There's so, so very much going on here. The cast's contributions are mostly characterized by overacting that's brazen if not daring. It's hard to pinpoint just one or two examples because there are so many, but the sheer exuberance Jay Underwood embraces as Johnny Storm is astonishing - and more wild than this is Michael Bailey Smith's delivery of a line as Ben Grimm invites the Storms into space. Transitions and editing at large are often downright zany. The special effects are actually pretty decent, provided that you accept they're somewhere between twenty and thirty years out of date for 1994. To that point, the production values at large are peculiar: sure enough, this has the look and feel of any picture Roger Corman may have made in the 50s or 60s, yet this came along a good few decades after the filmmaker first rose to prominence. And we're just getting started, because in every regard there were choices made in making 'The Fantastic Four' that represent a great host of myriad oddities and contradictions. At times it's like it wanted to embrace the cartoonish revelry of, say, Adam West's Batman, or Joel Schumacher's 'Batman and Robin,' but lacked the resources to do so.
There are elements of the plot that just aren't explained, like what qualifications Sue and Johnny could possibly have to join Reed and Ben on their pivotal journey. While the powers of the Storms are very well established in cultural history, in this movie we see how, for both, a couple of their abilities are never touched upon at all until they suddenly become relevant to the climax. No explanation is forthcoming for how Doom goes from a prideful college student to an archvillain who is for some reason addressed as Prince (even passing knowledge of comics lore tells us; this feature does not). Speaking of the writing, the dialogue is excruciatingly ham-handed at some times, such as the repetition of The Thing's trademark line. More than this, the first verbal iteration of the group's name that compelled me to yell at the screen. Why, to that point, the way the superhero team comes together (with uniforms, out of nowhere), and the resources they inexplicably have at their disposal, are altogether mind-blowing. Please note, too, how The Thing's pants change throughout the plot. Both of two romantic aspects in the narrative are weirdly contrived, inventions of pure movie magic, and in a broad sense some of the decisions that characters make are dubious to say the least.
Dr. Doom's costume is surprisingly faithful to the comics; on the other hand, The Thing looks a lot like Harry from 'Harry and the Hendersons,' only covered with rock instead of fur. An oft-repeated theme in the score, portending tenderness, family, and love, borrows HEAVILY from James Horner's score for 1991 family adventure favorite 'The Rocketeer.' Vocal effects employed to alter Joseph Culp's voice as Dr. Doom, and especially Carl Ciarfalio's voice as The Thing, are unnecessary and distracting, and in and of themselves detract from the viewing experience. I do earnestly respect the work put into the production design and art direction - details from costume design, and hair and makeup work, to set design, and props - though the wide range from "spartan and minimal" to "all-in and extravagant" is frankly incredible. And so on, and so on.
Yet what's really amazing about 'The Fantastic Four' - complete, finished, but officially unreleased - is that despite its reputation, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It's a mess, a hodgepodge, a patchwork of curiosities; it's low-budget, bursting with perplexing ideas and inclusions, and outright cringe-worthy in no few parts. For all this, however: it only wanted to have fun. And it is. Mind you, the fact that this rendition of Marvel's oldest superhero saga is as entertaining as it is, despite its flaws and shortcomings, is in no small part because it is bewildering, and therefore unintentionally funny. I cannot emphasize enough what a delightfully strange experience it is, and one that's best enjoyed with friends, where the joy can be shared. I don't wish to spoil the surprise, but that joy includes what are among the funniest 10 seconds of film I've ever seen, a little after the 1 hour 25 minute marker, as outrageously obsolete visual effects collide with a highly questionable character decision and an astounding choice of writing or direction.
Once more: there's so, so very much going on here. I can understand why this is so poorly regarded, and it's not undeserved. However, the flip-side of all the bizarrerie is that for those who are sincerely receptive to all the wide possibilities cinema has to offer, the assemblage of all the varied, disparate, puzzling components becomes novel, endearing, and almost endlessly amusing in a way that major studio output sometimes just can't achieve. 'The Fantastic Four' is a picture that will stand out for years to come in the annals of film history as a misstep, a blunder, an enigma, or otherwise Something Less Than. But if you're open to what it has to offer, on any level - welcome.
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