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

You won't be disappointed!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Best movie ever!

Absolutely Brilliant!

"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.

Out of all the famous comic book titles that have gotten the deluxe big screen adaptation treatment the past fifteen years, none have been critically unsuccessful as The Fantastic Four. With two pretty dismal big budget installments in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and an absolutely unwatchable "reboot" in 2015, one might come to the conclusion that a decent, faithful Fantastic Four film is just impossible to make. However, the most faithful Fantastic Four adaptation occurred circa 1993 via Roger Corman's production company. Shot for a just a few million bucks, quickly assembled, and then mysteriously locked away never to be officially released to the general public, the film more or less disappeared, only showing up as a bootleg at comic book conventions. Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's the Fantastic Four entertainingly and honestly tells the story of how such a film came to be shot, completed, and then seemingly locked away forever.As everyone involved is speaking of a film that presumably may never get released, there is no sugar-coating anything here. No one is out to protect anyone's feelings or keep quiet out of fear of a lawsuit from the film's rights holders. Even Marvel legend Stan Lee gets insulted and called out a few times here. The cast and crew all agree that every person involved in the production were betrayed after putting their hearts and souls into something that, while not a perfect product, was absolutely a labor of love. Some cast members seem slightly more bitter than others, and it's hard to blame them. 'Doomed' may ostensibly be a film about an unseen Fantastic Four film, but it is also a documentary about the dark side of business: what it means to feel like your work has gone unappreciated, fear of uncertainty about one's future job prospects, and how to make it through those difficult times. This isn't a documentary about big Hollywood actors complaining about how they were treated. These are working actors that saw this film has a potentially huge break, a turning point in their lives. To hear them describe what it was like to have their work go unseen is sad, at times bordering on mildly heartbreaking. But its a true testament to the filmmakers and the actors that 'Doomed' doesn't just revel in bitterness towards those who did them wrong. Those involved are actually forgiving and, to a point, even understanding of what happened and why. They aren't happy about what happened, but, with time and perspective, there is acceptance that sometimes things just don't work out. One doesn't have to have seen the 1994 version of The Fantastic Four to appreciate what 'Doomed' is about. It's an absolutely fantastic film documentary, although it's also so much more than that. Even for non-comic book fans, 'Doomed' is a solid recommendation. 9/10

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.

As often happens, this "story behind the movie documentary" is almost as compelling as the film itself. "Doomed: The Untold Story Of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four" is a beguiling, superbly edited piece that will make you laugh and also maybe even make you cry - if you are a true lover of movies, that is. As well as being fully entertained, I learned a lot from this documentary about low budget Hollywood. "Doomed" chronicles one of the strangest production experiences American moviedom has ever generated. What you begin to realize from watching this documentary is that it really should not have been possible to make a movie that's this entertaining under these daunting – even harrowing – "Roger Corman Presents" conditions. Indeed, it's easy to see why Mr. Corman might not even want his mysterious "Fantastic Four" to ever be seen – it could well annihilate his reputation as the arch-purveyor of cinematic crap! Many of the better low budget films can deliver a few sparkling scenes – but there's always the inevitable point where it all falls apart and you just have to chuckle. It's clear that this does NOT happen in this original, "spartan" version of the "Fantastic Four" story. Clips from the film illustrate that, somehow, the story remains intriguing, the performances continue to be compelling, the special effects are exciting, and the delicious "comic book look" keeps you enthralled – all the way through! It is nothing short of a quiet little miracle. This energetic, fun-loving documentary features really absorbing interviews with key members of the cast and crew as it probes all the little corners of this intriguing semi-lost production. Now I know what I want. (A) To see the original "Roger Corman's Fantastic Four on the big screen, and (B) to buy the disc that has not only the movie itself – but also this beautifully done, dazzling documentary on it as well!