Fantastic Four movie - What would you have done differently?

[Oldsoul3300]

--I'm just curious for those of you who have seen the film, what would you have done differently if you were calling the shots?
Possible subjects - story, characters, casting, FX, costumes, etc.
Let's hear it!

[Pod]

Well I can post alot for this but dont have the time...

1. There would be a crash scene with all of them lying in the ship looking dead and then when the ship crashes to earth one at a time a character will get out of the space ship and the powers will start violently appearing. Doom would have came out first and started walking farther and farther mumbling "what happened..." then the other characters will come out too bruised and in pain.

2. A recovery team finds the ship in a jungle and brings the four back. They dont find Doom anywhere.

3. Doom calls the company a day later that hes in a small down and they pick him up.

4. Reed would talk more and more on how the 4 are changing (but this time the actor should actually be good at acting).

5. Johnny should be like he is...

6. The Thing is good too...

7. Doom should also have the same story where he loses his company money but no "I love you, susan" stuff. And he would have the costume on much longer before Thing destroys it.

8. subway scene!!!

9. Sue would be played by someone who can look like a scientist, act like a scientist and still be hot...soo much things to dream of...

10. Doom would have escaped to latvia when he was about to get frozen. He would have disappeared in the battle and then you see him in latvia starting a army of regular people being controlled by micro-chips on the back of thier neck.

Theres more but...gatta run!

[The Xenos]

I would have skipped wasting time on a while origin movie.

Have them already be known heros and ahve Doom already cursing his former college roomate from his dictator seat in Latveria.

Flashbacks, people, they're a good way of telling backstory. Why waste a whole film on the origin which was handled in, what?, one or two issues?
From what I hear, for Fantastic Four they just invented stuff loosely to fill basically a two hour origin tale.

At least Batman had a decent and full story to his orgin. It even built something more from the Year One comic and weaved toehr books into the origin very organically.

I'm gonna wait for the sequel for FF so the characters will already be established and they can do something as the characters I know and the full characters they should ahve been.

-Xenos

[WC]

I would have skipped wasting time on a while origin movie.

Have them already be known heros and ahve Doom already cursing his former college roomate from his dictator seat in Latveria.

Flashbacks, people, they're a good way of telling backstory. Why waste a whole film on the origin which was handled in, what?, one or two issues?
From what I hear, for Fantastic Four they just invented stuff loosely to fill basically a two hour origin tale.

At least Batman had a decent and full story to his orgin. It even built something more from the Year One comic and weaved toehr books into the origin very organically.

I'm gonna wait for the sequel for FF so the characters will already be established and they can do something as the characters I know and the full characters they should ahve been.

-Xenos

But from a pure story point of view, origin stories are good, because they show the clearest change of a person from one state of being to another. All stories are about change and a hero's journey, whether the protagonist becomes wiser, more knowledgeable, more responsible etc at the end (eg Spider-Man), or whether they sink deeper into their troubles (eg The Talented Mr Ripley).

Now, there was some change - a hero's journey - in FF, but Tim Story could've executed it better. We could've seen more of a change with Doom, and more of a change with Sue.

As far as Reed, Johnny and Ben go, I see the changes were as follows:

1. Reed - he was more timid and afraid to step up to being a hero at the start. By the end, he rose to the occasion and began to act like a leader.
2. Johnny - more brash and irresponsible at the start. Although he didn't change too much, he did seem to become more responsible at the end.
3. Ben - he was bitter and wanted to be cured (naturally). In the end he sacrificed his own happiness for the sake of the rest of the team.

Now of course these could've been done better. We saw an origin tale in Spider-Man and Batman Begins, and they worked out fine. As I said, origin tales naturally show the most change. However, a better director would've made more of the FF's origin and the change they all went though than Tim Story did.

[DS]

For heaven's sake... the first thing to do is HIRE SOMEONE WHO CAN PASS FOR AN ACTUAL BLONDE TO PLAY SUE STORM!!!!

