The Fantastic Four: Oley Sassone

I can't in any good conscience call Oley Sassone's The Fantastic Four--the infamous unreleased Fantastic Four movie produced in part by Roger Corman--a good movie. But it is an entertaining one. It's colorful, wacky, weird, and delightful. Some of the performances are delightful--Alex Hyde-White shines as the enthusiastic yet reserved Reed Richards--while some of them are undeniably painful--Phillip Van Dyke was just...terrible as Johnny Storm. The special effects were bare-bone and cheesy, but in a weird way the film seemed proud of them. But most importantly, the film wasn't ashamed of its comic book origins. They treat Ben Grimm's plight with genuine pathos; the flights to outer space with sincere wonder and awe. And there's a real orchestral music score! Remember those? It's memorable, emotional, and more touching than any of the ones featured in recent comic books films. And in the face of all those super-serious superhero movies, it's a breath of fresh air.

6/10