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Fantastic Four (film)
Encyclopedia
Fantastic Four is a 2005 American superhero film
based on the Marvel Comics
comic Fantastic Four
. It was directed by Tim Story
, and released by 20th Century Fox
. It is the second live-action Fantastic Four film to be filmed. The previous attempt
, a B-movie
produced by Roger Corman
only for the purpose of retaining the film rights, was never intended for a theatrical release. Despite getting major hype on its release and becoming a box office success, the film was negatively received by critics.
The film was released in the United States
on July 8, 2005. It was the third superhero film of the year, after Elektra
and Batman Begins
.
In 2007, a sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
, was released.
(Ioan Gruffudd
), a genius but timid and bankrupt physicist
, is convinced that evolution
was triggered millions of years ago on earth by clouds of cosmic
energy in space, and has calculated that one of these clouds is soon going to pass near Earth
. Together with his friend, the gruff yet gentle astronaut
Ben Grimm
(Michael Chiklis
), Reed convinces Dr. Victor von Doom
(Julian McMahon
), once his classmate at MIT
and now CEO of Von Doom Industries, to allow him access to his privately-owned space station
to test the effects of exposure to the cloud on biological samples. Doom agrees, in exchange for control over the experiment and a majority of the profits from whatever benefits it brings. He brings aboard his beautiful chief genetics
researcher (and Reed's ex-girlfriend from MIT) Susan Storm
(Jessica Alba
), and her hot-headed brother Johnny Storm
(Chris Evans
), a private astronaut who was Ben's subordinate at NASA
but is his superior on the mission.
The quintet travels to space
to observe the cosmic energy clouds, but Reed has miscalculated and the clouds materialize well ahead of schedule. Reed, Susan and Johnny leave the shielded station to rescue Ben who has gone on a space-walk to place the samples, and Victor closes the shield behind them. Ben receives full exposure out in space, while the others receive a more limited dose within the station. They return home but soon begin to develop strange power
s. Reed is able to stretch like rubber
; Susan can become invisible and create force field
s, especially when angered; Johnny can engulf himself in fire at temperatures in excess of 4000 K
(erroneously described as supernova
-like in the film), and is able to fly; and Ben is transformed into a large, rock
-like creature with superhuman strength and durability. Victor meanwhile faces a backlash from his stockholders due to the publicity from the failed mission, and has a scar on his face from an exploding control console he was near during the cloud's pass.
Ben returns home to see his fiancee (Laurie Holden
), but she cannot handle his new appearance and flees. He goes to brood on Brooklyn Bridge
and accidentally causes a traffic pile-up while stopping a man from committing suicide
. The four use their various powers to contain the damage and prevent anyone from being hurt. While the public cheers them for their efforts, Ben sees his fiancee leave her engagement ring on the ground and run. Reed hands a heartbroken Ben the ring and vows to find a way to turn him back to normal. The media dubs them "The Fantastic Four" for their efforts. Victor watches the news story and is told that his company is lost now, the group's fame overriding the company's fate with the media. The four move into Reed's lab in the Baxter Building
to study their abilities and find a way to return Ben to normal. Victor offers his support in their efforts but blames Reed for the mission's failure, the lights flickering as he grows enraged.
Reed tells the group he will construct a machine to re-create the storm and reverse its effect on their bodies, but warns it could possibly accelerate them instead. Meanwhile Victor continues to mutate, his arm turning into an organic metal and allowing him to produce bolts of electricity, and he begins plotting to use his new powers to take his revenge. Victor drives a wedge between Ben and Reed by telling Ben that Reed has no desire to change himself back, as the group's research has allowed him to rekindle his relationship with Susan. Reed and Ben argue, Ben walking out in a rage. This motivates Reed to attempt the machine on himself, but he cannot generate the power needed to push the storm to critical mass. Doom hears Reed tell Susan this through security cameras and has Ben brought to the lab. Ben is placed in the machine and Doom uses his abilities to produce the electricity needed to power it, turning Ben back to normal and accelerating Doom's condition, causing much of his body to turn to metal. Victor knocks the human Ben unconscious and kidnaps Reed.
