Its Clobberin' Time! - The Orange Mane

-Slap- · 07-10-2005, 06:49 PM

I waited 35 years for the Fantastic Four to come out, so I wasn't going to let a few bad reviews keep me from showing up opening day. I was satisfied with the results, although it could have been better. They went for a light approach, in contrast to all the bleak hero films on the market, and I think they succeeded in making a fun movie that's appropriate for almost any age level. The audience for my viewing definitely had a great time.

A lot of reviewers scorched this movie, comparing it unfavorably to Batman Begins and The Incredibles. Any comparisions to the Batman film are a stretch. Besides the fact that the films are both technically about costumed crimefighters, they're completely different movies. The Incredibles comparison is more apt, but I think Fantastic Four holds its own. Its not as slick and its cheesier moments seem to have been greeted less favorably by critics, but I think FF is better paced than The Incredibles and it was just as enjoyable.

I guess it unavoidable that all the hero movies will be compared to one another, for the sake of expediency for lazy reviewers, if nothing else. Fantastic Four might not be as good as either Spider-Man or X-Man film and, as noted, its hardly even the same type of film as the brooding Batman Begins. I would say its way better than the wretched and halfhearted Daredevil/Elektra films. Its also better than Hulk, which was undone by terrible pacing, a worse ending, and 20 solid minutes of Nolte hamming it up even more shamelessly than usual. FF is certainly a better film than all the previous Batman movies, except possibly the first one, and only because of Nicholson's Joker.

Some people said fans of the series would feel shortchanged, but I didn't feel that way at all. Its funny how reviewers seem to scoff at special effects, while they've silmultaneously become completely jaded to them unless they're seeing something totally state-of-the-art. I think a lot of people wrote this movie off when they found out Michael Chiklis would be a rubbersuited Thing, instead of some hulking pile of orange CGI rocks.

I think they made a nice effort of paying homage to the spirit of the early days of the book. I especially enjoyed Stan Lee's turn hauling Willie Lumpkin's mail sack through the Baxter Building. Maybe the next film will take a more serious approach. That's fine with me. Bring on a big time special effects crew and let's see Galactus and the Silver Surfer the next time out. As an origin episode, I think they established a nice foundation, though.

ZachKC · 07-10-2005, 07:36 PM

No more movies based on comic books...pleeeeeease!

RhymesayersDU · 07-10-2005, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

No more movies based on comic books...pleeeeeease!

Fine... we'll get Hollywood to do some fresh stuff, like remakes of old movies.

That'll end this darned slump!

ZachKC · 07-10-2005, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhymesayersDU

Fine... we'll get Hollywood to do some fresh stuff, like remakes of old movies.

That'll end this darned slump!

I can't wait for Soul Plane II

RhymesayersDU · 07-10-2005, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

I can't wait for Soul Plane II

I wanted to get in line for tickets to that, but I'm already on hold with Fandango for Diary Of A Mad Black Woman 2.

Dukes · 07-10-2005, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

I can't wait for Soul Plane II

ZachKC · 07-10-2005, 08:21 PM

-Slap- · 07-10-2005, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

No more movies based on comic books...pleeeeeease!

Yeah, because you're forced to go see them.

DBroncos4life · 07-10-2005, 09:47 PM

Zach would rather watch the sister hood of the bluejeans instead.

ZachKC · 07-10-2005, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBroncos4life

Zach would rather watch the sister hood of the bluejeans instead.

How deliciously "hotrod" of you.

-Slap- · 07-10-2005, 09:52 PM

Zach's waiting for the Steel Magnolias sequel. Get your hankies.

DBroncos4life · 07-10-2005, 09:55 PM

Maybe rebound is more your taste Zach.

DBroncos4life · 07-10-2005, 09:56 PM

http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=561552

Pezman · 07-10-2005, 10:26 PM

Hey, anything that has Jessica Alba in tights cant be bad. Unless its 'Dark Angel'

Slappy, how did the crowd react to the movie? Was it a younger audience? I havent really wanted to go back to see F4 since I thourougly could not stand the audience in 'War of the Worlds'. I swear, nothing is worse than soccermoms letting their kids run roughshed up and down the ailes during the movies... but that is another topic altogether...

