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Fantastic Flops: Fantastic Four (1994) Season 1 is an Exercise in 90s Cheesiness

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Logan Dalton

In a continuation of the “Fantastic Flops” series, I’m going back and re-evaluating the 1994 and 2006 Fantastic Four cartoon as well as the 1998 Silver Surfer seriesand various crossovers and seeing if they’re a “Flop”, “Bop”, or “In-Between”.

The 1990s are seen as somewhat of a golden age for superhero cartoons with such classics as Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series as well as Superman: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. One show that doesn’t seem to get as much love of these is the 1994 syndicated Fantastic Four cartoon that aired with episodes of Iron Man as part of The Marvel Action Hour. In fact, contemporary Fantastic Four comic book writer Tom DeFalco made fun of it in Fantastic Four #396 where replacement team member Scott Lang roasts the show while ribbing The Thing.

Fantastic Four‘s animation is nothing to write home about with the exception of some cool monster designs for Namor and Mole Man’s denizens as well as a very Jack Kirby-accurate Blastaar. Mr. Fantastic’s powers definitely will always look better in this medium. On the writing and story side, showrunner Ron Friedman and his cohorts Elwin Ransom (So cool that they have the same name as the protagonist of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy) and Don Segall’s scripts fluctuate from poignant adaptations of the source material to chaotically humorous (See “The Mole Man”, especially Johnny Storm’s rap because voice actor Brian Austin Green wanted to have a hip hop career.) or intelligence insulting (Both Skrulls episode.) This is a show that jokes about Prince Charles dating Roseanne Barr and features guest spots from Dick Clark and Gary Owens in the two part pilot, but also the solution to defeating various villains comes up in unrelated conversations between Mr. Fantastic and other members of the team. It also loves a running gag and catch phrase, which makes sense for the team that brought you “Flame on” and “It’s clobberin’ time”, but I swear if I have to hear the Thing say “One for the money, two for the show”, I might cancel my Disney Plus subscription. (I do enjoy the Thing’s obsession with Wayne Newton, and how he fights with Johnny Storm when he tries to burn them up.)

The mediocre “Mask of Doom” three-parter is the Fantastic Four show in a nutshell. It begins with the Thing poorly following a TV yoga workout and follows with 2 episodes of he, Mr. Fantastic, and the Human Torch dodging various Dr. Doom death traps while he mansplains his origin story to the Invisible Woman. The third part is an anachronism-filled time travel caper set in 4th century BCE Greece that has big Bill and Ted energy, especially when the Human Torch romances a Greek oracle. The extended theme song, credits, and “previously on” recaps really eat into the runtime of the episode, and important plot points like Victor Von Doom’s relationship with Reed Richards as a college student is quickly glossed over so the team can run around in creepy passageways. Dr. Doom’s origin story should have been the A-plot, and the action hijinks should have been the B-plot, but Friedman and Ransom flip that dynamic. One thing I will say about the Fantastic Four cartoon is that your never more than a few minutes away from the Thing punching something and generally crashing out.

I briefly mentioned the two Skrulls episodes as being the low points of Fantastic Four, and they are along with “Behold the Negative Zone”, which shows that Annihilus and Blastaar are more interesting in their own world than on Earth. Despite having a vast invasion fleet and a warrior with all the powers of the Fantastic Four plus hypnosis, the Skrull never come across as a threat. Friedman, Ransom, and Segall would rather do a cheap imitation of basically Mars Attacks (Which hadn’t come out at the time of the cartoon.) than dig into Marvel’s rich cosmic tapestry. The most memorable moments from this episode are finding out that the Thing didn’t vote for Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election, and that he has bars. Seriously, he spends the entire “Super Skrull” episode trying to film a rap rock video for MTV, one of his many attempts throughout the season to capitalize on his fame as a member of the Fantastic Four to make money.

