Fantastic Four (Widescreen Edition) - Marvel Superhero Movie DVD - Perfect for Family Movie Nights & Marvel Fans Collection

Jessica Alba (Sue Strong/Invisible Girl), Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Julian McMahon (Victor Von Doom), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm/Thing), and Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/Human Torch) star in this thrilling movie based on the successful comic adventures.Reed Richards, an MIT alum and former classmate of Victor, presents Victor with a proposal to send himself, Sue, Ben, Johnny, and Victor into space to study human DNA. Victor, who owns a billion-dollar company, agrees to finance the mission and accompany Reed and his crew on their journey. Their destination is a space station, where they will conduct their experiments. However, a strange gaseous cloud is moving toward the station. Originally given hours to conduct their experiment, the cloud suddenly increases its speed and is on top of the station in a matter of minutes. All five members are exposed to cosmic radiation from the cloud.Upon returning to earth, everything seems normal for a while. However, each person begins to notice physical changes; Johnny begins finding that he can make a flame by snapping his thumb, Sue realizes that she can disappear, Reed finds that his body can now stretch in ways it never could before, but Ben's new "ability" is most noticable. He now looks like a giant orange rock-like figure. He even frightens his beloved wife Debbie away. Victor, who's company stock has went into free-fall due to the failed mission, has been given one week to turn his company around by his investors. He also begins to show signs of change.The group's first public exposure occurs on the Brooklyn Bridge. Ben is sitting on its railing when a would-be suicide jumper approaches. Ben tries to talk to the man, but it only frustrates the jumper more. Soon, the man is hanging onto a cable above the roadway, but eventually loses his grip and falls into oncoming traffic. This starts a chain-reaction collision. Ben, meanwhile, is trying to get through the mess of wrecked vehicles when a fire truck slams on its brakes and sends its rear section flying over the edge of the bridge. Using his now incredible strength, he manages to pull the truck back to safety, while Reed uses his elactic arms to rescue a falling firefighter. After this show of bravery, the local media give the group the name "Fantastic 4".Meanwhile, Victor is still seething over the loss of his company. He blames Reed for messing up the mission. Even Sue, Victor's girlfriend and Reed's ex, has apparently went back to Reed. As time passes, Victor becomes obsessed with gaining revenge against the Fantastic 4 and his former investors who have betrayed him. His powers continue to get stronger, and his body is beginning to turn metallic in color.Reed has begun work on a machine that will reverse the effects of the cosmic cloud and restore everyone's DNA back to normal. However, he is encountering problems, and Ben is losing his patience. Using Ben's weakness as a possible way to get back at the Fantastic 4, Victor tells Ben that he has already completed his own machine. Intrigued, Ben allows Victor to try to reverse his effects. Will Victor's machine work? Will Victor destroy the Fantastic 4?I thought this was a great movie. The story is well conceived and the plot is great. Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, and Julian McMahon are terrific in their roles, and the special effects are out of this world. I wasn't sure how good this movie would be due to some of the poor reviews it received, but after watching it, I rate it very highly. If you're a fan of comics and superheroes, this movie is a must. I give this movie my highest recommendation. It is truly "fantastic".