Cast:
Alex Hyde-White (Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic), Rebecca Staab (Susan Storm / Invisible Woman; Mercedes McNab as Young Susan Storm), Jay Underwood (Johnny Storm / Human Torch; Phillip Van Dyke as Young Johnny Storm), Michael Bailey Smith (Ben Grimm), Carl Ciarfalio (The Thing), Joseph Culp (Victor Von Doom / Dr. Doom), Kat Green (Alicia Masters), Ian Trigger (The Jeweler), and Annie Gagen (May Storm) Directed by Oley Sassone.
Review:
“I just sent an email to the cast. We’ve remained really good friends over the years, and we’re still astounded that this movie won’t die, 25 frickin’ years later, man. We’ve been interviewed by I don’t know how many outlets, magazines, the BBC, you name it. It just keeps coming.”
Time enough at last. You might wonder just why I would elect to do this movie, one that was not released in theaters but has persisted with bootleg recordings. Well, it seemed apt to deliver justice in the smallest form possible to a movie that unfairly shelved, so screw it. You might know that the team was created by Stan Lee (writer/editor) and Jack Kirby (artist/co-plotter) in 1961 that apparently had its first steps come because magazine/comic publisher Martin Goodman heard about the growing success of the comic series Justice League of America in 1960. In the 1980s, Bernd Eichinger and his production company Constantin Film obtained an option for a movie based on the comic book series The Fantastic Four. Apparently, Constantin's option was to expire on Christmas Eve 1992 and he either needed to start shooting or lose the option. Enter Roger Corman, who agreed to join forces on a production that was to be done for $1 million with New Horizons Pictures to help distribute. Production started three days before New Years Eve 1992 (after starting casting in December of that year) under the directorial work of New Orleans native Oley Sassone, who went from being a musician to actually shooting music videos and even doing a few cheapie movies with 1991's Final Embrace and Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight. The movie apparently was shot in less than four weeks in California with a screenplay by Craig J. Nevius and Kevin Rock. So yes, the movie was shot quick and cheap, but there were people making it that at least wanted to try and make it look like a comic book (such as its costume designer). The trailer of the movie was shown in theaters, and the cast and director did a promotional tour for the movie, by the way. There was meant to be a world premiere on January 19, 1994 that would have charity proceeds. Then the studio confiscated the negatives and told folks to go home. It apparently was exhibited once on May 31, 1994 before it was eventually purchased by Marvel executive Avi Arad and "burned". People have argued over whether the movie was meant to be released. Lee (who visited the set and even mentioned it to people in public) said it wasn't, Corman said it was and his contract had to be bought out, Eichinger said it was meant to be released. Hilariously enough, the next attempt at making a Fantastic Four movie would take a long time to do, since 20th Century Fox spent ten years in hiring people to try and direct / write the thing. In 2005, with Constantin Film as one of the production companies involved, Fantastic Four was released in theaters. Twenty years (and two more Fantastic Four flops) later, the next attempt at making a film adaptation is coming with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the first of these films that isn't set in contemporary times. Sassone never got to direct a big movie, but he didn't leave the film business, directing a litany of small films and plenty of television. Somehow, somewhere, someone made efforts to do a bootleg for people to spread around of the film and it has been that way ever since, with a red-carpet showing of the movie (no paid tickets) even being done in New Orleans as late as 2019.
You have to be kidding me, right? This is the movie that couldn't get released? Even with all of the "good" movies I've seen, there are still movies I've also seen that are considerably of lesser value than what you see here. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) was basically an unfinished product, and it still got released! Besides, was it really going to be a bigger low point for Marvel than the 21st Century Film Corporation flop with Captain America (1990)?* I don't know if I could go as far as to say this is better than the turgid 2005 Fantastic Four movie, but it is so funny to see a movie that deserved better in its inspired efforts. The names of Hyde-White, Underwood, Staab, and Smith / Ciarfalio should be remembered as the first live action Four or at least acknowledged by Marvel; Arad apparently didn't even watch the movie before it was burned but thank heavens that bootleggers have persisted in making sure one can see the movie at all. It's almost a punk thing if you think about it, a movie that exists for the public as if it was an act of defiance. Criticizing the movie is like asking the guy who smells like he has beer in his pants if he is drunk: you already know the answer. The movie doesn't quite have the pacing to really make for great drama, but there wasn't exactly a great outline to work out a team comic book movie yet; having a ten-year gap that has a young Sue is not exactly ideal if you think about the age gap between her and Reed (notice how she apparently isn't a scientist here). The effects are wonky in the sense that The Thing is probably the highlight effect in looking and sounding adequate, at least when compared to the "trick" used for the Invisible Woman or the computer effect used at the end with the Torch, and the less said about Mr. Fantastic, the better. Due to, well, not being completely and totally finished in post-production, the voice work for Ciarfalio and Culp is, well, not ideal, but at least they look pretty cool for a bit. As a movie, it is all over the place in hokum that couldn't quite go with "mole men" but could do "jewelers" and it definitely lacks tension, but a little polish and a little more appreciation beyond "make this quick" in a era where you really needed time/more money to make an adventure, and maybe you would have the recipe for a "cult classic". As a movie, it is a corny one but it also is a well-intentioned attempt at making a movie for folks to enjoy that clearly deserved better than what it received.
Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.
Supplemental (i.e. no rating but just for you guys): as a treat, I also viewed the 2015 documentary Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four, which was directed/written by Marty Langford as funded in some part by Indiegogo that interviewed the cast, Sassone and several others. The documentary is pretty cut and dry about a subject matter that is, well, distinct from the usual "making of / story", but at least you hear from people who at least seem interested in getting their words out there about a production that sure seemed like it was going to be just another job (or for some, one they wanted to use to springboard further). The documentary may just be a "heh, we did make a movie", but you don't exactly have people clamoring to hear about the 2005 or 2015 Fantastic Four productions, do you? I can't exactly give it a rating, because it is more a thing you would watch on the Internet (85 minutes) rather than compare it to say, "The Making of [X]", but if you are curious about the 1994 movie, this will be interesting to view right after that as a solid "fine" curiosity.
*In 1993, Arad was named the president and CEO of Marvel Films, which did eventually become Marvel Studios in 1996.
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