The high point of Fantastic Four other than the utter silliness of “Mole Man”, which also features Reed Richards and Human Torch/his spoiled girlfriend Melinda and Sue Storm and the Thing working as pairs, is the “The Silver Surfer and Coming of Galactus” two-parter. The scene where Alicia Master senses the Surfer’s humanity and kindness and compares it to Ben Grimms is played beautifully by Pauline Lomas and Robin Sachs. Also, Alan Oppenheimer and Shakespearean actor Tony Jay bring a real direness and grandeur to the episode as Uatu the Watcher and the Devourer himself with the Fantastic Four facing their greatest threat yet. And while this is going on, they’re facing eviction from their landlady Ms. Forbes in a take-it-or-leave-it performance from Joan Lee, who did a much better job as Madame Web in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Dealing with every day struggles while facing the end of existence and finding the good in antagonists is Marvel at its finest, and these plus the YouTube clip of Johnny Storm rapping are the episodes of this series you should watch.

The framing narrative of the two-part pilot of Fantastic Four set at a Dick Clark telethon reminded me a lot of how Fantastic Four: First Steps told the team’s origin. Even though the film was set in the 1960s and the show was set in the 1990s, it hops right to the adventures with the Fantastic Four being a known entity with recurring foes, a relationship with the US government (And a nagging landlady), and as public figures. The 2025 film handles these elements in a much more interesting way, but it’s also a PG-13 blockbuster film and not hamstrung by the need to sell toys to cereal eating children and maybe a stoner or two. I really wanted to give a “Mid” score to Fantastic Four Season One, but am choosing to get a “Flop” instead because there is definitely potential for improvement as evidenced by a season finale that balances pathos (Silver Surfer must doing something heroic without his abilities.) and humor (A few meta jabs at their Action Hour compatriot Iron Man). If anything, the theme song is an ear worm!

Overall Verdict: Flop

Television

Fantastic Flops: The Fantastic Four: First Steps has a Decent Story and Charming Production Design

Posted on July 27, 2025 by Logan Dalton

Even though the Fantastic Four comics kickstarted the creation of the Marvel Universe, their film adaptations have been critically maligned. In the “Fantastic Flops” series, I’m going back and re-evaluating the four previous Fantastic Four films and seeing if they’re a “Flop”, “Bop”, or “In-Between”.

To get the obvious out of the way, after 31 years of struggles and not-so-close calls, we finally have a good live action Fantastic Four film in the clunkily named The Fantastic Four: First Steps. (Franklin Richards is incredibly crucial to this film so I get why they did it though.) Veteran television director Matt Shakman (Wandavision, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and writers Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, and Kat Wood turn in an engaging, retro-futurist standalone yarn that honors the spirit of those early Jack Kirby and Stan Lee comics while adding psychological and ethical dilemmas that come from some of the more contemporary runs like Jonathan Hickman’s work in the early 2010s.

The best thing that Fantastic Four: First Steps has going for it is the production design. Kasra Farahani crafts a world where in the 1960s Marvel Comics only published Fantastic Four comics for the first four years of its existence instead of immediately expanding its universe and bringing back old superheroes like Captain America. Shakman uses breezy news reel montages to establish a utopian world that would make New Deal Democrats, flower children, and sci-fi fanzine readers all smile in perfect harmony. There is a sheen, but also a lived-in feel to the technology used by the Fantastic Four on their various missions as well as the Baxter Building and downtown Manhattan. It’s a shiny, happy world, but there are some rough edges like when Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) goes to his old neighborhood in Yancy Street to get black and white cookies and perform feats of strength for kids at the local Hebrew school. (The Thing’s Jewish heritage is very much intact in this film.) The attention paid to the brave old/new world helps keeps the stakes real when a regal, yet slightly melancholy Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) heralds the coming of Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and the end of this universe. As a cherry on top, Michael Giacchino’s score perfectly blends soaring heroism and sci-fi exploration.

Let’s continue on to the casting. I didn’t love Joseph Quinn as Human Torch, and he doesn’t have the charisma that Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan had in previous iterations of the character. Although charming in other roles, Pedro Pascal doesn’t quite pull off the universe’s smartest man, Reed Richards in the science speak sequences. This is really a difficult role to cast. I did find him endearing as a clueless, new dad and trying to override the part of his brain that treats everything like a problem to solve. Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman carries the film. She bring heart, humanity, diplomacy, and a mother’s love that turns a moment that could have been a deus ex machina, close the portal, and end the movie type sequence into something emotionally resonant. There’s a big “having it all”, second wave of feminism energy into the way that she’s written as Invisible Woman that fits the period as she is a mother, de facto team leader, and quite the diplomat as well. There’s a sequence where she smooths over a moral dilemma that should be required viewing in public relations courses.

