FILM 4 - Fantastic four

                                               


In this fantastic, action packed superhero film, four people are changed forever and they are fantastic. When an experimental space voyage goes wrong, four people are hit by cosmic rays giving them each immense abilities hence the title"The Fantastic four". They go out on a mission to defeat Victor Von Doom who also has been affected by the cosmic rays, and foil his evil plans.



Usually in superhero films there is only one superhero, in Fantastic four there are four superheroes which generally doesn't fit in with the usual convention. However, there are still many aspects which do follow the typical expectations, which include:

Ordinary people gaining super powers - In Fantastic four, four ordinary people are hit by cosmic rays ultimately giving them each significant powers. Reed Richards, inventor and leader of the group gains the ability to stretch his body, and takes the name Mr. Fantastic. Sue Storm (Reeds girlfriend), gains the ability to turn invisible as well as create force fields, and takes the name The Invisible woman. Johnny Storm (Sue's younger brother), gains the ability to control fire, including covering his whole body with a flame. Pilot, Ben Grimm is turned into a super-strong rock creature . They use their unique powers to defeat the evil plans of Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Moral - Each of the Fantastic four have to use their powers to do some good. They are all risking their own lives to help others and to help defeat Victor Von Doom. They realise they have most likely been given powers for a reason "What if we got these powers for a reason" and act upon this. As Fantastic four involves four superheroes instead of just one, it also promotes working together as a team.

Costume - Each one of them wears tight fitted blue clothing. They also sport the Fantastic four logo which represents them as the Fantastic four.

Idea of the Super hero saving the town/city from the super villain - The Fantastic four have to use their extraordinary powers in order to fight evil (Victor Von Doom) before he puts his plans into action.

Achilles Heel -  When The Thing accidentally creates a traffic accident this could push them back slightly as it caused lots of lost lives. Also the fact that the four are so close such as Sue and Johnny being siblings and Sue and Reed being a couple this could cause complications and present weaknesses when it comes to decision making.

Regularly involved in physical and strategic combat - As people with the ability to prevent evil forces, they are always on the go and commonly take part in lots of action throughout the film. They have to also come to some intelligent decisions a long the way causing them to think about what they need to do and work as a team.

Fantastic Four doesn't contain any major disturbing scenes such as sex and nudity and the language is moderate and so is mainly aimed at young viewers around the age of 12-18.  It is likely to be aimed at young teenagers and above. Overall it is rated a 12, and does contain moderate fight scenes, and some frightening scenes for younger viewers, for example the scene where The Thing, accidentally creates a traffic accident on a bridge, a responding fire truck falls of a bridge and a wrecked vehicle breaks out in flames, threatening many.

One main binary opposition would be the idea of good v's evil, the four have to fight against the evil Victor Von Doom using their powers for good uses. Also the idea of female v's male; there comes scenes where Sue has to go it alone and fight Victor Von Doom which brings tension to the film.

The fact that one of the superheroes is a woman, takes away some concepts of gender stereotypes, because instead of the female just being the love interest and waiting to be saved, obviously in Fantastic Four, Sue is a superhero and all part of the saving just like the men. However, the fact that the men are given more powerful roles and powers doesn't banish the gender stereotypes fully.

Fantastic Four has has varying reviews from some saying it really is fantastic to many others expressing how bad it actually is. However, for the targeted audience of young teenagers, forgetting the obvious flaws to the film such as lack of character development, there are many entertaining scenes throughout. The fact that the film doesn't take itself so seriously and is more of a fun film straight away proves to be entertaining for the target audience. The special effects are also interesting for example when The Torch "Flames On" you can almost feel the heat coming our of the screen. The fact that is bought a long with it many emotions, it can be funny, heart rending, intense and dramatic all at different points creating an even balance throughout. The fighting and action scenes, although not the most dramatic, for the target audience were just spot on.