BLU-RAY/DVD REVIEWS

The Fantastic Four are now past the point of dealing with their powers and now they must deal with the fame and responsibility of being famous. As they try to cope with their newfound superstardom, a mysterious stranger from another planet is causing disturbances across the globe and the Four must find a way to stop the impending doom.

At the risk of offending die-hard fans, the Fantastic Four are kind of the b-team of superheroes. I’ve haven’t met many people that liked the comic as a kid and I’ve met even fewer people that liked the films. While SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN get the superstar treatment with actors, directing and writing, the FANTASTIC FOUR got second rate on all accounts.

I had read that the first film was originally planned on being a comedy. I think the second tried to capture that original sentiment because they seemed to have thrown in more jokes and more lighthearted themes this time around. I’m actually ok with that, but the comedic feel to the film didn’t work well with the over-serious feel the Silver Surfer brought to the franchise. One minute we’re supposed to be laughing at the Thing getting hit by a big rock and the next we’re supposed to cry at the Silver Surfer accepting he’ll never see the woman he loves again. It didn’t work and the result was a movie that didn’t know what it wanted to be.

I’m torn on my feelings about the actors. I think they did a great job casting actors that look like the comic book characters, but for some reason, none of the actors do even a halfway decent job. I realize Jessica Alba is the near perfect woman, physically, but she can’t act. Lucky for her, she fits right in with the rest of the cast. On the other hand, the Silver Surfer was pretty cool. The Surfer isn’t the most interesting character in Marvel history, but he is one of the coolest looking. I’m pleased to say that they did a great job making the Surfer look life-like and slick.

Superhero films will get sequels as long as they make a slight profit, but I’m surprised FANTASTIC FOUR got one so fast. The first film wasn’t very good and the second didn’t change anything and therefore failed on the same levels the first one failed. The FANTASTIC FOUR just don’t have any chemistry and their stories boring compared to other superheroes.

Commentary with Tim Story: Solo commentaries can be hit or miss, but Tim Story does a pretty decent job with this one. He knows his material and he talks about all aspects of the film. He offers enough tidbits to keep the comic book fans happy, but gives enough movie information to make it worth the time for a film fan.

Commentary with Avi Arad, Don Payne, Peter S. Elliot and William Hoy: The first commentary didn’t have enough participants and this one has too many. I’m not a fan of commentaries that are done separately and then spliced together. I like it when everyone is in the same room. Otherwise, you get a dry, sometimes mundane commentary track, such as this one.

There are also some Previews

If you enjoyed the first one, you’ll probably be able to tolerate the second. If you didn’t like the first one, then this one isn’t going to redeem itself. I wouldn’t even recommend giving this one a rental.