So, if it only got the casting about half-right, then why does Fantastic Four: First Steps succeed where its predecessors failed? It is because Shakman and the writing team understands the Fantastic Four are at the best when they’re solving problems and not just punching bad guys. I love the impossible dilemma that is set for the team: choosing between giving Reed and Sue’s firstborn child to Galactus or giving the Earth to the Devourer. The preparation of Galactus’ invasion is actually one of the most underrated and engaging parts of the film. It’s entertaining watching Reed test all kinds of science and equations while Sue markets them to folks around the world. This is while Johnny Storm becomes a linguistics expert because he has a little crush on the Silver Surfer, and Ben Grimm has a crush of his own on Rachel (An always spectacular Natasha Lyonne) and connects with his neighborhood before the end of days. And when the initial plan fails, it’s fun to watch the team move and adjust on the fly. They’re like a well-oiled machine that’s been doing this for four years, helped usher in a utopian society, and of course, their next challenge is fighting God.

Another element that makes Fantastic Four: First Steps a successful film is the aura that Matt Shakman, the visual effects team, Garner, and Ineson give to the Silver Surfer and Galactus. As revealed in the trailers, the movie uses a comics-accurate design for Galactus, and I love how Ralph Ineson in both voice and motion capture plays the antagonist like a universal constant and force of nature, not a malevolent being. He really wishes he could stop doing this, but someone has to keep the scales balanced in the universe. It’s a similar situation with the tragic Shalla-Bal who acts as Galactus’ herald because she wants to keep her planet and children safe. I love the parallels that Shakman, the writers, Vanessa Kirby, and Julia Garner draw between the Silver Surfer and Invisible Woman, and the flashback scene is pure tragic poetry. It’s nice to see these iconic characters finally get their due in live action, and the writers wisely leave a door open for them to return. Also, hell yeah, the power cosmic!

Despite some less than stellar casting, jokes that unfortunately don’t land, and a return sequence from Galactus’ ship to Earth that drags on and on, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an entertaining retro sci-fi blockbuster with clever world-building and memorable production design plus a multi-faceted lead performance from Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm-Richards that makes up for the way the character was poorly written and portrayed in previous films. The battle against Galactus is fittingly epic, and it makes you want to pore over Jack Kirby splash pages or re-read those Jonathan Hickman trade paperbacks. Also, in a similar vein to its movie-mates Superman and Thunderbolts, it’s nice to have superhero films that tell a complete story and have decent character arcs instead of just trying to set up the next installment.

(P.S. I need a Disney Plus animated series in the style of the second post credits scene!)

Overall: 7.0
Verdict: Bop

Fantastic Flops: Fantastic Four (2015) is a chemistry-averse attempt at a dark Elseworlds take on Marvel’s First Family

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Logan Dalton

Thinking back to the mid-2010s, it seemed like every studio wanted to do a dark superhero yarn. You had the neck snapping, hero vs hero, nihilist Pa Kent antics of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. More successfully, Fox decided go dystopian with X-Men: Days of Future Past before atoning for X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine with a hopeful ending that was immediately walked back in the final two X-Men films. Even the quippy world of Marvel went to some literal or tonally dark places with Thor: The Dark World, the conspiracy thriller-inspired Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the collateral damage filled Avengers: Age of Ultron. Instead of providing counter-programming, Fantastic Four goes for a darker, more trauma-filled take on Marvel’s First Family. Even though I enjoyed his directorial debut Chronicle, director Josh Trank lacks even the visual style of Zack Snyder to make the film look memorable even if the tone is dour. However, what really sinks this film is the lack of spark and familial connection between the Fantastic Four even though Reg E. Cathey’s Dr. Franklin Storm does give a few speeches on the topic, and there’s a seemingly tacked on scene on the end to give their “team” a name.

