by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor
The Fantastic Four, Marvel’s “First Family”, will be returning to theaters this week with a new installment from Director Josh Trank (Chronicle). Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that the newest take on our beloved heroes has been met with much scrutiny, as the trailers have demonstrated a very… different… version of the characters that we know and love. In preparation for the release of the new film, we at ComicsOnline felt it was important to look back at the past attempts to bring Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing to the big screen.
Most fans are familiar with the 2005 release of Fantastic Four (Directed by Tim Story), but there was actually another attempt at bringing these characters to life in 1994. Directed by Roger Corman, best known for his work on cult classic “B-Movies”, The Fantastic Four would be the first time that fans would see these characters in live action. In an attempt to retain film rights to these characters, an extremely low-budget movie was created (which never even got an official theatrical release). The infamous movie has managed to live on for years through bootlegs and the power of the internet, and still has a cult following to this day.
Although the film was created on a shoe-string budget, this version of The Fantastic Four managed to be extremely faithful to the source material (something that many superhero films today seem to ignore). The origin of how the Four get their abilities, the relationship between Reed and Dr. Doom, and the classic character designs are just some of the highlights that make this installment worth watching at least once in your life.
The biggest failure in terms of the overall narrative was the inclusion of “The Jeweler”, who was supposed to be a fill in for classic character “The Mole Man”. This new character was a master thief who led an army of vagrants under the tunnels of New York City. If this specific story element was removed from the film, it would be easy to consider The Fantastic Four the most faithful comic adaptation of this franchise to date. I’m not saying this is a masterpiece by any means, but if you go in with an open mind, you might enjoy this in the same way that you enjoyed the old Adam West Batman television series.
There is no question that the 1994 film is campy. The dialogue is bad, the acting isn’t the best, and the “special effects” are a joke (just wait until you see Johnny fully “FLAME ON” for the first time). All these issues aside, when you actually see the film, you can still tell that this is the story of The Fantastic Four. They creative team understood who these characters were, and why they were important…something that the future Fantastic Four films seemed to miss.
In the event that this article has piqued your interest in seeing this lost installment of The Fantastic Four, I have good news for you! The ENTIRE FILM is available FOR FREE on Youtube. That’s right. You can watch it at the link below.
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