Recast the Fantastic Four

[ClarkLuther55]

Or, they could have signed any number of unknown, pretty blonde actresses in their mid or late 20s that are a dime a dozen in Hollywood.

 

[Kelly]

I have not seen one reason why Alba should have been picked for Sue Storm. Let's go over the reasons she's not right for the part:

1. She's not entirely white. I have nothing against Hispanics, it's just that she's not the same ethnicity as the character she's supposed to be portraying. It would have been one thing if she just didn't look like her character, but making it worse, she's supposed to be playing Chris Evans's sister. The difference in looks is enough for people to notice, even after she dyed her hair blonde.

2. She's too young. When she was in FF, Jessica Alba was 24, and could have passed for 19 or 20. Sue is supposed to be older than Johnny, but Johnny was played by Chris Evans, who despite being around the same age as Alba, could easily have played someone several years older than her.

3. It wasn't even like she was that big a star. Back in 2004 when she was picked, Alba had a short-lived TV show and a couple parts in small, non-blockbuster movies. Sure, teenagers thought she was hot, but it's not like she was an A-list name and a big draw.

And finally...

4. It's not like she even acted that well. While she wasn't horrible, I saw nothing from her work in FF that was particularly impressive. This seems to be an opinion shared by other fans, as well as critics. Given all the other factors mentioned above, I can't see why she should have been picked over any number of pretty blonde actresses in Hollywood.

1. Sorry but this reasoning is stale and if you have looked at the comics in the past years you would see that she is perfectly fine as far as look....maybe if Chris had dyed his hair to look more the part that might have helped....didn't see a problem with his look either....have you taken a look at the Sue Storm thread....this point was pretty much proven wrong years ago....

2. Sue Storm at the time of the accident was 21.....so what's your point?

3. Jessica Alba was and still is the "it" girl so to speak in Hollywood, even without having a movie out in 2006.....she got butts in the seats, whether you think so or not.....she was and still is the biggest name in the movie....

4. Fine, you don't like her acting.....I could say the same for probably many you would choose as well....thats a difference of opinion....

Bottomline is...its your opinion....and thats perfectly fine....you are totally entitled to it.....reality is.....she's cast in the part.....she's coming back for the sequels....and I guess you'll just have to suffer through another movie.... as for me....my hope is that the writers give the actors something much better to work with than the last time....

 

[drmick]

Or, they could have signed any number of unknown, pretty blonde actresses in their mid or late 20s that are a dime a dozen in Hollywood.

Or an up and coming youngster.........

Hang on, did you read what I wrote?

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

This is the argument that never dies.

I wasn't pleased with Jessica's casting. At all. In fact, in this very forum I was probably the loudest voice in opposition to the decision. And to this day I still feel there are other actresses that could have played the role better.

But that can be said of ANY character in these films. There's always going to be someone "better" or "closer" to the source material. That said, I have grown to be very fond of Miss Alba in the role. She's beautiful as the future Mrs. Richards and I believe she captures the necessary elements for the character. I also appreciate her dedication to the role, esp. going through the trouble of dying (and ruining as a result) her hair for the role, and enduring cumbersome blue eye contacts--all to please the fanboy community. She really threw herself into this role and I developed a lot of respect for that. She deserves a lot more credit than she receives.

In recent years, Susan Richards was generally depicted as a sexy, blonde sex-pot of sorts. Jessica has portrayed that more effectively than any other choice I can think of for the role at this time. She looks PERFECT in my opinion. What needs to be improved is the writing for her character--and Jessica herself needs to not "whine" so much (which again goes back to the writing). When she does this, it makes her come across much younger and immature. However, when she is calm, collected and sophisticated she IS the Invisible Woman I've always dreamed of.

I will never forget the poised first appearance Jessica made in Doom's office at the beginning of the 1st film. She LOOKED the part, ACTED the part, and the whole stupid "she's not white enough" argument was rendered defunct. Then again, when she was working alongside Reed examining Ben in the lab, and also when the three of them watched Johnny on TV--it was at those times that I finally lost Jessica Alba (the actress) and saw nothing but Susan Storm.

But sadly, that sophisticated portrayal was not consistent throughout the film. When she would argue with Johnny, she would whine--which was annoying, and the lines she had to say were wack. Do I blame the actress? No. It's the writing and directing that needs to be strengthened. Jessica HAS the capacity to pull this off--I have no doubts about that. But there are other elements that need to be put in place to make it work in her favor.

 

[Kelly]

Yeah....thats what I meant to say.....so blah...blah...blah.....and what Lightnin said....

 

[ClarkLuther55]

1. Sorry but this reasoning is stale

Why?

and if you have looked at the comics in the past years you would see that she is perfectly fine as far as look

Sue is consistently portrayed as white. Alba doesn't scream non-white (being part white herself) but it's noticeable.

2. Sue Storm at the time of the accident was 21.....so what's your point?

Alba could have easily played younger than that, as I said. And even around the age of 20-21, women can look different. Some look like high school or college girls. Others look like more mature women. Alba was the former IMO.

3. Jessica Alba was and still is the "it" girl so to speak in Hollywood, even without having a movie out in 2006.....she got butts in the seats, whether you think so or not.....she was and still is the biggest name in the movie....

When Alba was picked, I believe her only starring role in a feature film that anybody knew about was in Honey, which got horrible reviews and made an unimpressive $30 million in the US.

In recent years, Susan Richards was generally depicted as a sexy, blonde sex-pot of sorts. Jessica has portrayed that more effectively than any other choice I can think of for the role at this time.