Some tone deaf moments (“Clobbering time” being used by Ben Grimm’s abusive older brother.) and the complete lack of chemistry between Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and Sue Storm (Kate Mara) aside, I honestly don’t mind the beginning of Fantastic Four before they go into the other dimension. I love the scene where Dr. Franklin Storm (A thoughtful performance from the late Cathey) and Sue pluck Reed from the school science fair and let him unleash his passion for science and other dimensions at the Baxter Institute. It’s hilarious that working on an interdimensional transport is Johnny Storm’s (Michael B. Jordan) punishment for illegally street racing. Also, the motivation for their mission is sound as Harvey Allen (Tim Blake Nelson) wants to send trained NASA astronauts to another dimension instead of young science nerds. (He does have a point, but apparently, this Reed Richards is into wanting fortune and fame.)

However, the film really goes downhill after we get some genuinely interesting, if a little over-CGIed body horror and transformation takes on the Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom. The Storm siblings are lab rats, Ben Grimm (An unconvincing Jamie Bell) ends up being a super soldier for the US government, and Reed Richards is a fugitive attempting to build an interdimensional teleporter in a cave with a box of scraps. Fantastic Four‘s narrative momentum fizzles and springs back to life with the re-emergence of Von Doom, who has survived his green energy/laundry detergent bath and is extremely pissed off and nihilistic. He also has a death touch and uses it to take out characters played by beloved character actors, Reg E. Cathey and Nelson. (The ending is so rushed that the Storm siblings and Reed don’t even mourn for Dr. Storm before moving into their new space. Earlier, in the film, he had a bit of anti-authority streak, but that has turned into a desire to destroy our Earth and reign over the utter barrenness that is Planet Zero. This involves the cliched glowing portal in the sky, one of the most anti-climactic final superhero battles ever, and Reed Richards playing ring around the rosie with Dr. Doom before Ben Grimm punches him while repeating his abusive brother’s catch phrase.

Other than laughable fight choreography and special effects, the final fight scene in Fantastic Four doesn’t land because it’s Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny’s first time working together as a team because they’ve been fragmented throughout the entire film. Logically, Dr. Doom would kick their lackluster chemistry having butts and then portal off to run Latveria or whatever, and the team would come back stronger in the sequel. However, the entire fate of the world is on the line so, of course, they have to win with Trank adding a sliver of unearned hope at the end.

I have to give slight kudos to Josh Trank and writers Jeremy Slater and Simon Kinberg for attempting a different tone than the previous two Fantastic Four films. They draw heavily on the Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis Ultimate Fantastic Four, and a lot of the way the government treats folks with superpowers reminds me of the Ultimate Universe trying to find the latest super soldier and fight foreign wars for the United States. Like Chronicle, I think Trank was going for real world plus superhero vibes, but the Fantastic Four isn’t the property you do that with. Planet Zero could have been a Cronenberg-ian take on the “Negative Zone”, but it’s like Mordor in the Lord of the Rings if they got rid of the Orcs, giant Spiders, cool fortresses, and giant Eye and replaced it with the Ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Characters talk about Planet Zero being this place that could change the fortune of the human race, but the visuals don’t live up to it. Also, the lack of connection between Grimm, Richards, Johnny Storm, and Victor Von Doom accentuates the emptiness of the landscape even more. (It’s so weird to me that Sue isn’t on that first mission, but you have to four sci-fi coffins on your teleporter machine in a Fantastic Four film.)

Fantastic Four (2015) tries to be a dark, Elseworlds-y take on Marvel’s first superheroes, but is crippled by a snooze of a second act, a stinker of a third act, and characters that feel more like co-workers whose shifts occasionally crossover rather than found family squandering the talents for four great young actors in Teller, Jordan, Mara, and Bell. (Casting a Brit as Ben Grimm is a misstep though.) I can definitely see why Stan Lee didn’t have a cameo in this as Trank and cinematographer Matthew Jensen drain the color and wonder out of one of his finest co-creations.