-Slap- · 07-10-2005, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pezman

Hey, anything that has Jessica Alba in tights cant be bad. Unless its 'Dark Angel'

Slappy, how did the crowd react to the movie? Was it a younger audience? I havent really wanted to go back to see F4 since I thourougly could not stand the audience in 'War of the Worlds'. I swear, nothing is worse than soccermoms letting their kids run roughshed up and down the ailes during the movies... but that is another topic altogether...

The kids in our audience had a great time. Doom dispatched a couple folks in grisly fashion, but nothing too intense. I'm surprisingly patient with kids. There was one comedian on the other side of the theater who was pissing me off a little bit, but there's always at least one idiot in every crowd.

This movie is a good example of the kind of summer escapism that Joel Shumacher was probably trying to capture when he was destroying the last Batman series.

Pezman · 07-10-2005, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Slap-

The kids in our audience had a great time. Doom dispatched a couple folks in grisly fashion, but nothing too intense. I'm surprisingly patient with kids. There was one comedian on the other side of the theater who was pissing me off a little bit, but there's always at least one idiot in every crowd.

This movie is a good example of the kind of summer escapism that Joel Shumacher was probably trying to capture when he was destroying the last Batman series.

Dont even bring up that name. Talk about one of the biggest egomaniacs (and worst directors/producers/asskissers) in hollywood. Schmacher is the Lex Luthor of comic book movie fans everywhere. Only someone like John Woo or Roland Emmerich could butcher a movie faster IMO.

As for the attendance, well, this one just seemed to have a pretty broad reach for audience and I really did not want to see it in the matinees (too young crowds) or the late night crowds (too loud and immature).

I went over to Rottentomatoes.com and checked out the general reviews and naturally, they poo-poo'ed it right off. Usually I can get a pretty decent gauge that way and when I do see the movie eventually, I will have lowered expectations and it makes the movie more enjoyable for me. I'm sure it will be the same for the F4 too.

MT-Tdawg · 07-11-2005, 07:34 AM

I went and saw F4 last nite. I knew it wasn't going to be near as good as Batman Begins, and it wasn't, but it was still an ok movie. They could have done a lot, and I do mean a lot of things better, and had more action, but it was worth seeing.

sirhcyennek81 · 07-11-2005, 08:45 AM

I'm gay. notice the lowercase spelling of the word. Joel Schumacher is GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YY. How else do you explain nipples and crotch outline on the batsuit? Good lord...i'm a Batman purist, i hate batman cracking jokes, living in with an adult master Dick. If schumacher could have found a way to make alfred an 18 y/o cabana boy, he would have done it.

Tom H. · 07-11-2005, 09:24 AM

I haven't seen Joel Schumacher's Batman movie but I did like a couple of movies he did. 8mm and Falling down were well done.

anthonypacino · 07-11-2005, 09:28 AM

I think if I was 10 I would have liked the movie more, I always thought that FF would be too hard to tranlate to film, I thought it departed too much from the book, and all of Johnny's "extreme" sports stuff seemed like filler, Doom was a joke, the only thing I enjoyed were Ben and Johnny fighting, I think Alba is wicked hot but very miscast as Sue Storm, Galatcus and the Surfer would be cool but I think that would be WAY hard to bring to life, too much CGI like the Hulk movie.

Rock Chalk · 07-11-2005, 09:33 AM

I gotta tell you, I want to see this movie but I am really really dissappointed in how they did Thing. A rubber suit? come on, we can do better than that. A CGI Thing would ahve been much cooler IMO.

I mean, really, did they light up The Human Torch with real fire? No, they used CGI. Why use a stupid ass rubber suit when Thing could have kicked ass in CGI. The stills I have seen of him are weak and while I know that does not really mean much other than realism, that even fake looking if the role is played well wouldnt matter, it still shuld have been top notch, especially since the Fantastic Four is one of the better comic stories out there.