Victor - now calling himself 'Doctor Doom
' - dons a metal mask to hide his physical disfigurations and incapacitates Reed using a super-cooling unit. Doom fires a heat-seeking missile at the Baxter Building to kill Johnny, and Johnny flies through the city to evade it, lighting a garbage barge on fire to trick it. Susan rushes to confront Doom as Ben begins to regret his decision to turn normal. Susan frees Reed and battles Doom but is outmatched - Ben arrives to save her, transformed into The Thing again by reusing the machine (speaking his signature line, "It's Clobberin' Time"). The battle spills into the streets, and the four assemble to battle Doom. Johnny and Susan combine their powers to wrap Doom in an inferno of intense heat, and Ben and Reed douse him with cold water, inducing thermal shock
and freezing Doom in place. As an epilogue
, Ben informs Reed that he has accepted his condition with the help of Alicia Masters
, a blind artist for whom he has developed feelings, and the team decide to embrace their roles as superheroes and unite officially as the Fantastic Four. Reed proposes marriage to Susan, who accepts and they share a kiss. Meanwhile, Doom's statuesque remains are being transported back to his homeland of Latveria
when the dockmaster
's electronic manifest briefly experiences electronic interference, suggesting Doom is still alive, thus leading to the events of the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
.
As in almost all of the previous Marvel Comics-based films, Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance
. He is Willie Lumpkin, the postal worker
who greets the team on their way to the Baxter Building
elevator
.
's War of the Worlds
. It opened in 3,602 theaters, and eventually expanded to 3,619 the following week for its widest release.
and 40 out of 100 at Metacritic
. The movie was criticized for poor science, undeveloped characters, and having less action than some people would have liked. The plot was criticised for the perceived imbalance of pitting four superheroes against one villain.
The novelization of the film contained a number of scenes not in the final cut, including a small number of scenes that developed the character of Alicia Masters.
.
. The film had a mixed, but overall better reception.
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
based on the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
. It was directed by Tim Story
Tim Story (film director)
Timothy Kevin Story is an African-American film director. Born in Los Angeles, California, he attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles with jazz pianist Eric Reed and actresses Regina King and Nia Long. He was senior class president at Westchester High. He graduated from the University of...
, and released by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. It is the second live-action Fantastic Four film to be filmed. The previous attempt
The Fantastic Four (film)
The Fantastic Four is an unreleased low-budget feature film completed in 1994. Created to secure copyright to the property, the producers never intended it for release, although the director, actors, and other participants were not informed of this fact...
, a B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
produced by Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
only for the purpose of retaining the film rights, was never intended for a theatrical release. Despite getting major hype on its release and becoming a box office success, the film was negatively received by critics.
The film was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on July 8, 2005. It was the third superhero film of the year, after Elektra
Elektra (2005 film)
Elektra is a 2005 superhero film directed by Rob Bowman. It is a spin-off from the 2003 film Daredevil, starring the Marvel comics character Elektra Natchios . The story follows Elektra, an international assassin whose weapon of choice is a pair of sai.For the screenplay, Zak Penn, Stuart Zicherman...
and Batman Begins
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
.
In 2007, a sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...
, was released.
Plot
Dr. Reed RichardsMister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
(Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
), a genius but timid and bankrupt physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, is convinced that evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
was triggered millions of years ago on earth by clouds of cosmic
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...
energy in space, and has calculated that one of these clouds is soon going to pass near Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Together with his friend, the gruff yet gentle astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Ben Grimm
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
(Michael Chiklis
Michael Chiklis
Michael Charles Chiklis is an American actor, voice actor, occasional director and television producer. Some of the previous roles for which he is best known include Commissioner Tony Scali on the ABC police drama The Commish, LAPD Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama The Shield, Thing in...
), Reed convinces Dr. Victor von Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
(Julian McMahon
Julian McMahon
Julian Dana William McMahon is an Australian actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayals of Cole Turner in The WB hit series Charmed, womanizing plastic surgeon Christian Troy on the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning TV show Nip/Tuck, and Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four and...