So, it sadly looked like all the previous Fantastic Four film adaptations were flops even though I was very close to ranking the 1994 one as “Mid”. Here is my ranking of all the Fantastic Four films so far, and I’ll be back next week with a review of Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four (1994)
Fantastic Four (2005)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Fantastic Four (2015)

Overall Verdict: Flop

Movies

Fantastic Flops: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is an undercooked mockery of some epic source material

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Logan Dalton

Fantastic Four (2005) did okay at the box office so 20th Century Fox decided to run it back with director Tim Story, co-writer Mark Frost, and the whole cast from the first film, including Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom and Kerry Washington as Alicia Masters. Frost is joined by Simpsons and My Super Ex-Girlfriend writer Don Payne and John Turman, who worked on Ang Lee’s Hulk. In the second and final film in this franchise, they attempt to adapt the iconic Stan Lee and Jack Kirby stories “The Wedding of Sue and Reed” and “The Galactus Trilogy” while also being influenced by the more recently published Ultimate Galactus Trilogy by Warren Ellis and various artists. This latter comic is why Galactus is a mute, amorphous cloud and not the godlike being he’s depicted as in the 616 Marvel Universe. Throw in a subplot where Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) becomes the Super-Skrull plus an appearance of future Herald of Galactus/Nova Frankie Raye (An unamused Beau Garrett), and it seems like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer took some big swings across the board, especially for a movie with a 90 minute run time. However, it’s all strikeouts except for a few funny moments, a cool design for the Silver Surfer (Motion capture by Doug Jones ; voice by Laurence Fishburne), and Ioan Gruffudd finding his backbone in a badass monologue directed at General Hager (Andre Braugher in a thankless role) and taken almost word for word from Ellis’ Ultimate Extinction where Mr. Fantastic uses it to call out Nick Fury.

The initial setup of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer does have some merit. Reed Richards and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) want to get married, but the world is about to end so they don’t live happily ever after. However, their relationship is built on “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus” stereotypes as all the “will they, won’t they” tension from the first film is gone, and they’re the default couple in this one. In addition to the weakness of this key romance, the characters’ individual motivations are wonky, and their arcs are non-existent. Of course, Johnny Storm wants to be a rich, famous celebrity, and Reed Richards wants to do science, which consists of him fiddling with things that look like Game Boys and Xbox controllers and staring at screens. (We’re one year away from Iron Man, and science looking cool again.) However, Sue Storm just wants to be a trad wife even though she was a genetics researcher in the previous film and shows skills as a mediator and leader in being the first person on Earth to actually have a conversation with the Silver Surfer. There’s also Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) who is in a stable relationship with Alicia, and his monstrous nature is played for laughs. He also doesn’t get a lot to do in the action sequences with Human Torch (Thanks to special molecular shifting abilities given to him by the Silver Surfer.) and Invisible Woman running point in that department, and Silver Surfer handling the final fight by himself. It’s an unfortunate waste of a solid performer.

Another character whose appearance in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is even more unnecessary is Victor Von Doom. There are a couple, hastily edited sequences of him in the shadows tracking the Silver Surfer and then getting his face healed after being zapped by the Herald of Galactus. And, then, Frost, Payne, and Turman take a page out of fellow Fox superhero sequel X2‘s playbook by having the Fantastic Four team up with their worst enemy against an even bigger threat. However, X2 succeeds because Magneto is a sympathetic figure with a genuine friendship with Professor X. The Fantastic Four films hinted at a friendship/rivalry between Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom, but these are just two guys who hate each other and stare at computer screens while Doom gets in the U.S. military’s good graces enough to test the power cosmic and fly around on a surfboard pointlessly extending the run time of the movie. Unlike both the original and Ultimate Universe Galactus trilogies, there’s no plan for taking on the Destroyer of Worlds other than having the Silver Surfer fly at him and sacrifice himself. (Of course, he gets better because studios have been trying to get a Silver Surfer film greenlit since Terminator 2 figured out the cool silver CGI effects.) They’re bullshitting so much that there’s no time for Richards and/or Von Doom to demonstrate their genius beyond a too little, too late appearance of the Fantasticar. Dr. Doom is mainly a boring distraction in the film, and we know even less about Latveria and his connection to them.

Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer is a moronic reflection of both the family dramedy and cosmic sides of the Fantastic Four comics. Tim Story and the screenwriters go for broad punchlines instead of fun character-driven humor even though there are some fun moments like Mr. Fantastic and the Thing cutting it up on the dance floor, or Raye roasting the Human Torch. On the cosmic side, Silver Surfer and Galactus feel like plot elements in a Roland Emmerich film not Biblical, Kirby Krackle larger than life figures although there’s a fluidity to Jones’ mo-cap performance and a majesty to Fishburne’s voice acting. Also, this might be a side effect of 17 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but its world feels hollow and lacks a sense of wonder. Evans and Chiklis definitely had potential in the roles of Human Torch and the Thing, but were ruined by obvious punchlines and plot developments as well as one dimensional villains. Both Fantastic Four films suffer from Story, the screenwriters, and editors William Hoy and Peter S. Elliott not letting scenes breathe and letting us have a chance to know and love these characters. It really needed more scenes like Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm throwing darts (and accidentally burning the dart board) while talking about how they feel about the end of the world.

However, for all the movie’s failings, that John Ottman theme for the Fantastic Four films is pretty epic though!

Verdict: Flop

Fantastic Flops: Fantastic Four (2005) think it’s too cool for school, but it’s actually kinda lame

Posted on July 4, 2025 by Logan Dalton

11 years after the first Fantastic Four film was unceremoniously rushed out, 20th Century Fox put out the first proper theatrical film starring Marvel’s first family. Featuring a $100 million budget, a screenplay co-written by Twin Peaks’ Mark Frost and a cast of young, up and coming actors (Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm) and steady supporting actors/TV veterans (Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm, Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom), Fantastic Four hoped to bring these classic heroes into the new millennium. However, the end product is a film that is ashamed of being a superhero movie and cribs and scenes from the contemporary Sam Raimi Spider-Man and Bryan Singer’s X-Men film while lacking the former’s heart and the latter’s social conscience.

My main takeaway from rewatching the 2005 Fantastic Four film is its derivative nature. Like in Spider-Man, there’s a big superhero action scene on a bridge, but it’s just going through the motions and bringing the team together instead of creating tension in a heroic journey. Explosions, super powers, and special effects just happen willy nilly, and it doesn’t add to the four leads’ character arcs at all. Also, I hate to say this, but McMahon’s Dr. Doom is a defanged, Xerox of a Xerox of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. The scenes where he takes out the board members who denied his IPOs lack the menace and freak factor of similar scenes in Spider-Man. McMahon’s best moments as Von Doom are when he’s looking at his increasingly scarred visage showcasing his vanity, and this is all thrown by the wayside when he puts on the sadly not-so-iconic Dr. Doom mask. Also, Julian McMahon uses a basic, robotic voice for Dr. Doom that makes him seem like a cheesy villain of the week and not the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis. Unlike Chiklis, who imbues his performance as The Thing with a gravelly physicality and vocal performance, McMahon loses his edge right before the big superhero/supervillain showdown.

Turning Victor Von Doom into a tech mogul instead of the magic wielding monarch of Latveria really homogenizes the character even though the Doom/Sue Storm/Reed Richards love triangle is a quick, immediate source of conflict. Fantastic Four could be a film about an immigrant trying to assimilate into the United States by being the ultimate capitalist, but Von Doom’s Romani heritage is absent while Latveria only acts as a punchline and a hook for a sequel. Unlike the 1994 Fantastic Four film, the Richards/Von Doom relationship is quickly dashed out through dialogue so director Tim Story can go back to showing off the film’s CGI budget by having Mr. Fantastic turn into a surrealist painting or having lots of “cool” heads up displays as Richards looks for a cure for his and his friends’ conditions. The Von Doom doing corporate espionage on Reed Richards angle definitely plays up his portrayal as a slimy capitalist, but at no time, I felt like Richards was one of the smartest men of the room. Honestly, he reminded me more of early 2000s/married Peter Parker than Mr. Fantastic, but sans quips. Gruffudd doesn’t even get to do a British accent to make the science speak sound better.