Beyond everything else, the horrendous miscasting of Jessica Alba for this part, no matter how attractive she may be, sticks in my gourd the most. She doesn't look blonde, can never pass for blonde, and should never be cast AS a blonde, unless (1) it's supposed to be a joke, or (2) she's playing a hooker or a stripper. She simply looks BAD!!! :evil:

[easy D]

Well, to me the casting was fine, it was the story that I felt needed to change.

1. Actually have Mr. Fantastic seem more intelligent. Someone said that he seemed too much like "The Absent-Minded Professor", and I think that that phrase suited the movie Reed more than the classic Reed in the comics.

2. Doom should've stuck more to his roots. First off, make him as intelligent, if not, smarter than Reed. Keep the metallic skin, but still give him armor so he can do things like shoot lasers or fly or things of that nature. Also, Doom-bots. It would've been great to see the Fantastic Four fighting against a whole army of Doom-bots. I think that would make him a better character. Otherwise he looked great. The costume looked terrific, wished he kept it a little longer.

3. The overall story. Unlike Batman Begins or the Spider-Man films (or even The Incredibles), it didn't seem to have any heart. Should've gotten a writer who can understand the concept and appeal of the characters.

Otherwise, it was a nice popcorn movie. But they could've done so much more.

[WC]

3. The overall story. Unlike Batman Begins or the Spider-Man films (or even The Incredibles), it didn't seem to have any heart. Should've gotten a writer who can understand the concept and appeal of the characters.

Otherwise, it was a nice popcorn movie. But they could've done so much more.

How would you define a movie that has "heart"? What makes one movie have it and another not? I'm just interested.

[easy D]

Something along the lines of "What's the meaning of the story, what's it trying to tell us? Why should we care for these characters?". Other than Ben, none of the other characters didn't really show that. (Even Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2 had that)

That's what I've always believed about the meaning of a movie having "heart". Of course I could be wrong...

[Bigkid]

Wow......what would I have done differently? Hmmmmm........

I think most of us are sort of all in agreement about casting. Even though I really am convinced that Jessica Alba wasn't awful the way that I thought she was going to be, I still think that she was not the right choice for the part. Her and Reed really should've been cast a lot older. If Sue is supposed to be the head of genetic research at Von Doom industries, then they should've gotten a woman with a good 6 or 7 more years on Alba. I mean, granted, Reed is portrayed as somebody who was a boy genius, but there was really nothing to sort of make me truly believe that Sue was essentially a young genius herself. I always felt that those roles should have BOTH gone to older actors. Someone on these boards a LOOONG time ago had suggested casting Bruce Greenwood as Reed (would've been a PERFECT age). I mean, I was always going on about George Clooney, but I could understand why they would rather go for someone like Greenwood: a solid actor who's been working for years and could REALLY show us somebody who had years of intelligent work behind (and) ahead of him. Charlize Theron was a top pick of everyone's also, but I really would've liked to have seen Rhada Mitchell in the role of Sue (she played Dakota Fanning's mother in "Man on Fire"). I had no problem with the casting of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, and Von Doom I always thought should've been portrayed by Geoffery Rush. Although, I DID always say that I thought James Gandolfini would've been a GREAT Ben Grimm/The Thing.

So that's just my thoughts on the casting process......... I'll have to come back at another time to give my other thoughts on the other stuff that could've been done.

[WC]

Wow......what would I have done differently? Hmmmmm........

I think most of us are sort of all in agreement about casting. Even though I really am convinced that Jessica Alba wasn't awful the way that I thought she was going to be, I still think that she was not the right choice for the part. Her and Reed really should've been cast a lot older. If Sue is supposed to be the head of genetic research at Von Doom industries, then they should've gotten a woman with a good 6 or 7 more years on Alba. I mean, granted, Reed is portrayed as somebody who was a boy genius, but there was really nothing to sort of make me truly believe that Sue was essentially a young genius herself. I always felt that those roles should have BOTH gone to older actors. Someone on these boards a LOOONG time ago had suggested casting Bruce Greenwood as Reed (would've been a PERFECT age). I mean, I was always going on about George Clooney, but I could understand why they would rather go for someone like Greenwood: a solid actor who's been working for years and could REALLY show us somebody who had years of intelligent work behind (and) ahead of him. Charlize Theron was a top pick of everyone's also, but I really would've liked to have seen Rhada Mitchell in the role of Sue (she played Dakota Fanning's mother in "Man on Fire"). I had no problem with the casting of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, and Von Doom I always thought should've been portrayed by Geoffery Rush. Although, I DID always say that I thought James Gandolfini would've been a GREAT Ben Grimm/The Thing.