), once his classmate at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and now CEO of Von Doom Industries, to allow him access to his privately-owned space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
to test the effects of exposure to the cloud on biological samples. Doom agrees, in exchange for control over the experiment and a majority of the profits from whatever benefits it brings. He brings aboard his beautiful chief genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
researcher (and Reed's ex-girlfriend from MIT) Susan Storm
Invisible Woman
Susan "Sue" Storm Richards is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first female superhero created by Marvel in the Silver Age of Comics...
(Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
), and her hot-headed brother Johnny Storm
Human Torch
The Human Torch is a fictional character and superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he is a member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four, debuting in The Fantastic Four #1...
(Chris Evans
Chris Evans (actor)
Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
), a private astronaut who was Ben's subordinate at NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
but is his superior on the mission.
The quintet travels to space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
to observe the cosmic energy clouds, but Reed has miscalculated and the clouds materialize well ahead of schedule. Reed, Susan and Johnny leave the shielded station to rescue Ben who has gone on a space-walk to place the samples, and Victor closes the shield behind them. Ben receives full exposure out in space, while the others receive a more limited dose within the station. They return home but soon begin to develop strange power
Superpower (ability)
Superpower is a popular culture term for a fictional superhuman ability. When a character possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used...
s. Reed is able to stretch like rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
; Susan can become invisible and create force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
s, especially when angered; Johnny can engulf himself in fire at temperatures in excess of 4000 K
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
(erroneously described as supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
-like in the film), and is able to fly; and Ben is transformed into a large, rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
-like creature with superhuman strength and durability. Victor meanwhile faces a backlash from his stockholders due to the publicity from the failed mission, and has a scar on his face from an exploding control console he was near during the cloud's pass.
Ben returns home to see his fiancee (Laurie Holden
Laurie Holden
Heather Laurie Holden is an American-Canadian actress and human rights activist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Marita Covarrubias in The X-Files, Adele Stanton on The Majestic, Cybil Bennett in Silent Hill, Amanda Dumfries in The Mist, Olivia Murray in The Shield, and Andrea in The...
), but she cannot handle his new appearance and flees. He goes to brood on Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
and accidentally causes a traffic pile-up while stopping a man from committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The four use their various powers to contain the damage and prevent anyone from being hurt. While the public cheers them for their efforts, Ben sees his fiancee leave her engagement ring on the ground and run. Reed hands a heartbroken Ben the ring and vows to find a way to turn him back to normal. The media dubs them "The Fantastic Four" for their efforts. Victor watches the news story and is told that his company is lost now, the group's fame overriding the company's fate with the media. The four move into Reed's lab in the Baxter Building
Baxter Building
The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building in Manhattan whose five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
to study their abilities and find a way to return Ben to normal. Victor offers his support in their efforts but blames Reed for the mission's failure, the lights flickering as he grows enraged.
Reed tells the group he will construct a machine to re-create the storm and reverse its effect on their bodies, but warns it could possibly accelerate them instead. Meanwhile Victor continues to mutate, his arm turning into an organic metal and allowing him to produce bolts of electricity, and he begins plotting to use his new powers to take his revenge. Victor drives a wedge between Ben and Reed by telling Ben that Reed has no desire to change himself back, as the group's research has allowed him to rekindle his relationship with Susan. Reed and Ben argue, Ben walking out in a rage. This motivates Reed to attempt the machine on himself, but he cannot generate the power needed to push the storm to critical mass. Doom hears Reed tell Susan this through security cameras and has Ben brought to the lab. Ben is placed in the machine and Doom uses his abilities to produce the electricity needed to power it, turning Ben back to normal and accelerating Doom's condition, causing much of his body to turn to metal. Victor knocks the human Ben unconscious and kidnaps Reed.