The main positives of Fantastic Four are Evans and Michael Chiklis’ performances as Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. Even before he gains the ability to burst into flames, Chris Evan oozes charisma and nails the role of douchebag heartthrob. He objectifies women, but does it with a smile and a sense of humor, especially when he’s pranking Grimm. Director Story and writers Frost and Michael France wisely tap into the early-2000s extreme sports zeitgeist with Storm’s character featuring two genuinely fun snowboarding and BMX sequences to show him struggling with his powers before he gains control while still being a show-off towards the end of the film. The nu metal/G-Unit soundtrack and product placement overload date the film while also making it wistfully nostalgic. But what isn’t dated is Chiklis bringing an everyman charm to the role of the Thing as he nails both the sadness of the role as well as Ben Grimm’s sense of humor. He earns the “It’s clobbering time.” moment, and early scenes show a real friendship between him and Richards until the movie designs to drop it for the chemistry-averse Reed/Sue romance. (Also, Grimm would never trust Von Doom even if he bought him a heaping plate of pancakes.

In Fantastic Four, Tim Story, Mark Frost, and France don’t know whether they want the film to be a dysfunctional family drama, straight up superhero film, unlikely heroes sci-fi film, or a glorification of early 2000s celebrity culture. The film feels like a patchwork of scenes and tones before wrapping up with a decent action sequence and a coda that is an homage to Johnny Storm making the Fantastic Four sign in the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics as well as a very rushed-seeming proposal from Reed to Sue right as they show a little actual chemistry. But it’s too little too late, and I wish we had more scenes of the team spending time together instead of rushing after each other or being isolated in different rooms. (After they save the day, the Ben Grimm cure plot/superpowers being treated as a disease is conveniently pushed aside and sent back over to the X-Men franchise.)

Looking back, I think the reason I liked this movie as a pre-teen were the aforementioned X-Games tie-ins, onslaught of So-Be product placement, and the attractiveness of Chris Evans and Jessica Alba.

Will the appearance of heavy hitters like Galactus and the Silver Surfer in the sequel improve the film or make it even more annoying, you’ll find out on next week’s “Fantastic Flops” covering this film’s 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. (Hey, I can do pre-credits stingers too.)

Verdict: Flop

Movies

Fantastic Flops: The Fantastic Four (1994) is the scrappy underdog that couldn’t

Posted on June 27, 2025 by Logan Dalton

In 1994, German film company Constantin Film was set to release a live action Fantastic Four film that was executive produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman and directed by Oley Sassone, who had done music videos for Gloria Estefan, Eric Clapton, and John Lee Hooker among others. According to a 2005 issue of Los Angeles Magazine, the film was supposed to have a big premiere at the Mall of America, but without much fanfare, it was shelved. The Fantastic Four was never officially released, and reports vary on whether it was ever meant to be released or was hastily produced so that Constantin and executive producer Bernd Eichinger could hold onto the rights for a future film. There is a lot of information about The Fantastic Four’s production, including a feature length documentary, but how does the actual film hold up.

From the cheesy opening credits sequence featuring planets and astronomical phenomena, The Fantastic Four shows every bit of its estimated $1 to $1.5 million budget. Sassone and cinematographer Mark Parry use shoddy trick photography to show off Reed Richards’ (Alex Hyde-White) stretching ability including the film’s infamous final shot of his arm waving like the inflatable thingmajigs you see outside cellphone stores. More cleverly, they take a 1966 Batman approach to action with animated images of the Thing and punching sound effects filling the frame instead of actual fight scenes. Thankfully, invisibility is the lowest budget superpower ever, and I got some dark laughs from Sue Storm (Rebecca Staab) disappearing, and two henchmen shooting each other. Unfortunately, the Human Torch’s (A hyperactive and irritating Jay Underwood) big scene where he goes nova into Dr. Doom’s death laser is ruined by a patchwork hybrid of early CGI and animation. Honestly, a fun stylistic choice in this scene would be using the original Jack Kirby Human Torch illustrations and putting them into motion like the 1967 Fantastic Four cartoon. To end my special effects gripes on a positive note, I do adore the tactility and texture of the rubber suit that The Fantastic Four crafts for The Thing (Suit actor/stuntman Carl Ciarfalio)

