Movies I Like That Everyone Else Hates

Fantastic Four (2005)

To coincide with my novel Spider-Man: Wrongfully Accused, let's talk about a Marvel movie I like that everyone else hates! Specifically the 2005 version of Fantastic Four. The FF is Marvel's first original family of superheroes. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this team was Marvel's answer to the Justice League of America, before The Hulk, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and The Avengers. To this day, Stan and Jack's original team remains influencial for many comic book fans, and Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four's arch nemesis, remains one of the most popular supervillains of all time,  even inspiring the creation of Darth Vader. I'm not kidding. George Lucas based Darth Vader's design on Dr. Doom. So the Fantastic Four are pretty big deal at Marvel. They've introduced such iconic characters as The Watcher and the Silver Surfer. Many Kirby fans would say that the Fantastic Four is considered one of his best works. My favorite member's The Thing. Sadly, movie studios can't seem to get Marvel's first family on the big screen right. They've tried three times, I kid you not. It all started when Marvel was on the verge of bankruptcy. In a moment of desperation, the faltering comic book company (at the time) sold the rights of their characters to various movie studios. They sold Spider-Man and Ghost Rider to Sony. They sold the Punisher to Artisan Films, which would then go to Lionsgate, then the rights would revert back to Marvel. Deadpool kept on jumping from studio to studio such as Artisan and New Line Cinema. There was a time when Sony owned the rights to Luke Cage and Black Panther, and this was back when they were obscure. Iron Man spent years in development hell at Universal and 20th Century Fox, until the rights reverted back to Marvel. And Fantastic Four at the time was owned by German Film Studio Constantin Films. But the head of that studio was a greedy bastard, and refused to give the rights back to Marvel. So he created a Fantastic Four movie back in 1994 produced by Roger Corman, and didn't tell the actors and the director that this film was mainly being made so that Marvel wouldn't get the rights back, and the film has been shelved. It's this abomination right here.

Yuck. It was a B-Movie with a low budget, and a lot of that budget was clearly devoted to The Thing's makeup. Looks like an animatronic Ninja Turtles reject. I've seen worse though. But I'm not here to talk about the 1994 film. Anyway, remember when I mentioned 20th Century Fox?

Marvel sold many of their characters to Fox. They sold all of their X-Men characters, the Daredevil characters, and Fantastic Four to Fox. And when Fox owns the rights to the Fantastic Four franchise, their rules were that whatever character made their debut in a Fantastic Four comic book, Fox would immediately own the rights to them. And this was the case until Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Now Disney owns the rights to the X-Men franchise and the Fantastic Four franchise. But anyway, in 2005 Fox released their take on The Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story. It starred Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman, Michael Chiklis as The Thing, and a young Chris Evans as Human Torch. The film was released in theaters on July 8th, 2005. On a $100 million budget, the film grossed $330.6 million at the box office. It was financially successful enough to spawn a sequel known as Rise of the Silver Surfer. Despite being a commercial success, the film received mixed reviews from critics, earning a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, criticizing it for its goofy tone, questionable acting, bland storytelling, and mediocre special effects. I, on the other hand, thought it was a lot of fun. I was eight years old when it was released, this was my first introduction to the characters. So I have a soft spot for the film. Plus it has Stan Lee in a cameo!

He played their mailman, Willie Lumpkins. His cameo in the sequel's funnier.

See what I mean? Anyway, the film was a lot of fun for me. And I loved the portrayal of Michael Chiklis as The Thing. His was the best. And on the bright side, Chris Evans got to redeem himself as Captain America. Fantastic Four (2005) and its 2007 sequel may not have been fantastic to some, but for me, I have a soft spot for it. Besides, it's better than that 2015 reboot.