Victor - now calling himself 'Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
' - dons a metal mask to hide his physical disfigurations and incapacitates Reed using a super-cooling unit. Doom fires a heat-seeking missile at the Baxter Building to kill Johnny, and Johnny flies through the city to evade it, lighting a garbage barge on fire to trick it. Susan rushes to confront Doom as Ben begins to regret his decision to turn normal. Susan frees Reed and battles Doom but is outmatched - Ben arrives to save her, transformed into The Thing again by reusing the machine (speaking his signature line, "It's Clobberin' Time"). The battle spills into the streets, and the four assemble to battle Doom. Johnny and Susan combine their powers to wrap Doom in an inferno of intense heat, and Ben and Reed douse him with cold water, inducing thermal shock
Thermal shock
Thermal shock is the name given to cracking as a result of rapid temperature change. Glass and ceramic objects are particularly vulnerable to this form of failure, due to their low toughness, low thermal conductivity, and high thermal expansion coefficients...
and freezing Doom in place. As an epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
, Ben informs Reed that he has accepted his condition with the help of Alicia Masters
Alicia Masters
Alicia Reiss Masters is a supporting character to the Marvel Comics superheroes the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, she first appeared in The Fantastic Four #8 ....
, a blind artist for whom he has developed feelings, and the team decide to embrace their roles as superheroes and unite officially as the Fantastic Four. Reed proposes marriage to Susan, who accepts and they share a kiss. Meanwhile, Doom's statuesque remains are being transported back to his homeland of Latveria
Latveria
Latveria is a nation in the . It is an isolated European country ruled by the supervillain Doctor Doom, supposedly located in the Banat region. It is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, and also borders the Symkaria to the south. Its capital is Doomstadt.-Publication history:Latveria first...
when the dockmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
's electronic manifest briefly experiences electronic interference, suggesting Doom is still alive, thus leading to the events of the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...
.
Cast
- Ioan GruffuddIoan GruffuddIoan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
as Dr. Reed Richards / Mr. FantasticMister FantasticMr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 .... - Jessica AlbaJessica AlbaJessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
as Susan Storm / Invisible WomanInvisible WomanSusan "Sue" Storm Richards is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first female superhero created by Marvel in the Silver Age of Comics... - Chris EvansChris Evans (actor)Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
as Johnny Storm / Human TorchHuman TorchThe Human Torch is a fictional character and superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he is a member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four, debuting in The Fantastic Four #1... - Michael ChiklisMichael ChiklisMichael Charles Chiklis is an American actor, voice actor, occasional director and television producer. Some of the previous roles for which he is best known include Commissioner Tony Scali on the ABC police drama The Commish, LAPD Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama The Shield, Thing in...
as Ben Grimm / The ThingThing (comics)The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1... - Julian McMahonJulian McMahonJulian Dana William McMahon is an Australian actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayals of Cole Turner in The WB hit series Charmed, womanizing plastic surgeon Christian Troy on the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning TV show Nip/Tuck, and Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four and...
as Victor von Doom / Doctor DoomDoctor DoomVictor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak... - Hamish LinklaterHamish LinklaterHamish Linklater is an American actor. He is best known as Matthew in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine...
as Leonard - Kerry WashingtonKerry WashingtonKerry Washington is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray , as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm, The Thing, in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007...
as Alicia MastersAlicia MastersAlicia Reiss Masters is a supporting character to the Marvel Comics superheroes the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, she first appeared in The Fantastic Four #8 .... - Laurie HoldenLaurie HoldenHeather Laurie Holden is an American-Canadian actress and human rights activist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Marita Covarrubias in The X-Files, Adele Stanton on The Majestic, Cybil Bennett in Silent Hill, Amanda Dumfries in The Mist, Olivia Murray in The Shield, and Andrea in The...
as Debbie McIlvane - Kevin McNultyKevin McNultyKevin McNulty is a Canadian actor.McNulty was born in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. He has acted on three aviation movies: Falling from the Sky: Flight 174 with William Devane, Final Descent with Robert Urich and Snakes on a Plane with Samuel L. Jackson...