Im still gonna see it, but I have very low expectations for it./

Rohirrim · 07-11-2005, 10:05 AM

My favorite Marvel character was always the Silver Surfer. I would love to see a film done on that character, with modern f/x. Especially with the origin myth for that character with Galactica (or whatever his name was).

Rock Chalk · 07-11-2005, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

My favorite Marvel character was always the Silver Surfer. I would love to see a film done on that character, with modern f/x. Especially with the origin myth for that character with Galactica (or whatever his name was).

They had a cartoon in the mid 90s on Silver Surfer on Saturday mornings that was really really well done. Great animation and all, but it was cancelled after only 7 or 8 episodes.

Rohirrim · 07-11-2005, 10:13 AM

Yeah, if I remember correctly, that character sprang from a Fantastic Four story.

Ninjafied · 07-11-2005, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

No more movies based on comic books...pleeeeeease!

IMO one movie per comic book is just fine; but do they really have to make sequel after sequel (etc.)?
It all started with Superman, who was just fine without Superman II & III. And now there are so many Batman movies that we can’t even count them all.
I say they spend enough time and money to do it right the first time, and then that’s it.
And for heaven’s sake, if they’re going to make a movie like Daredevil it should be released straight to DVD.

07-10-2005, 06:49 PM	#1
-Slap- Ring of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 31,895	Its Clobberin' Time! I waited 35 years for the Fantastic Four to come out, so I wasn't going to let a few bad reviews keep me from showing up opening day. I was satisfied with the results, although it could have been better. They went for a light approach, in contrast to all the bleak hero films on the market, and I think they succeeded in making a fun movie that's appropriate for almost any age level. The audience for my viewing definitely had a great time. A lot of reviewers scorched this movie, comparing it unfavorably to Batman Begins and The Incredibles. Any comparisions to the Batman film are a stretch. Besides the fact that the films are both technically about costumed crimefighters, they're completely different movies. The Incredibles comparison is more apt, but I think Fantastic Four holds its own. Its not as slick and its cheesier moments seem to have been greeted less favorably by critics, but I think FF is better paced than The Incredibles and it was just as enjoyable. I guess it unavoidable that all the hero movies will be compared to one another, for the sake of expediency for lazy reviewers, if nothing else. Fantastic Four might not be as good as either Spider-Man or X-Man film and, as noted, its hardly even the same type of film as the brooding Batman Begins. I would say its way better than the wretched and halfhearted Daredevil/Elektra films. Its also better than Hulk, which was undone by terrible pacing, a worse ending, and 20 solid minutes of Nolte hamming it up even more shamelessly than usual. FF is certainly a better film than all the previous Batman movies, except possibly the first one, and only because of Nicholson's Joker. Some people said fans of the series would feel shortchanged, but I didn't feel that way at all. Its funny how reviewers seem to scoff at special effects, while they've silmultaneously become completely jaded to them unless they're seeing something totally state-of-the-art. I think a lot of people wrote this movie off when they found out Michael Chiklis would be a rubbersuited Thing, instead of some hulking pile of orange CGI rocks. I think they made a nice effort of paying homage to the spirit of the early days of the book. I especially enjoyed Stan Lee's turn hauling Willie Lumpkin's mail sack through the Baxter Building. Maybe the next film will take a more serious approach. That's fine with me. Bring on a big time special effects crew and let's see Galactus and the Silver Surfer the next time out. As an origin episode, I think they established a nice foundation, though.

07-10-2005, 08:21 PM	#7
ZachKC For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Kansas City Posts: 9,665 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Kennison	Ha

07-10-2005, 10:26 PM	#14
Pezman Livin the dream Andy did you hear about this one? Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Smoggy SoCal Posts: 9,833 Adopt-a-Bronco: DJ Williams	Hey, anything that has Jessica Alba in tights cant be bad. Unless its 'Dark Angel' Slappy, how did the crowd react to the movie? Was it a younger audience? I havent really wanted to go back to see F4 since I thourougly could not stand the audience in 'War of the Worlds'. I swear, nothing is worse than soccermoms letting their kids run roughshed up and down the ailes during the movies... but that is another topic altogether... __________________ Sitting on a beach, earning 20%

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07-10-2005, 07:36 PM	#2
ZachKC For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Kansas City Posts: 9,665 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Kennison	No more movies based on comic books...pleeeeeease!

