Limited Edition (USA)
There was a good amount of curiousity going around about this Best Buy exclusive LE in the months before it was released. The movie was not a huge success in the theaters, so money is to be made by DVD sales. How does the industry succeed? They create multiple releases of the same movie. This time, they went with a limited edition, which helped push sales to collectors like myself!
R1 LE's aren't known for their wow factor or abundant extras. Let's take a look and see how this one stacks up to the competition out there!
The
box this LE comes in is actually very close to the size of a regular
DVD snapcase. It's only slightly deeper, about an inch (2 cm) deep,
making it able to sit on a regular DVD shelf with ease. This is
a good move for the company releasing the LE, since it allows it
to be stored on Best Buy shelves with ease. The
box is standard thick paper, not very sturdy, and the base of it
is actually hollow and can be crushed if you're not careful. See
the area of the box where the title "Fantastic Four" is
printed, and the Fantastic Four are show? That is actually hollow,
only the portion above it has any content in it. The
Fantastic Four tin is only slightly larger than a standard DVD/CD
in diameter. It's rought an inch deep as well. It slides out the
top of the box, revealing the slipsheet situated below it. The slipsheet
is merely a thin doublesided piece of paper that has an image of
the Fantastic Four on the front, and a the chapter list on the back. Located
below the chapter sheet is the miniature comic book and the stand
that comes with the set. The stand is a folded peice of thick cardboard
that lays flat until taken out and bent to shape.
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The tin is fairly lightweight, and can be dented or bent if you're not careful with it. Although the 4 looks raised, it's not, there is no embossing or debossing on this tin. Opening the tin is easy, even though the cap fits snugly. Inside are two DVDs and a pack of 8 circular cards. The cards come wrapped in plastic, the two DVDs are completely loose. At the bottom of the tin is a thin layer of foam glued to the base, set there to protect the DVDs from scratching. One DVD is the movie itself, the second DVD holds the Fantastic Four comic book collection in PDF format. The stand that comes with the set folds and snaps into shape. The tin rests in it fairly well, and it actually looks pretty nice sitting on your shelf this way. An image of the Fantastic Four line the bottom of the stand. It's not all that stable, for example, you could push back on the tin and it'd topple over, but it does work to showcase the set. |
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The comic book is small, and only 12 pages long (not including cover and back). Somewhat thin paper is used, but it's glossy and full color throughout. The artwork is good, but the character style doesn't match the movie, which is odd. This would have been a better extra if it'd simply been a small replication of perhaps the 1st Fantastic Four. Instead, this comic is "Issue 12, Doom: Part 6". It doesn't really start or end. |
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The set also comes with 8 "cards". They really appear to be more like cheap cardboard coasters you'd find in the pub. The same size as a dvd in width, they're made from a stiff paper stock. Sadly, they're not very heavy, and even though the paper is thicker than normal paper, you do wonder if they used this lighter weight paper because it was cheaper. The cards are all full color, the front either showing one of the movies stars or scenes from the movie. The back of each card either describes the person or the scene that is on the front of the card. |
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Juice's Verdict
Build
Quality: 5
I
wasn't very happy with this set, but it does work. It's not above average,
but it's no worse than average, so it's getting a 5. The box is standard
thick paper, the tin is workable but not great, and the cards do their
part but aren't fancy.
Content
and Extras: 5
Let's
list the extras here. We get the tin as an extra, the 8 cards, the miniature
comic book, and the stand. But are there great extras? Not really. Quantity
doesn't always equal a higher score. For the sets price though, I'm satisfied.
Overall
Rating: 5
This
isn't a bad set. It comes at a fairly low price, gives you the full movie
and some extras to enjoy. If this had been priced any higher, then I would
have dropped this rating to a 4, only because the extras aren't built
of the highest quality.
If
you're looking for a copy of this movie, and don't mind shelling out a
few more $$ than the normal edition, go for it.
Copyright © 2005 Skullface (skullface.com)
All rights reserved.