So that's just my thoughts on the casting process......... I'll have to come back at another time to give my other thoughts on the other stuff that could've been done.

I would agree with you completely on the casting here. Although I don't think that Sue necessarily needed to be any sort of scientist at all. That seems more one of these PC things these days to try to make it look like women are more empowered than mere decoration in a film. But what IF Sue had been some other profession? Would that have been so bad?

I don't think so. It would've provided a much needed contrast to Reed, and made Reed's role that much more unique. Now Reed is just one of a bunch of scientists instead of THE man that everyone needs to go to when they want to solve a problem. As it stands in the film, if there is a problem, and it's not too complex, maybe Sue can figure it out.

Wasn't Sue meant to be something like an aspiring actress in the comics? She would've been a great foil to Reed if she still retained this occupation.

[Bigkid]

I pretty much thought that Sue was supposed to be the lone civilian on the space trip in the original comic, WELSHY. I thought that you had the brilliant scientist in Reed, the 2 pilots (Ben and Johnny), and Sue, because she was Reed's fiance, was the civilian who was going into outer space with them because she was essentially the government guinea pig. But, I can understand what you mean: they had to make Sue a scientist, more of a p.c. type thing to do nowadays in movies.

Also....... since this is a thread about what we would've done differently....
I'm sort of in agreement with bearpod about the Subway scene. Apparently there WAS one in the original script......so why didn't they include it in this film? Maybe we'll get to see it in the DVD director's cut, perhaps?

[WC]

One thing I would do is give more screen time to Marvel Legends Thing:

http://www.actionheroes.homestead.com/files/thing5.jpg

http://www.actionheroes.homestead.com/files/thing.jpg

I thought it was a great cameo by him in that little scene in the movie where Ben smashes it. :lol:

Incidentally, did the version people saw in the cinemas have that little figure saying "It's Clobberin' Time"? Because I don't remember hearing that, but when I saw a special on the FF movie on tv, it had that line. Same thing with the Hulk movie - there was a scene which was slightly different in the cinema to in the tv special. :?:

[Bigkid]

Yes, WELSHY....... they had the figure in the film say, "It's CLOOBERIN TIME!" It was a clever way to introduce the line, and then have Ben repeat it when he comes through the wall and punches out "Vic".

The best part of that scene is when Johnny shows it to him and pushes the button, and the voice is the voice of, like, a little kid sped up! And then Ben smashes it against the wall........ and the little figure cries out! It was a very funny sequence!

I was unaware that that was something that was on the market (actually). I thought it was made specifically for THAT SCENE in the movie! Pretty ingenious way to get that in there!

[easy D]

I pretty much thought that Sue was supposed to be the lone civilian on the space trip in the original comic, WELSHY. I thought that you had the brilliant scientist in Reed, the 2 pilots (Ben and Johnny), and Sue, because she was Reed's fiance, was the civilian who was going into outer space with them because she was essentially the government guinea pig. But, I can understand what you mean: they had to make Sue a scientist, more of a p.c. type thing to do nowadays in movies.


Ok, read a reprint of the first Fantastic Four comic, and it's like this. Reed was the scientist and Ben was the pilot. That's true. And, Reed wanted to take his fiancee, Sue. But, Johnny, well, they were more like, "Eh, it's a four-seater. Let's bring someone else along, but who?" Ok, nobody actually said that, but it seemed like they brought him along for the hell of it. Maybe as a quick meal if they crashed. But I'm guessing Johnny might've been the same age as Spidey when he got his powers, so there's no way he was a pilot.
HA!! IN YOUR FACE!!

[WC]

Yes, WELSHY....... they had the figure in the film say, "It's CLOOBERIN TIME!" It was a clever way to introduce the line, and then have Ben repeat it when he comes through the wall and punches out "Vic".

