FANTASTIC FOUR
Year: 2005
USA & UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Hamish Linklater, Kerry Washington, Laurie Holden, David Parker, Kevin McNulty, Maria Menounos, Michael Kopsa, Andrew Airlie, Pascale Hutton, Michael Gray, David Richmond-Peck, Penelope Corrin, Aonika Laurent, Jason Schombing, Jason Diablo, Colin Lawrence, Paul Belsito, Deejay Jackson, Morgan Reynolds, Gina Holden, Donavon Stinson, Douglas Weston, Tony Alcantar, Brenda M Crichlow, Peter Bryant, Lorena Gale, Danielle Dunn-Morris, Nicole Munoz, Daniel Bacon, Bobbi Bysouth, Kenny Bartram, Ronnie Renner, Brian Deegan, Marlaina Mah, Tre Verhoeven, Juanita Mirehouse, Stefanie Singer, Jamie Little, Doug Abrahams, Ron Chartier, Stan Lee, Barbara Christabella, Sanja Banic, Ed Hodson, John Speredakos, Jason Kaufman, Preston Peet, Steven Fulani Hart, Bethann Schebece, Lou Torres, Peggy Gormley, Maurice Tyson, Jaimie McVittie, Jenni Squair, Lia Salmond, Ellen Ewusie, Ylenia Aurucci, Michelle Kulas, Kate Mullan, Georgia Dewson, Sienna Rose, Hector A Leguillow
Director: Tim Story
Country: USA
UK: 105 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content
UK Certificate: PG contains moderate fantasy violence and sex references
USA Release Date: 8 July 2005
UK Release Date: 22 July 2005
Synopsis
Inventor, astronaut and scientist Dr. Reed Richards' (Ioan Gruffudd) lifelong dream is close to being realized. He is spearheading a trip to outer space, to the centre of a cosmic storm. There he hopes to unlock the secrets of the human genetic codes for the benefit of all humanity.
Extensive government grant cutbacks nearly dashed the visionary's hopes of the historic flight, until Reed accepted a financing deal with his old college rival, Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), now a billionaire industrialist.
Reed's crew for the mission includes his best friend, astronaut Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis); Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Von Doom's director of genetic research and Reed's ex-girlfriend; and Sue's hot-headed younger brother, pilot Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). With benefactor Von Doom in tow, the four set off for the exploration of a lifetime.
The mission is uneventful - until Reed discovers a miscalculation of the speed of the approaching storm. Within minutes, the event threshold is upon them. The space station is engulfed by turbulent clouds of cosmic radiation which genetically transforms the crew. Their DNA is irrevocably altered...and so is their future.
Back on earth, the effects of the exposure are quickly revealed. Reed gains the ability to stretch and contort his body into any shape he can imagine and, as leader of the group, is given the name Mr. Fantastic; Sue is able to render herself invisible and to create and project powerful force fields as Invisible Woman; Johnny becomes known as The Human Torch, as he can now engulf his body in flames and take flight at will; and Ben, whose freakish transmutation is the most shocking, becomes an orange-colored, rock-like, superhumanly strong creature, The Thing.
Together, they turn tragedy into triumph and catastrophe into coalition, using their unique and formidable powers to thwart the evil plans of their now steely-eyed, iron-fisted nemesis Dr. Doom and to protect the citizens of New York City against any threat that may arise.
Astronauts. Superheroes. Celebrities. To the world, they are the Fantastic Four.
To each other, they are a family.
FANTASTIC FOUR is based on Marvel's longest running comic book series, which has well-earned its moniker as "The Greatest Comic in the World." While several Marvel comics-to-film adaptations have preceded FANTASTIC FOUR, most notably the X-MEN and SPIDER-MAN features, FANTASTIC FOUR required, for self-evident reasons, four times the special effects power of any previous comic-to-film epics; indeed, the film's finalized effects are so groundbreaking that the technology used to create them didn't even exist a year ago. But for all its state-of-the-art effects, what makes FANTASTIC FOUR special is its humor and emotion. The characters are, after all, the superhero world's most famous dysfunctional family.