Fantastic Four (film)

**Fantastic Four** is a 2007 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the fifth film in the universe. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Hayley Atwell, Chad Michael Murray, Rhys Darby, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Spacey, and Channing Tatum and was released worldwide on June 1, 2007. The film ran 111 minutes and was a box office bomb, grossing $95.6 million on a $160 million budget.

## Plot

In 1992, 12-year-old Reed Richards becomes friends with Ben Grimm, a fellow classmate. The two share the dream of being the first humans to travel across galaxies. At the same time, Sue and Johnny Storm, 11-year-old twins learn their father plans on having them intern at his company, Storm Science, when they are teenagers. In 2007, Reed and Ben were college roommates and are now working together as scientists. Sue has become an engineer at Storm Science, while Johnny has left New York City, angering his father. On the island country of Latveria, King Werner van Doome is upset at his son, Victor, who has no interest in becoming King, rather wanting to help people as a doctor. Reed and Ben contact Storm Science and meet with Sue. The three decide to travel to outer space together and be the first ones to step on a planet outside of their solar system. However, learning the vehicle they are supposed to travel in can only be supported by four people, Sue contacts Johnny, who agrees to come.

Sue and Johnny's father, Franklin Storm, also the founder of the company, warns them of possible injuries or even death and Johnny tries to back out, but Sue convinces him to stay by telling him he will become famous. The four are launched out but become subject to a large amount of radiation while escaping the Milky Way. They are pulled back in but are all unconscious. Franklin tries to get them medical attention but they are pronounced dead on the scene. However, they awaken in the Morgue, not yet studied, and they meet up. Reed realizes he can stretch his body to incredible lengths, Sue can travel in and out of the realm of sight, Johnny can ignite flames on his body, without burning, and fly, while Ben is nowhere to be found. The three get back to Storm Science where they discover Franklin has began experiments on a huge rock monster found in the ship with them. Reed realizes it is Ben.

Sue is angry at her father for harming Ben. Johnny decides to use his powers to go around helping people like the other heroes in the city. Sue and Reed try to stop him, while Ben goes into isolation. Johnny calls himself the Human Torch, but is angry because every time he "flames on", his clothes burn off. Reed agrees to make Johnny a suit that can adapt to his abilities, which angers Sue. Reed decides to help out Johnny, becoming Mr. Fantastic, making a suit that will stretch with him. Werner learns of the new heroes and decides to use the ancient van Doome curse, allowing him to use magic, and uses a suit that grants him super-strength, invulnerability, flight, and energy projection, to defeat them. However, the guards betray Latveria and kill Doome. Victor is distraught so he dons the armor and curse to stop the new heroes.

Ben meets blind artist, Alicia Masters, who learns of Ben's appearance but still loves him due to falling in love with him first. Reed and Johnny are attacked by Doome, so Sue uses the suit Reed built for her to save them, discovering she can also project energy, including force fields. Ben and Alicia contemplate leaving the city to escape, but Alicia convinces him to embrace his appearance and save his friends. Ben dons the title The Thing and teams up with his friends. Together they defeat van Doome by twisting the curse, turning him to stone. Ben and Alicia continue to be together, Reed and Sue realize an attraction to one another, while Johnny takes a job at Storm Science. Their identities already in the air, the public calls the four, as a team, the "Fantastic Four".

In a mid-credits scene, Victor, as a stone statue, blinks.

## Cast

* Jake Gyllenhaal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
* Hayley Atwell as Sue Storm/Invisble Woman
* Chad Michael Murray as Johnny Storm/Human Torch
* Rhys Darby as Ben Grimm/The Thing
* Rosario Dawson as Alicia Masters
* Kevin Spacey as Franklin Storm
* Channing Tatum as Victor van Doome/Doctor Doom

## Production

The film entered development in 2004, with the film taking place in the already developed *Iron Man*, *Spider-Man*, and *Captain America*. The film's release date was set for June 1, 2007 with casting underway in mid-2005. Jake Gyllenhaal and Hayley Atwell were cast as Reed Richards and Sue Storm in October 2005. Chad Michael Murray, Rhys Darby, and Channing Tatum were cast as Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm, and Victor van Doome in December, respectively, with filming scheduled to begin in April 2006. Rosario Dawson and Kevin Spacey were cast as Alicia Masters and Franklin Storm in February 2006, rounding out the cast. Filming began on April 14, 2006 and ended on July 18. The film was directed by Tim Story, who also co-wrote the film alongside Simon Kinberg. The film was expected to be the franchise's highest grossing entry, expected to gross over $700 million. However, due to major controversy surrounding the way the cast was treated and it's release date being a week after Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End, the film was the franchise's lowest grossing film, and still is to date, not even grossing over $100 million.

## Reception

### **Box office**

The film was a box office bomb, grossing $54.1 million in North America and $41.5 million in other territories for a total gross of $95.6 million, against a budget of $160 million.

### **Critical reception**

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes calculated a 34% approval rating, based on 115 reviews with an average rating of 5/10, and the consensus being "*Fantastic Four'*s art direction is splendid, but the plot is non-existent and the dialogue lacks the irony and goofy wit of the earlier MMF installments." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from film critics, calculated an average rating score of 41 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

### **Accolades**

The film was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.