This is where we'll have to agree to disagree. If you're talking about recent years, then Sue is portrayed as sexy, but she looks like a more mature woman. Jessica Alba could have easily played a college student at the time, IMO.

and the whole stupid "she's not white enough"

Wanting an actress to look like her character is not stupid. If you had no problem with Alba, then that's your opinion.

I don't HATE the selection of Alba (It was the least of the movie's problems, the butchery of Doom's character and the fluffy, lightweight plot were much more severe). I didn't even have that a problem with Alba while watching the movie. Like you, I just think other actresses could have played the role better.

 

[Kelly]

Hey, the IMO was the only thing I was really looking for in your post CL so we'll agree to disagree in our opinions and ..... move on from this very "dead horse" discussion....

 

[Dragon]

In fairness, the line in the film is that Johnny flunked out of NASA, it never specified he was a shuttle pilot. And he could easily be a USAF or USMC or USN pilot.

So that's even worse. Not even a shuttle pilot under 30. a FAILED shuttle pilot. Who would trust a hundreds of millions of dollars, let alone human lives to this clown?

Furthermore, given that a lot of the criticism of the film is because of the un-fantastic-ness of the heroes, and the dumbing-down of Doom, isn't it a bit rich then to crticise the film for Johnny and Sue attaining the rather fantastic jobs they have earned?

That wasn't fantasitc. It was ridiculous. Plain and simple the casting reflected pop culture superficiality, not quality. They could've cast better actors which would have made the film more substantial. Instead they cast the flavors of the month.

 

[Dragon]

I will never forget the poised first appearance Jessica made in Doom's office at the beginning of the 1st film. She LOOKED the part, ACTED the part, and the whole stupid "she's not white enough" argument was rendered defunct. Then again, when she was working alongside Reed examining Ben in the lab, and also when the three of them watched Johnny on TV--it was at those times that I finally lost Jessica Alba (the actress) and saw nothing but Susan Storm.

Really? I never saw Susan Storm in that film. I saw Jessica Alba in various ensembles and sometimes nothing. Her portrayal wasn't the least bit convincing. Granted, it wasn't purely her fault. Tim Story had a huge amount of the responsibility there. as for her not being white enough- her simply looking like her "brother" would have helped loads.

 

[drmick]

So that's even worse. Not even a shuttle pilot under 30. a FAILED shuttle pilot. Who would trust a hundreds of millions of dollars, let alone human lives to this clown?



That wasn't fantasitc. It was ridiculous. Plain and simple the casting reflected pop culture superficiality, not quality. They could've cast better actors which would have made the film more substantial. Instead they cast the flavors of the month.

Maybe Dr Doom got Johnny on the cheap. The real NASA pilots were probably on exclusivity contracts

The casting of Chris Evans was ok, Alba less so. Dragon, want to suggest (preferably viable) alternatives? It's what the thread is for.

 

[Geko]

Why?

When Alba was picked, I believe her only starring role in a feature film that anybody knew about was in Honey, which got horrible reviews and made an unimpressive $30 million in the US.

The year before Dark Angel, she was in 4 films. P.U.N.K.s, Never Been Kissed, Idle Hands and Paranoid.
Then she carried a television series for two years
She was in 2 films in 2003, Honey and The Sleeping Dictionary, and then in 2005, she was in Fantastic Four of course, as well as Into The Blue and Sin City.
Now I don't remember the release order of those three films, however the release order has nothing to do with when they were filmed.
Now maybe Honey was the only film some movie goers might have remembered, but she'd definitely caught Hollywood's attention.

 

[Mr. Socko]

I think they were all really good choices.

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

The reason people are still "beating this dead horse" is that they still don't think Alba was right for the role. So what? Any topic concerning this movie is pretty much a dead horse, considering it came out in 2005. But this forum exists for a reason; some people are still interested in discussing some aspects of this movie, and the cast is one.

I thought Alba did a pretty good job, and I really like the movie. But I'm still inclined to agree that she was far from the best option, and was basically cast because she was "hot and hip."

The ethnicity issue is not irrelevent. I'm all for getting the best actor for the role, whatever race. I love Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin; I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role. But I could imagine a ton of people as Sue who fit better than Alba.

Regardless of her descent, Alba has a very distinct, exotic look. Basically, the opposite of Sue - sexy, yes; but also very girl-next door and whitebread. And dying her hair, putting it in a bun, and hiding her behind glasses and a lab coat do not cover up that exoticness. But moreover, why would you want to cover it up? It's her trademark; why hire Jessica Alba and turn her into a straight-up blonde white girl? You're wasting the character and the actress. If you have to put forward that much of an effort to change who the actress is so she fits the character better...than maybe you would've been better off just getting another actress in the first place?

That being said, Ioan was good as Reed, but it's not that tough of a role to fill. Evans and Chiklis were born to play Johnny and Ben, though.

 

[Dragon]

Maybe Dr Doom got Johnny on the cheap. The real NASA pilots were probably on exclusivity contracts

The casting of Chris Evans was ok, Alba less so. Dragon, want to suggest (preferably viable) alternatives? It's what the thread is for.

My concept- Sue should have been working with Reed in an apprenticeship capacity. Not the "scientist" she was supposed to be in the film. So, casting someone like Rachel McAdams would have worked.

For Reed, maybe Val Kilmer. Someone who can play serious, but with enough flair for comedy to give the character some lightness.

Chiklis was fine as Grimm as far as I'm concerned.

For Johnny, I'd have gone with him being a teenager. 17-18 years old. I'd go with someone like Ryan Merriman from the TV series "The Pretender".

 

[SilverCruz]

The cast is perfect the way it is. They all have a good cemistry with each other playing the rolls perfectly. With the addition of Silver Surfer this movie should be a must see this summer. I believe this will be one of those better number 2's compared to other sequal marvel movies.