The best part of that scene is when Johnny shows it to him and pushes the button, and the voice is the voice of, like, a little kid sped up! And then Ben smashes it against the wall........ and the little figure cries out! It was a very funny sequence!

I was unaware that that was something that was on the market (actually). I thought it was made specifically for THAT SCENE in the movie! Pretty ingenious way to get that in there!

Ok, thanks! I guess it was a slightly different cut of the movie that was shown over here. What you describe is what I saw on the tv special, but not what was heard when I saw it in the cinema. I noticed the difference particularly because I watched the special as soon as I got back from the movie and thought "that wasn't in the film!". All that I saw in my version was everything you describe minus the funny Clobberin' time voice. The fiirst time we heard that line was when Ben himself uttered it.

I wonder why we had a different version? Same with the Hulk. In the scene with Josh Lucas where they're fighting on the floor, in the tv special, Banner says "You're making me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry." The version in the cinema said "You're making me angry," and Josh Lucas answers "Oh am I?".

Anyway, I personally would've loved it if the Thing we saw in the movie actually looked exactly like Marvel Legends Thing. That looks far better IMO than the rock suit that Chiklis wore. That's what I'd hope is improved on in the next film - a more comic accurate look with the big brow.

Incidentally, there is no actual button on ML Thing, and he doesn't talk. I think that was just added for the film. 8)

[Batman15]

I would have taken out alot of the stupid one liners such as "Marco Polo" and "That's my nose supergenius." Also I would change Dr. Doom's voice to make it have and accent.

[WC]

I'm afraid I don't get the "Marco Polo" line. Someone explain it to me please? :?:

[Batman15]

Do you mean you didn't get why he said that?

[WC]

Do you mean you didn't get why he said that?

Yes. Is that something he normally says? If so, I don't remember Doom ever saying that in the comics. What's the reason for saying that? :?:

[Batman15]

There was no reason for it. it was just a really stupid line that the director thought would be funny. It doesn't describe Doom at all. :evil:

[WC]

There was no reason for it. it was just a really stupid line that the director thought would be funny. It doesn't describe Doom at all. :evil:

:?: That still doesn't make any sense. It's like Doom saying Christopher Columbus or Ferdinand Magellan. What's so funny about saying the name Marco Polo? :?:

[easy D]

:?: That still doesn't make any sense. It's like Doom saying Christopher Columbus or Ferdinand Magellan. What's so funny about saying the name Marco Polo? :?:

"Marco Polo" is also a game played around a pool. One guy closes his eyes and wades around the pool and tries to find the other guy. The only clue he has to find the other guy is to shout out "Marco!", while the other guy shouts out "Polo!". Kinda like hide and seek in a pool.

[The Xenos]

Marco!

Po-holy crap they should have hired one competant writer on this damn movie instead of passing it through a room filled with monkeys and typewriters.

-Xenos

[WC]

:?: That still doesn't make any sense. It's like Doom saying Christopher Columbus or Ferdinand Magellan. What's so funny about saying the name Marco Polo? :?:

"Marco Polo" is also a game played around a pool. One guy closes his eyes and wades around the pool and tries to find the other guy. The only clue he has to find the other guy is to shout out "Marco!", while the other guy shouts out "Polo!". Kinda like hide and seek in a pool.

OK, I think I might get it now after that explanation. Presumably Doom was pretending he was playing that game because he was looking for an invisible Sue Storm. It makes more sense now. But still, not everyone's going to get that line if you don't know that game.

Thanks.

[easy D]

Well, I don't know about Wales, but in America, a lot of kids are more familiar with that game than with the explorer.

[Oldsoul3300]

Well, I don't know about Wales, but in America, a lot of kids are more familiar with that game than with the explorer.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. But it is, nevertheless, a common game in the states.

[Bigkid]

The only reason that I was able to get it was because they did the same thing in Hellboy, if you recall. I'm not going to go into an explanation HERE, but for those of you who've seen Hellboy (and I'm just assuming that lot's of you folks DID), you'll all know what I mean. However, I thought to myself when I was watching it......this is not a good moment. It's as if the writer's on FF were WATCHING the DVD for Hellboy when it came time to complete that scene, and one of them said, "HEY! Let's use THAT! It'll get laughs!" Or something like THAT.

