SO FAR
Let's get this straight, I hated the FANTASTIC 4 movie. That movie (as far as I'm concerned, I know BOZ has different feelings) can die and burn in hell. So when I said that I would go with the BOZ's to the Arclight in Hollywood I figured it'd be yet more fodder for verbal shreddings on this website. Little did I know that sitting in the Cinerama Dome with my buddies, that I would fall in love with this cinematic rendering of these four famed superheroes.
Goddamn you movie, you made me love you. Shit.
Tim Story, from whom I expected so very little from because of his resume. Don't think I've forgotten about TAXI Mr. Story. He brought us the first FANTASTIC 4 film and I wanted to kick his cameras in the dirt and mud. But somehow, something clicked with this film. Something fell into place. I don't know if he really is a fan of this particular group of heroes or not, but in the sequel, the dynamic that makes this such a great comic book series is finally realized in film.
The thing that makes this such a great comic series is because this group is basically a family. Two are brother and sister, two are husband and wife, and one binding tie between the other three is the best friend from childhood. They fight and bicker and at times absolutley despise each other. But that's what family's do! They screw up, then they screw up even bigger, then you forgive them, then you come together and work as a team in the end to save the world. At least that's how my family rolls.
All the major players return, and this time I don't hate Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards. He's still not impressing upon me that he's the smartest man in the world, but he's deffinitly a shit-load smarter than he was in the first outing. Jessica Alba returns, and. . .well. . .she's hot. That's the only reason why she's in this movie. Because brother she sure can't act. At least someone wrote smarter dialouge for her. Michael Chiklis is the Thing. And he's just as likeable if not more so in this movie. The makeup is 100% better, and if it's possible they made him more likeable. He's come to terms with being a rocky monstrosity with a heart of gold, and can now have fun with the role. Which comes to light in the airplane scene when the whole lot is downgraded to Coach.
Which brings me to a point that I'm really sick of seing. I saw it in the shitty 1994 movie, and in the first film as well. When Mr. Fantastic stretches, unless he's wearing his super suit, the clothes do not stretch with him! His arms get long, but the sleeves do not go anywhere! Please get it right in FANTASTIC 4: THE THIRD. Long arms yes, long stretchy sleeves no/unless he's wearing the super suit.
And oh my fucking god, please get someone else besides Julian McMahon to play Doctor Doom. Julian McMahon could quite possibly be a worse actor than Jessica Alba. He chews the scenery in every scene he's in, but unfortunatley for us it ends up looking gummed. His Doctor Doom is full of puns and bad jokes that are just fucking terrible and not befitting the Lord of Latveria at all. At the end of the film Doom is sent sinking into the abyss of an ocean, and if McMahon is planning on reprising the role I'd prefer he stay on the bottom of the sea.
Okay we all know there's only one reason we're hear to see this movie. The Silver Surfer. First of all, fuck Laurence Fishburne. He's getting all the credit for his performance as the Surfer. And it's not his performance. It's his voice behind the Surfer. The man behind the Silver is Doug Jones. The genius in PAN'S LABYRINTH who brought to life the fantastical creatures Pan and the Pale Man. Watching him as the Surfer is as close to perfect casting as any Marvel Comics fan could hope for in a comic book movie. His movement is poetry in motion! He doesn't surf. Nayh, nay. His board is an extension of his being and his soul. He acts with it, reacts with it, relys on it, and also acts independantly of it. They couldn't have picked a better actor to bring to life Norrin Radd. There's just something "Otherworldly" about the way he moves and brings characters to life. If this movie had no sound I would still know the character just on the way Doug Jones brings him to life. It's so great to see this actor's career really start to flourish. Not only did he kick all sorts of assery in HELLBOY, but he's also voicing Abe Sapien in the cartoon series of HELLBOY. I got the honor to meet Doug Jones at Wizard World Los Angeles back in 2006. He's such a fucking nice guy. You wanna know how nice he is? He's the only celebrity I've met at a convention table that didn't make buy anything just to speak to him. After mentioning his Academy Award winning performance in PAN'S and now returning for HELLBOY 2 I just can't fucking wait to see what else Doug Jones is going to turn out next! I just can't wait.
FINAL ANALYSIS!
Finally! A summer movie I'm willing to see more than once. Halle-fuckin'-llujah.
Back to the Main Page
Back to the Summer Film Follies Fest