07-10-2005, 09:47 PM	#9
DBroncos4life Hey pic Mod!?!?! FU Why yes, that is Bacon Bacon. Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The wrong side of right. Posts: 26,516	Zach would rather watch the sister hood of the bluejeans instead.

07-10-2005, 09:52 PM	#11
-Slap- Ring of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 31,895	Zach's waiting for the Steel Magnolias sequel. Get your hankies.

07-10-2005, 09:55 PM	#12
DBroncos4life Hey pic Mod!?!?! FU Why yes, that is Bacon Bacon. Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The wrong side of right. Posts: 26,516	Maybe rebound is more your taste Zach.

07-10-2005, 09:56 PM	#13
DBroncos4life Hey pic Mod!?!?! FU Why yes, that is Bacon Bacon. Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The wrong side of right. Posts: 26,516	http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=561552

07-11-2005, 07:34 AM	#17
MT-Tdawg TIMAY!!! Adopt a Bronco: BIG AL #56 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 348	I went and saw F4 last nite. I knew it wasn't going to be near as good as Batman Begins, and it wasn't, but it was still an ok movie. They could have done a lot, and I do mean a lot of things better, and had more action, but it was worth seeing.

07-11-2005, 08:45 AM	#18
sirhcyennek81 Yes...swooping is bad... Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Florence, Colorado Posts: 20,668 Adopt-a-Bronco: All of them.	I'm gay. notice the lowercase spelling of the word. Joel Schumacher is GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YY. How else do you explain nipples and crotch outline on the batsuit? Good lord...i'm a Batman purist, i hate batman cracking jokes, living in with an adult master Dick. If schumacher could have found a way to make alfred an 18 y/o cabana boy, he would have done it.

07-11-2005, 09:24 AM	#19
Tom H. Seasoned Veteran Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 463	I haven't seen Joel Schumacher's Batman movie but I did like a couple of movies he did. 8mm and Falling down were well done.

07-11-2005, 09:28 AM	#20
anthonypacino off season mode Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,283	I think if I was 10 I would have liked the movie more, I always thought that FF would be too hard to tranlate to film, I thought it departed too much from the book, and all of Johnny's "extreme" sports stuff seemed like filler, Doom was a joke, the only thing I enjoyed were Ben and Johnny fighting, I think Alba is wicked hot but very miscast as Sue Storm, Galatcus and the Surfer would be cool but I think that would be WAY hard to bring to life, too much CGI like the Hulk movie.

07-11-2005, 09:33 AM	#21
Rock Chalk Cheeky Bastards Laus Deo Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Backside of the Internet Posts: 29,940 Adopt-a-Bronco: Chris Harris	I gotta tell you, I want to see this movie but I am really really dissappointed in how they did Thing. A rubber suit? come on, we can do better than that. A CGI Thing would ahve been much cooler IMO. I mean, really, did they light up The Human Torch with real fire? No, they used CGI. Why use a stupid ass rubber suit when Thing could have kicked ass in CGI. The stills I have seen of him are weak and while I know that does not really mean much other than realism, that even fake looking if the role is played well wouldnt matter, it still shuld have been top notch, especially since the Fantastic Four is one of the better comic stories out there. Im still gonna see it, but I have very low expectations for it./

07-11-2005, 10:05 AM	#22
Rohirrim Partisan Human Cannonball Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater Posts: 48,787	My favorite Marvel character was always the Silver Surfer. I would love to see a film done on that character, with modern f/x. Especially with the origin myth for that character with Galactica (or whatever his name was).

07-11-2005, 10:13 AM	#24
Rohirrim Partisan Human Cannonball Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater Posts: 48,787	Yeah, if I remember correctly, that character sprang from a Fantastic Four story.