[DarrenJSeeley]

I'm not sure how much of Mark Frost's version was polished up by Simon Kinberg, if it was made better or worse. I do know I would have deep sixed that song during John Storm's X-Treme adventure, and I mighta kissed Maria goodbye and then sent that ET gal packing.

What would I have done if I got a crack at the script?

Here's a lowdown:

Orgin story with only minor, updated changes. Not like the film, but something like...

Let's suppose Reed worked on/helped design an expierimental space shuttle for NASA that would have explored and or documented the energy wave. The mission is called "The Jupiter Project".

The day before launch, Doctor Von Doom, one time friend of Reed's, now a bitter rival and a ruler of a third world country, commits an act of terrorism and plants a deadly bomb on the shuttle. A countdown has begun; the area is being evacuated. Reed stares at the screen, and is enraged because his hard work has been sabotaged. Thinking, he acts.
He rounds up a skeptical Ben Grimm and his girlfriend-scientist Sue Storm. They also enlist the help of Sue's brother, John, who is a wanna be Formula One driver, to get them to the shuttle pad at a high rate of speed. John figures out what Reed is up to, and wants to help them save the day, so to speak.

They make it there, getting by security, and when they make it there, all dressed up in the blue '4' (see the sign for 'Jupiter') flight suits but John, who thinks he's "only" dropping them off and getting out of harm's way. But Reed brung an extra suit- there is no way John's hot car can outrun the exhast blast of the shuttle, let alone a bomb.

On a quick decision, John goes in the shuttle with them. NASA techs discover what Reed is up to, they let him launch.

Once in space, Ben instructs John to go in the back of the shuttle and get rid of the bomb. They can't "diffuse" it, although that might be great if they could. Instead, the plan is to suit up and open the cargo doors and dispose of it, where it would eventually go off, but without harm to them or the earth population below.

They are successful, but Doom left a little 'surprise' for them in the back. Himself. Doom attacks John first and then Ben.

In this instant, the cosmic ray hits the shuttle. John is lost in space, knocked out with little to no air. Doom and Ben are out, as is Sue and Reed.

Reed wakes up to see a presumed dead John out of the shuttle; but then John 'flames on'. They are at this time only aware of John's change. They come back to Earth in a safe landing. Lots of press there.

Doom is taken into custody, the madman, however, has little changes as well. His body starts to become as seen in the film. Little by little, more into Doom. The only difference is that he's become more powerful- but he escapes not my too much might: he just invokes his contreversial diplomatic immunity.

Reed finds that his DNA has not only given him a strech ability, but also a change in his brainwaves, as he seems to know of more advanced technology and "knows" how to construct varous machines and gizmos. Like, oh say, The Ultimate Nullifier, or a device that can teleport (in theory) one person from earth halfway across the known universe to a inhabitable planet. Grimm and Sue discover the changes as they do in the film. Grimm has a slight case of depression.

The bridge scenes happen as they are done in the film. The stuff with Alicia Masters stays. Her casting is fine. The tension-arguing between Thing and Torch remain as seen in the film. The Torch gives then 'names' as seen in the film.

However, Doom is out there, and he is, like Reed, now gifted with "intellegence" and creates an army of Doom-like robots of various shapes and sizes. He also wishes to manipulate some of Reed's new gadgets- including a device that could bring them back to normal.

After the robot attack has diverted attention away, Doom somehow tricks Thing into changing back and reclaiming humanity. Doom then nearly kills Ben like in the film. Like in the film, he gets the better of Reed and has confronation with Sue. Like in the film, John has a heat seeking missle follow him out into the water.

Like in the film, Ben changes back to Thing, proclaims Clobbin Time and Thing and Doom have the tussle as seen in the film. Working together, the Fantastic Four finally defeat Doom's menace for the time being, just like in the film.

As you can see, I would only make these changes:

1) Reed Richards is less of a carpet to be walked on, he is seen as a take charge leader. He isn't a wuss. He isn't into himself. Ioan is fine.

