Fantastic Four, The (1994/II)

reviewed by
Michael J. Legeros

                                THE FANTASTIC FOUR
                       A film review by Michael John Legeros
                        Copyright 1994 Michael John Legeros

Directed by Oley Sassone (FINAL EMBRACE, BLOODFIST 3)
Written by Craig J. Nevius and Kevin Rock, based on the Marvel Comics
           characters
Cast            Alex Hyde-White............Reed Richards
                Rebecca Staab..............Sue Storm
                Jay Underwood..............Johnny Storm
                Michael Bailey Smith.......Ben Grimm
                Joesph Culp................Victor Von Doom
MPAA Rating     Unknown, if rated.
Running Time    Approx. 90 minutes

==

Sitting on a shelf, somewhere in Hollywood, is Roger Corman's low-budget adaptation of "The Fantastic Four." Produced last year, the film was thrown into limbo after a certain Major Studio decided to explore a bigger-budget version of the popular Marvel Comics comic book. Someday, maybe, the film will be released and that would both delight and disappoint fans who have long known that decent adaptations of Marvel Comics characters are few and far between.

As any boy under sixty knows, the Fantastic Four are super-scientist Reed Richards, his best-friend and former test-pilot Ben Grimm, Reed's girlfriend Sue Storm, and her younger brother Johnny. Together, they take a ride in Reed's spaceship (don't ask) until something goes wrong and they all get exposed to "mysterious energies" before crashing back to Earth.

Once on the ground, they discover they have "super powers." Reed can stretch like, uh, Plastic Man, Sue can turn herself invisible, and Johnny can fire fireballs. Only Grimm gets the raw deal--he turns into a super-strong, rocky-skinned creature affectionately known as The Thing.

Corman's film faithfully recounts their origin, as described above, and even issues them costumes! Finale has the FF battling Dr. Doom, an armored villain threatening to destroy New York with [insert eye-rolling] a giant laser. Also on display is The Jeweler, a Mole Man knockoff, whose presence has something to do with a super-sized diamond that Reed has and Doom wants.

With a few exceptions--such as Doom faking his own death after a failed experiment with Reed!--the story rarely strays from the source material. Present and accounted-for include Alicia Masters, the Baxter Building, and, yes, the Fantasticar. (But where's Willie Lumpkin?)

Credit writers Craig J. Nevius and Kevin Rock for a spartan set-up that introduces each character without having to resort to an overlong exposition. They do err, though, in the origin of Doctor Doom. There is none.

Director Oley Sassone (who?) keeps the superheroics to a bare minimum. Johnny throws a couple neat fireballs and "flames on" once. Sue's invisibility "trick" is pretty cheesy--but she projects a pretty-cool force field. Reed is a bust; his "super stretching" is used for a couple *really* long punches and that's about it. And The Thing gets to walk through a few walls. Whoopee.

     Hey, rent SUPERMAN II if you want to see a *real* fight.

With almost zero-budget for EFX, the burden of proof rests squarely on the shoulders of the actors and, to their credit, they perform their parts handsomely. Only Joesph Culp is a wash--he's okay as the pre-Doctor Doom Doom, but he doesn't have much to do after getting encased in armor. Bad speeches and overgesticulating do not a character make.

Too bad that the production design can't match the enthusiasm of the actors. The throne room of Castle Doom is bad, the interiors of the Baxter Building are worse, and the inside of Reed's spaceship is just plain awful. Even bad sci-fi looks better than this stuff.

NOTE: Film is neither available on video nor in the theaters.

BOTTOM LINE:    Enthusiastic performers and a faithful storyline can't
                do much for cheap EFX and a flimsy production design.
                Looks lousy, but still beats THE PUNISHER any day of
                the week.

Grade:  C-

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