as Jimmy O'Hoolihan - Maria MenounosMaria MenounosMaria Menounos is a Greek-American actress, journalist, and television presenter known in America for her appearances as a correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.-Early life and beauty pageants:Menounos, a...
as Nurse - Michael KopsaMichael KopsaMichael Kopsa is a Canadian voice, film, television and stage actor, notable for his role as Char Aznable in the English dub of Mobile Suit Gundam and for his role as Commander Volcott O'Huey in Galaxy Angel. He has also provided the voice of Beast in X-Men: Evolution...
as Ned Cecil - Stan LeeStan LeeStan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
as Willie LumpkinWillie LumpkinWillie Lumpkin is a fictional supporting character in the Marvel Universe, who is best known as the mailman of the Fantastic Four in their self-titled comic book.-Newspaper comic strip:...
As in almost all of the previous Marvel Comics-based films, Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
. He is Willie Lumpkin, the postal worker
Postal worker
A postal worker is one who works for a post office, such as a mail carrier. In the U.S., postal workers are represented by the and the American Postal Workers Union, part of the AFL-CIO. In Canada, they are represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and in the United Kingdom by the...
who greets the team on their way to the Baxter Building
Baxter Building
The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building in Manhattan whose five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
.
Release
The film's American release was moved from July 1, 2005 to the following week, July 8, in order to avoid competition with Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
. It opened in 3,602 theaters, and eventually expanded to 3,619 the following week for its widest release.
Critical reception
Fantastic Four received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film scored a 27% rating at the critics-aggregate site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and 40 out of 100 at Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. The movie was criticized for poor science, undeveloped characters, and having less action than some people would have liked. The plot was criticised for the perceived imbalance of pitting four superheroes against one villain.
Box office performance
At the box office, Fantastic Four held the number one position with $56,061,504 in its opening weekend. By September 2005, the film had grossed over $330 million worldwide, with a domestic gross of $154 million.Deleted scenes
Among the deleted scenes included on the December 2005 DVD release:- Three slightly modified scenes concerning the attack on Doctor Doom - one in which Reed uses his body as a funnel to direct a stream of water at Doom, one in which he doesn't, and one in which Doctor Doom's line "Is that the best you can do, a little heat?" is cut short, having the "..a little heat?" portion removed.
- Two versions of a scene with Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd. The original features the pair in the planetarium, where they communicate their feelings for each other without an argumentative tone. This ends in a kiss. The second version, included in the DVD release as a bonus feature, features the two outside, looking toward the Statue Of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
. Similar lines are used, but it ends with Alba's Susan turning invisible before Gruffudd's Reed can kiss her. A joke was used during the line "a stronger man": Instead of Reed giving himself a square jaw (as he does in the theatrical release), he makes his skin look like X-Men'sX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
WolverineWolverine (comics)Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
. Actor Gruffudd breaks the fourth wallFourth wallThe fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and looks directly at the camera as he does this.
- There is also a scene where Reed and Sue are in a storage room of the Baxter Building where we see on one of the shelves is a robot that is supposed to be H.E.R.B.I.E.H.E.R.B.I.E.H.E.R.B.I.E. is a fictional character, a robot and an ally of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Universe...
from the 1970s Fantastic Four cartoon.
The novelization of the film contained a number of scenes not in the final cut, including a small number of scenes that developed the character of Alicia Masters.
Extended cut
In June 2007, an extended cut of the film was released, incorporating over 20 minutes of deleted scenes and also includes a preview of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...
.
Sequel
A sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, was released on , 2007. Director Tim Story and the cast reprised their roles for the sequel. In the film, the Fantastic Four encounter the Silver SurferSilver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
. The film had a mixed, but overall better reception.
See also
- Fantastic Four in film
- Fantastic Four (2005 video game)
- The Fantastic FourThe Fantastic Four (film)The Fantastic Four is an unreleased low-budget feature film completed in 1994. Created to secure copyright to the property, the producers never intended it for release, although the director, actors, and other participants were not informed of this fact...
External links
- Fantastic Four on Marvel.com