"Fantastic Four"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Beau Weaver as REED RICHARDS Lori Alan as SUE RICHARDS Chuck McCann as THE THING Brian Austin Green/Quinton Flynn as JOHNNY STORM Not Rated Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Back to DVD Review Home |
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Not long ago, I was chided by a Batman fan for saying Christian Bale made the best Batman. This fan reminded me that Kevin Conry is probably the best Batman, for he supplies the voice for the animated series. I had to revise my statement by saying the Christian Bale made the best Batman in a live action film.
Many moviegoers don’t consider the animated series of comic book heroes as being significant. But any comic book fan will tell you that the recent animated series like “Batman,” “Superman,” “Spider-Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” usually get it right before the big studios do in Hollywood. Even the old “SuperFriends” show from the 1980s was true to the spirit of the comics at the time - once you got past the Wonder Twins.
What’s great about the recent surge of superhero movies is that the studios are releasing the animated series on DVD, which sometimes provides a better viewing experience than the films in the theatres. At the very least, you get about ten hours of episodes in one purchase than just a two-hour movie.
Some of the stories are a bit far fetched. When Reed Richards’ experiments accidentally open a portal to another dimension through their television, even the most die-hard comic book fan is gonna find that hard to swallow.
The stories get better in the second season. At least there’s no more music videos with The Thing, no more pop songs from Johnny Storm and better dialogue. Still, the plots are a bit fantastic, reminding me that the heart and soul of the Fantastic Four is from the cheesy 1960s in comic book history.
The series starts off with the team’s origin, quickly bringing in characters from the comic book. What’s nice about these animated series is the filmmakers are given more control over the rest of the comic book universe. Throughout this series, we see cameos by other heroes like Thor, the Silver Surfer, the Incredible Hulk and Daredevil. There’s also some classic Marvel villains in the mix, like Doctor Doom and the Sub Mariner.
This four-disc DVD set comes right in time for the release of the live-action big-budget movie from FOX. Comparing the two, I found a lot of similarities in the characters and storylines. I never read the Fantastic Four comic, but I am familiar with the characters. And the film seems to fit well with this animated series.
Of course, there are some problems with this animated series. The biggest one is the annoying theme song that runs through the first half of the episodes. Apparently, they rethought the song and eventually replaced it with a milder instrumental version. They also recast the voices and spruced up the animation for the second season. But that ridiculous theme song will always float through my head.
Like most of the Marvel DVD releases, this four-disc set contains a Stan Lee Soapbox section, where the guru of modern comics espouses on the characters in the series. Lee also provides introductions to each episode, although most of them contain spoilers so they’re better viewed after seeing the episodes themselves.
What I’ve found fascinating about the Fantastic Four is their interactions with each other. Because they do not have secret identities like practically every other superhero in print, they have unique experiences. Stan Lee points out that these heroes are the first real super-family, and this make the shows interesting to watch.
Specifications: Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