2) Sue is alright, as is Alba. Her role is beefed up and given better things to say.

3)Johnny's Torch comes in a bit sooner, and no awful Green Day copycat artists to go on the soundtrack with him.

4) Wouldn't change a Thing. Chikilis is great.

5) Doom would be more villian, less cliched. Also, instead of McMahon, someone more like...Antonio Bandaras.

6) Put a bit more suspense, action and imagination into it.

7) Change how they get into space with a logical, if not close to the comic as you can get. As Primus once said, Johnny was a race car driver. Let's use it to our advantage.

[Bigkid]

I think that I'm in agreement with a lot of you, on the topic of how the opening of the film could've been constructed better, and I also think that you could've still been able to keep it even more closely resembling the comic book origin of the 4 in the first place. Plus, I DO like Darren's suggestion that having Doom on board (SNEAKING him aboard), would've been a better way to go about it. In the origin tale in the comics, he wasn't on the mission with them, obviously, but I always did like the idea that Doom should've been with them. But I like Darren's idea better.....to have him aboard rather as a stowaway then as a crew member.

[WC]

I was watching I Robot recently. I think Bruce Greenwood would've been a more traditionally 60s Reed and take charge-type of leader. Ioan (despite being Welsh) is still rather young and lacking experience. He doesn't strike me as having the same gravitas as the classic Reed from the comics, especially as portrayed by Jack Kirby or Herbe Trimpe (or even John Byrne). Ioan's greenness is probably part of what contributed to the slightly nerdy Reed.

And I would've rather had someone like Kate Bosworth (who was one of the contenders) instead of Alba. Anyone who can play Sandra Dee gets my vote for Sue. But of course, Charlize Theron was the choice I would've wanted.

I guess Johnny and Ben could've stayed the same actors.

I would've also loved to see a retro sixties period version of the FF, but with futuristic elements, much like the Incredibles. That would've had far more charm than merely setting it in modern day. Just look at the King Kong trailer (set in the 1930s) and how cool that looks.

[norrinraad]

Ioan (despite being Welsh) is still rather young and lacking experience. He doesn't strike me as having the same gravitas as the classic Reed from the comics, especially as portrayed by Jack Kirby or Herbe Trimpe (or even John Byrne). Ioan's greenness is probably part of what contributed to the slightly nerdy Reed.

This is exactly the same problem I had with Ioan. I've read that he's a great actor but he just didn't cut if for me as Reed. He didn't seem wise, calm, or intelligent enough to suit the role. A slightly older man would have worked better, someone who exuded wisdom and decency. For me Reed was the weakest link here.

I was pleasantly surprised by Alba. She may not win an Oscar for this role but she absolutely nailed the maternal part of Sue, and I didn't see that coming. For a starlet with such considerable physical charm, she has an appealing warmth to her that I find very attractive. Many of her contemporaries, though better actors, project a much colder persona. She may not have been the best choice for Sue, but I can live with her in the role.

As I've posted before, both Johnny and Ben were perfect in their roles. Now we just need a better script and a more stylish director to lift the franchise out of the "fun" zone and into the "great" one.
_________
"I don't miss birthdays but I sure do miss Santa Clause."

[easy D]

Ioan (despite being Welsh) is still rather young and lacking experience. He doesn't strike me as having the same gravitas as the classic Reed from the comics, especially as portrayed by Jack Kirby or Herbe Trimpe (or even John Byrne). Ioan's greenness is probably part of what contributed to the slightly nerdy Reed.

This is exactly the same problem I had with Ioan. I've read that he's a great actor but he just didn't cut if for me as Reed. He didn't seem wise, calm, or intelligent enough to suit the role. A slightly older man would have worked better, someone who exuded wisdom and decency. For me Reed was the weakest link here.

I was pleasantly surprised by Alba. She may not win an Oscar for this role but she absolutely nailed the maternal part of Sue, and I didn't see that coming. For a starlet with such considerable physical charm, she has an appealing warmth to her that I find very attractive. Many of her contemporaries, though better actors, project a much colder persona. She may not have been the best choice for Sue, but I can live with her in the role.

