Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's the Fantastic Four

"Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's the Fantastic Four" is a fascinating documentary...much more interesting than I'd imagined. It's the story of an ultra-low budget superhero film produced by the King of Cheap Hollywood Films that was completed...and then shelved! Using lots of interviews, a few clips and a lot of enthusiasm, the picture makes the viewer want to find a copy of the film to see just how good a $1,000,000 film can be...a mere pittance nowadays for a movie...especially one with some complex special effects.

So...what happened? Why would they never show a film that was actually completed? And, how difficult was it to complete when it now appears as if the producer never intended to market the picture...or at least he knew he probably wouldn't be doing so. Well, see the documentary and find out for yourself...as well as how you might just be able to see the film despite its never having actually been officially released.

Roger Corman's officially unreleased production of 'The Fantastic Four' is a fun if bewildering viewing experience. The special effects are pointedly outdated, the narrative writing is questionable, some inclusions are outright flummoxing; that the 1994 movie is enjoyable is largely a matter of constant, shocking disbelief at what one has beheld. That the picture struggled with a low budget is one matter; how much the eyebrow-raising writing and direction could also be attributed to that low budget is another matter entirely. The history of this production is rather astounding in and of itself, and the idea of a documentary laying it all out is welcome indeed. There's maybe not a major wealth of information herein beyond what one can learn elsewhere on the Internet, but 'Doomed!' still does a good job of providing further perspective on the fiasco.

The image that quickly emerges as we watch this is that the cast and the crew who were directly involved with the making of the movie were genuinely excited about the prospect of working on such a property as The Fantastic Four. Everyone was very ready to do their part, and mostly proud of what they were able to do with recognition of the minimal resources that were available. The point is made that the history of live-action adaptations of Marvel comic books was very spotty up to that time, so the vibe on-set was a combination of "working within modest expectations" and hopes of creating something better and memorable, a new high water mark.

The enthusiastic if rushed work during the early 90s production is notably contrasted with the secretive, then-undisclosed, and somewhat shady dealings behind the scenes. Whether intentionally or as blunders of mismanagement, people sitting in posh offices made decisions regarding the superhero team as a property that all but ensured the movie never really had a chance, and all the contributions of the cast and crew were effectively destined for oblivion. True, all this information is known and can be discovered elsewhere, but it's the personal testimonies of those involved, and tiny peeks at the process, that really make 'Doomed!' worthwhile. Their early earnest energy is distinctly opposed with building frustration; details about aspects like some of the filming locations, the post-production efforts, or the score composition all give a delightfully vivid panorama of the entirety of the quagmire that was 'The Fantastic Four.'

This documentary itself is generally well made, compiling film clips, behind the scenes footage, multiple interviews, and stills to tell the story of a feature that was basically ghosted. Marty Langford's sequencing and editing orders the material into a simple, roughly chronological timeline from conception to reaction, while the filmmakers did a suitable job of collecting it all in the first place. I don't think it's entirely perfect; the production values are a little too glaringly bare-faced, as one quite anticipates from Z-grade distributor Uncork'd Entertainment, and intertitles displaying relevant quotes are wholly unnecessary since those quotes tend to echo sentiments that are often spoken aloud shortly thereafter. For whatever deficiencies one may perceive, however, the very idea of 'Doomed!' is gratifying, spotlighting a project that deserves remembrance even if only for the labor that went into it. There's perhaps nothing about this feature that's so essential as to demand viewership, but for select audiences - cinephiles or Marvel fans most of all - it's an enticing look behind the curtain at a movie that never truly got off the ground. Clocking in at an easy 85 minutes, 'Doomed!' is an enjoyable, worthwhile view if you have the chance to check it out.

Having seen the movie years ago in bootleg form, it was neat to see all the people involved talk about the making of it, but this doc was a little long for the fairly simple story involved. A bit rambling and it would have really helped if we were able to finally see a good version of the movie. Not that it was all that great, but still...

This documentary has been long awaited by me. I'm so glad to know the behind the scenes story. This was a great documentary filled with so much heart for a project doomed by greedy film studios. I give it a 10 with a laugh & a tear.

Now, regarding the film: I picked up a VHS bootleg copy of this film in 2002 not ever having even heard of it. I watched it and sure it was cheesy, but cheese can be so good. Didn't recognize anyone in it except Jay Underwood "The Boy Who Could Fly", but that didn't matter. I actually found the film to be entertaining in its superior schlocky-ness. I'm sure by now in 2019, you could find it online regardless of it being almost entirely stricken from history. If you find it... share it! Excelsior!

Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's the Fantastic Four (2015)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

In 1993 a proposed movie of THE FANTASTIC FOUR was given to Roger Corman. The idea was to produce it on a low-budget but to then turn it out to theaters where it would become a big hit. The film was rushed into production, the cast dreamed of big futures and finally the movie wrapped. Then the movie became a legend because it was never released.

This highly entertaining documentary from Marty Langford gets a great number of people involved with the project to sit down for interviews and by the time it's over you'll not know whether you should laugh, cry or scream. Perhaps all three? I had known about this movie for quite sometime but the story behind it was rather hazy but all of that has been put to rest as you really couldn't have hoped for a better documentary on the subject.

The greatest thing about this is the fact that you've got the film's director as well as the majority of the cast members being interviewed. It was quite fascinating getting to hear from them because most documentaries are about movies that were made, movies that were expected to be huge but flopped at the box office but that's not the case here. Sure, a lot of movies start production but don't finish it but that's not the case here either. Getting to hear from the cast members talking about their hopes for their futures thanks to this film and then not have it released was quite interesting and certainly among the best stuff here.

If I was disappointed in anything it's the interview segments with Roger Corman. He's only given a few minutes worth of screen time and it's really too bad he wasn't pressed more for his version of what happened. I'm not sure if he just didn't want to discuss it or what but it's really too bad we didn't get his side of the story. We're pretty much given a great idea of what happened but it still would have been nice hearing from the man himself.

DOOMED will certainly appeal to Marvel fans, comic book movie fans and even those who don't normally enjoy those types of movies. This is a well-made documentary that does a great job telling its story.