The Fantastic Four (1994)

When dosed with cosmic rays, four intrepid explorers are given incredible powers.

Director:

Oley Sassone

Writers:

Craig J. Nevius (screenplay), Kevin Rock (screenplay)

Stars:

Alex Hyde-White, Jay Underwood, Rebecca Staab

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Hyde-White	...	Dr. Reed Richards
Jay Underwood	...	Johnny Storm
Rebecca Staab	...	Susan Storm
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Ben Grimm
Ian Trigger	...	Jeweler
Joseph Culp	...	Dr. Doom / Victor Von Doom
George Gaynes	...	Professor
Kat Green	...	Alicia Masters
Carl Ciarfalio	...	Thing
Chuck Butto	...	Weasel (as Charles Butto)
Annie Gagen	...	Mrs. Storm
Howard Shangraw	...	Kragstadt
David Keith Miller	...	Trigorin
Robert Alan Beuth	...	Dr. Hauptman (as Robert Beuth)
Patrick Richwood	...	Messenger

Storyline

In this Marvel Comic adaption, four astronauts get bombarded with cosmic rays when an accident occurs. The four of them acquire special powers, and decide to form a superhero group called the Fantastic Four. They then fight their arch-enemy Dr. Doom.

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Plot Keywords:

astronaut | marvel comics | superhero | mutation | unreleased film | 

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Taglines:

Part Elastic, Part Invisible, Part Fire, Part Stone

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Bailey Smith, the actor playing Ben, also played a character named Belthazor on the TV series "Charmed". He was a half demon/half-human character. Smith played the demon half. Julian McMahon played his human half. McMahon played Doctor Doom in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 15 mins) Following the Fantastic Four's escape from Dr. Doom's captivity, they arrive back in the city. Even though no time at all has passed since them, they now apparently have their own building with a "Number Four" logo on the side and an aerial transport vehicle. They did not have time to put their logo on the building or build/acquire the vehicle.

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Quotes

The Thing: It's clobberin' time!

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: The Vindicator, Cyber Tracker, Robot Jox, and R.O.T.O.R. (2013)

User Reviews

A laugh riot for comic book fans

I am almost a two decade old human who's been reading comics most of my life. I'm not a huge fan of the Fantastic Four, but I'm fairly familiar with them. In 1994, Roger Corman (B-movie legend) produced the first, I think, feature length Fantastic Four film. The result was such pure schlock that it was never given a release. Still, copies exist, mostly on the net and at conventions. If you're looking for a laugh and can find a copy do yourself a favor and check this thing out.

The film basically retells the FF's origin and an encounter with Doctor Doom and a villain named The Jeweler, essentially the Mole Man with a penchant for petty larceny. As is the case with these comic book movies, everything has to tie into everything, so the FF play a vital role in Dr. Doom's creation, and he and the Jeweler play a vital role in theirs.

First, I'd just like to mention that despite everything that went bad in this movie, I actually sort of liked the guy that played Doom. He doesn't get many decent lines, but when he does he hits them. The armor looks pretty good too.

As for the rest...it's a dirty, dirty mess. Bad plots, bad acting, bad effects, bad everything basically. Boos especially to Jay Underwood, bringing new meaning to the word overacting as Johnny Storm. He's not overacting, he's ultracting.

As for the FF, well they all sort of look right, and Sue's played by a very attractive actress, but they just don't seem like a real team. For one thing they have no reason for Sue and Johnny to go into space. In an early section Ben and Reed go to visit the two, Johnny's like 8 and Sue's about 12. It only stands to make their eventual romantic pairing a helluva lot creepier. The Thing costume looks more reptilian than anything else, not very rocky, and the only time the Human Torch is really a Human Torch he looks like the Silver Surfer tinted red.

I could type for hours, but I think the scene that best sums it up is a climactic encounter featuring the aforementioned not-so-Human Torch. He's racing a laser beam, and he eventually destroys it with a punch. Yes, a punch. A laser beam. With a punch. Then he flies around and goes "Yippeee!" a whole lot, whereupon the camera tilts down and he flies back TOWARD EARTH. Evidently Reed the intellectual forgot to inform Johnny that fire doesn't exist in the vacuum of space. This and many other scenes operate like Looney Toones, if the character doesn't know they are over a cliff, they don't fall.

I laughed, I cried, I was glad it was never released.

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Fantastic Four

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Horizons, Constantin Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1