As I've posted before, both Johnny and Ben were perfect in their roles. Now we just need a better script and a more stylish director to lift the franchise out of the "fun" zone and into the "great" one.
_________
"I don't miss birthdays but I sure do miss Santa Clause."

Well, I think that Ioan did do a pretty good job as Reed. As for his youth, well, everyone else was about the same age so I guess getting someone older would make him seem out of place. I think the main problem is that either the writers or the director didn't spend enough time on his character to actually make him seem more like the Mr. Fantastic in the comics. Physically, though, I think he's a good match. Looks almost identical to the Mr. Fantastic Marvel Legend action figure I got. I don't know maybe in the sequel...

[WC]

Ioan (despite being Welsh) is still rather young and lacking experience. He doesn't strike me as having the same gravitas as the classic Reed from the comics, especially as portrayed by Jack Kirby or Herbe Trimpe (or even John Byrne). Ioan's greenness is probably part of what contributed to the slightly nerdy Reed.

This is exactly the same problem I had with Ioan. I've read that he's a great actor but he just didn't cut if for me as Reed. He didn't seem wise, calm, or intelligent enough to suit the role. A slightly older man would have worked better, someone who exuded wisdom and decency. For me Reed was the weakest link here.

I was pleasantly surprised by Alba. She may not win an Oscar for this role but she absolutely nailed the maternal part of Sue, and I didn't see that coming. For a starlet with such considerable physical charm, she has an appealing warmth to her that I find very attractive. Many of her contemporaries, though better actors, project a much colder persona. She may not have been the best choice for Sue, but I can live with her in the role.

As I've posted before, both Johnny and Ben were perfect in their roles. Now we just need a better script and a more stylish director to lift the franchise out of the "fun" zone and into the "great" one.
_________
"I don't miss birthdays but I sure do miss Santa Clause."

Well, I think that Ioan did do a pretty good job as Reed. As for his youth, well, everyone else was about the same age so I guess getting someone older would make him seem out of place. I think the main problem is that either the writers or the director didn't spend enough time on his character to actually make him seem more like the Mr. Fantastic in the comics. Physically, though, I think he's a good match. Looks almost identical to the Mr. Fantastic Marvel Legend action figure I got. I don't know maybe in the sequel...

I don't know about the Marvel Legend figure. Maybe you mean the Toybiz figure based on the FF movie, which is based on Ioan's likeness? The Legends ones don't really look anything like Gruffed.

This is the Marvel Legends Reed (box set on left, single carded on the right):

http://www.poop-culture.com/toyreviews/marvellegends/ff10.jpg

[Oldsoul3300]

Personally, I really wanted to see David Duchovny as Reed. Ah well, maybe on a parallel Earth.

[Pod]

I think George Clooney looks more like Mr.Fantastic than Ioan. I would have been cool if Clooney got the role...but then again, the special effects would have been wierd for him to enlarge his chin even more...hehe Clooney and Alba...lol.

[easy D]

Welshy, I was talking about the single-carded one. Yeah, personally, I think Ioan and the Marvel Legend Mr. Fantastic both look a like. The box set one looks more like a muscled up George Clooney, kinda.
And where did you get a FF logo base? All I got was the Fantasti-Car.

[WC]

Welshy, I was talking about the single-carded one. Yeah, personally, I think Ioan and the Marvel Legend Mr. Fantastic both look a like. The box set one looks more like a muscled up George Clooney, kinda.
And where did you get a FF logo base? All I got was the Fantasti-Car.

The FF logo base came with the box set. The part of the Fantasticar comes with the single card one. Did you know there's a FF Classics line supposed to be coming out possibly next year? Here's hoping to see the likes of Annihilus, Super Skrull, Blaastar etc! 8)

[Bigkid]

I'm in agreement with Norrin Radd, I was pleasantly surprised myself by Jessica Alba......although I have to admit, they wouldn't have hurt the film had they gone for somebody else. I liked WELSHY'S thoughts about maybe they should have cast Rachel McAdams in the role......she's a better actress than Alba and you wouldn't have lost anything in the maternal department with her. Although, my personal favorite choice would've been Rhada Mitchell.