Fantastic Four (2005)

Director:

Tim Story

Writers (WGA):

Mark Frost (written by) and
Michael France (written by) ...

Release Date:

8 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

4 times the action. 4 times the adventure. 4 times the fantastic.

Plot:

A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom

Plot Keywords:

Radiation | Astronaut | Space Station | Fire | Fantastic Four

Awards:

11 nominations

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd	...	Reed Richards
Jessica Alba	...	Sue Storm
Chris Evans	...	Johnny Storm
Michael Chiklis	...	Ben Grimm
Julian McMahon	...	Victor von Doom
Hamish Linklater	...	Leonard
Kerry Washington	...	Alicia Masters
Laurie Holden	...	Debbie McIlvane
David Parker	...	Ernie
Kevin McNulty	...	Jimmy O'Hoolihan
Maria Menounos	...	Sexy Nurse
Michael Kopsa	...	Ned Cecil
Andrew Airlie	...	Compound Doctor
Pascale Hutton	...	Nightclub Girlfriend
G. Michael Gray	...	Nightclub Boyfriend

Also Known As:

Fantastic 4 (USA) (alternative spelling)
Fantastic Four (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content.

Runtime:

106 min | USA:125 min (extended edition)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:GP | Iceland:10 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41765) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Mexico:B | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:11 | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:PG-13 | Ireland:PG | Australia:PG (re-rating on appeal) | Mexico:A | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Norway:11 | Brazil:10 | Australia:PG (re-rating) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva)

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The scene on the bridge took about 5 weeks to shoot.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ben stands on the beam that the jumper has retreated to on the bridge it bends several inches under his weight. After he jumps down onto the bridge surface it springs back to normal. Not only would a bend in such a beam be a permanent deformity, a mass large enough to cause such a bend would hit the asphalt with enough force to cause a similar depth crater - which does not happen. In fact if his weight remained at this level through out the movie every foot step he made would break paving slabs, floor tiles and pretty much every thing he walked on, and put him crashing through any floor not reinforced to bank vault levels in any multi-story building he tried to enter.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ben Grimm: Typical of Victor Von Doom to build a 30 foot statue of himself.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spring Breakdown (2009)

Soundtrack:

Goodbye to You

Better Than Daredevil, Not As Good As Either Of The X-Men.

The Fantastic Four was a pretty good superhero movie but it lacked something. I do not think it truly lived up to it's endless hype from early this year. Aside from a few scenes that stick out, most are in the trailer, there is not much there other than some slick special effects sprinkled about. It is understandable, however, due to the fact that this film is about the origin of 5 different individuals and how they gained their super powers. I imagine the next one (of course, if there is a next one) will be more action packed.

As for a quick rundown of the story, 5 people are sent into a space ship to gather information that would be helpful in curing diseases and other good stuff. The crew consists of Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Reed Richards, (Ioan Gruffudd), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) & Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). While in the space station, the super cosmic storm hits hours earlier than expected and all 5 are caught in the storm, forever altering their DNA (or something like that). The one that got it the worst was Grimm.

The standouts from this movie are The Thing/Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm/Human Torch & Sue Storm/Invisible Girl. The Thing & Torch stand out because of both their characters and personalities & Jessica Alba stands out pretty much just because she is Jessica Alba.

I feel that Reed Richards was more of an annoyance in the movie and not as likable a character as, say, the Human Torch. Also, I fear that Dr. Doom will probably forever be compared to the Green Goblin from Spider-Man, due to the hokey masks and all. Also, the voice for Doom did not quite fit for me. I am not sure if his voice is supposed to be that docile or not, but I always pictured a deeper, more menacing voice for him.

I do hope this movie is not as criticized as movies such as Hulk or Daredevil. This movie was not that bad, probably not even as bad as I have made it seem. I would rate it somewhere in between X-Men and Daredevil. 7.5/10