Visual limitations aside, The Fantastic Four is fairly faithful to the spirit of the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics with each team member’s superpowers connecting to their personalities. The use of character actors instead of movie stars gives the film a down-to-Earth feel. Also, Fantastic Four are portrayed as accidents and monsters not superheroes like in their initial appearances. One of my favorite sequences in the film is The Thing wandering off and being shunned by regular people, but finding companionship and worship by the Jeweler’s (A very creepy Ian Trigger) minions. It drives home the point that while Reed, Johnny Storm, and Sue Storm can live fairly normal lives with their abilities that Ben Grimm’s (Michael Bailey Smith) life has irreversibly changed. However, his connection to Alicia Masters (Kat Green) still roots him in humanity so he doesn’t fall into villainy and arguably is the most heroic character of all in the film. This heroism is set up earlier in the film when Grimm risks burns to rescue Victor Von Doom (Joseph Culp) from an experiment gone wrong.

Culp probably gives the strongest performance in the film in the dual role of Victor Von Doom and Dr. Doom. He goes from a weird, slightly off-putting college student to the ultimate supervillain even if his voice is muffled by the comic book accurate Dr. Doom suit. (Ciarfalio has this issue as Thing too, which messes with the timing of his one-liners.) Oley Sassone does a lot of money-saving extreme close-ups on Doom’s face, but Joseph Culp exudes real menace, especially when he finally decides to get his hands dirty. I also love the hints of Doom as manipulator like when he lets the Jeweler sabotage the diamond that powers Reed Richards’ ship instead of committing his men to the fray, and how he shrinks from humanity when Richards tries to appeal to their own friendship. It reminded me a lot of Obi Wan and Darth Vader in a good way, which makes sense because Doom and Darkseid may have influenced George Lucas’ creation of Darth Vader. In both the portrayals of Doom and the Jeweler (A less scientific Mole Man with just a drop of Puppet Master.), Sassone and screenwriters Craig J. Nevius and Kevin Rock embrace the classic comic book villain without any attempt at irony.

Speaking of screenwriting, it’s the rushed nature of The Fantastic Four‘s storyline that drops the film from “In-Between” into “Flop” territory. A la David Lynch’s Dune, if you’re not familiar with the Fantastic Four, a lot of the moments in the story can be confusing like why Reed Richards’ landlady’s children are on the test flight with him and Ben Grimm, or why Grimm is in love with a woman that he awkwardly bumped into once on a flight of stairs. The Fantastic Four has a 90 minute running time, which leads to establishing scenes getting cut especially with the film having two villains, a flashback with Richards and Von Doom in college, telling the team’s origin story, and featuring the marriage of Reed and Sue. Nevius and Rock definitely should have included a scene showing Johnny and Sue connecting to Reed’s work (Instead of one of him being super creepy to an underage Sue, played by Mercedes McNabb aka Harmony Kendall from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.), one setting up Dr. Doom’s whole deal in Latveria, and maybe Thing and Alicia Masters getting to know each other at the Jeweler’s place instead of skipping straight to “I love you”. There’s definitely a feeling that the screenwriters want to get to the cool highlights of the Fantastic Four’s early career without the connective tissue that make these moments so memorable. At least, they didn’t try to shoehorn Silver Surfer or Galactus in the film.

Featuring scrappy character actors instead of Hollywood stars, a shoe string special budget, and a real love for the classic Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Fantastic Four comics, The Fantastic Four unexpectedly charmed me, especially since I have a soft spot for unpolished B and Z-films. However, the film’s rushed pacing and some truly moronic plotting decisions as well as the creepiness of characters like Reed Richards and the Jeweler keep it from being something I would ever revisit. I do love the similarities in the characters’ suits in The Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Verdict: Flop