; and her hotshot-pilot brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans, Cellular). Things don't go as planned, of course, and the quartet becomes blessed--or is it cursed?--with superhuman powers: flexibility, brute strength, invisibility and projecting force fields, and bursting into flame. Meanwhile, Doom himself is undergoing a transformation.

Among the many entries in the comic-book-movie frenzy, Fantastic Four is refreshing because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Characterization isn't too deep, and the action is a bit sparse until the final reel (like most "first" superhero movies, it has to go through the "how did we get these powers and what we will do with them" churn). But it's a good-looking cast, and original comic-book cocreator Stan Lee makes his most significant Marvel-movie cameo yet, in a speaking role as the FF's steadfast postal carrier, Willie Lumpkin. Newcomers to superhero movies might find the idea of a family with flexibility, strength, invisibility, and force fields a retread of The Incredibles, but Pixar's animated film was very much a tribute to the FF and other heroes of the last 40 years. The irony is that while Fantastic Four is an enjoyable B-grade movie, it's the tribute, The Incredibles, that turned out to be a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi

On the DVD
The principal extra on the DVD is a spirited commentary track by Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Ioan Gruffud. Self-avowed FF fan Chiklis explains why the Thing doesn't have a craggy brow, Alba recalls which things were "cool," and they talk about looking forward to the sequel. There are three short deleted scenes (including a goofy Wolverine reference), 20 minutes of barely watchable hand-held video footage from the press tour, music videos, and some short featurettes including an appearance by FF creator Stan Lee. --David Horiuchi

The Fantastic Four at Amazon.com

Comics and Graphic Novels	Disney animated series	The classic comic book
Movie tie-in graphic novel	The Xbox game	Fantastic Four Soundtrack

The Fantastic Cast

Jessica Alba as Sue Storm	Michael Chiklis as The Thing
Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards	Chris Evans as Johnny Storm

Stills from Fantastic Four (click for larger images)

From The New Yorker
If you prefer your cataclysms free of terrorist overtones and your superheroes unburdened by Freudian subtext-sometimes a comic book is just a comic book, after all-you could do worse than this flick. Four scientists and their corporate sponsor (guess who's the bad guy) are conducting experiments on a space station when they're hit by an unexpectedly powerful blast of solar radiation, altering their DNA and giving them freakish powers that cleverly reflect their personalities. Playing the characters created by the Marvel Comics master Stan Lee, the actors Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis inhabit their dual identities gracefully; they're superheroes without being superstars. It may not have the emotional sweep of "Superman" or "Spider-Man," but "Fantastic Four" glides along free of the dark, pretentious weight of some recent superhero films. The director, Tim Story ("Barbershop"), tells his tale with clarity and wit. It's a simple popcorn movie-not fantastic, but fun.-Ken Marks -Ken Marks
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

I enjoyed it!
I'm actually a humongous fan of Marvel Comics Fantastic Four. From owning a large collection of the comic books to toy hunting for the hard-to-get Invisible Woman action figures.

But I kept myself away from any coverage, hype regarding the film, so I can enjoy it to the nth degree.

I have to admit that I felt a bit cautious because although the Fantastic Four have been a staple of Marvel Comics history, it's not the in your face action such as X-Men and even Spider-Man.
It's one of those series that has to grow on you and you learn to enjoy the characters.

So, I imagined that like the first X-Men movie where they had to go through an introduction, the same would have to be done with the first Fantastic Four movie.

Sure, there will be a lot of action but at the same time, you need to know how the characters are.

Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) is not your typical lead man. He's highly intelligent, detached from society somewhat and can be a cold fish.

Johnny Storm (Human Torch) is the hothead. Playboy and always seems to get himself into something dangerous.

Ben Grimm, the man who deals with being the rocky behemoth known as the Thing.
And Sue Storm, the woman who loves Reed but somehow tries to find ways to get close to him (despite him being a cold and dull fish at times).

So, needless to say...our heroes have their problems and for some who are looking for the charismatic action hero, they are superheroes but they aren't perfect.

I happened to enjoy the film. The pacing was a bit off at times but nevertheless, I enjoyed it and optomistic that the second movie can now be fast-paced and hard hitting.

The DVD for Fantastic Four was very enjoyable with really cool. The DVD is offered in two versions (widescreen and fullscreen) and audio quality is offered in 5.1 DTS (which sounds really awesome on my home theater).

The special features for this DVD doesn't disappoint either as it feature full length audio commentary by the stars of the film, a video diary featuring the stars on their media tour for the film - which was very exciting by the way. Deleted scenes, making of featurette, casting session, making a scene, music videos, theatrical teaser and trailer and also an inside look for the third X-Men film (which unusually got the top listing for the special features).

Not everyone is going to enjoy the Fantastic Four film. Even the comic book is not for everyone but those who stick with it learn to enjoy the characters for what they are.

If I had any problem, many of us who are faithful to FF, knows that Dr. Doom doesn't go down that easily. Otherwise Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon do a great job portraying the characters.

Again, this is just the introductory film. Hopefully with the second film, things get even better. As for the DVD, it's fantastic.

Pretty Good.
Good Movie. Chickless is great as the Thing. AND Jessica is always easy on the Eyes.

Soulless and generic superhero romp
Of all the superhero movie adaptations released in the last several years, there is one in particular that stands out to me simply because it is so unremarkable. That film is 2005's adaptation of "The Fantastic 4." The characters are one dimensional, and the plot is paper thin. I can sum it up as this: 5 scientists go into space and come back with super powers. Four of them decide to become superheroes, and one decides to become a super villain. And then, they fight. That's it. It doesn't even attempt to understand why four people, upon receiving these powers decide they should be super heroes. They do it because that's what people with super powers do, and of course they have a closet full of pre-made superhero costumes that were conveniently written into the plot as being "next generation astronaut suits." Yeah, ruddy brilliant guys.

There is a sub plot in there about Ben Grim being unhappy with his monstrous new appearance as "The Thing," but the way the writers chose to resolve it ultimately feels ridiculous. Also, Dr. Doom, who is one of the most prolific recurring villains in the entire Marvel universe, is completely neutered in this movie. Comparing this Dr. Doom to his comic book counterpart is like comparing Chad Vader to his big brother Darth. The movie was obviously made in a boardroom of Fox executives trying to figure out how to get as many teenage boys into the theater as possible, because it is also chock full of frivilous extreme sports footage, special effects shots, and meticulously airbrushed women.

The only good thing I can say about this movie was that it looked good on Blu-Ray, at a time when I barely had anything to watch in HD. If you're looking for a movie to demo your new home theater with though, there are dozens of movies that look just as good if not better in HD, that aren't textbook examples of what happens when movies get made in by business men.