Retelling recaptures glory days of Kirby & Lee...

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2005)

Although this is based on the Marvel Universe re-telling for "Generation 'X-ers'" this was a great rollicking ride from start to finish, with few bubbles in the paintwork, yet also recalled the days of Joltin' Joe Sinott working with Jack and Stan.
Hornblower... Lancelot... Lukas Gold... The Gathering... Man And Boy... Black Hawk Down... Now? Reed Richards the leader in the sci-fi superhero series "Fantastic 4" - for someone who is barely over 30 and from Wales, Ioan Gruffudd is more of a Thursday's child and has truly went farther than expected, Bravo! Especially as I expected a pile of un-named matter from the Negative Zone to have more personality! I still thought of a young Robert Foxworth in that role.
I have to admit, while I respected Jessica Alba's work in "Dark Angel," to hear her as Sue Storm and playing a romantic comedy with Ioan... I was DREADING this picture even more so than the 1994 fiasco which I am yet to see, I was so GLAAAAD to be proved wrong! Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/Thing? This is Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding or Spaghetti + Meatballs or hand-in-glove, they were made for each other! As for turning Alicia Masters into a fine black lady, it was a masterful touch especially to see the look on Ben's face when she felt/saw him for the first time - so who will be daddy Puppet Master? Geoffrey Holder or perhaps Laurence Fishburne??
As for Chris Evans, he is most definitively the quintessential Johnny Storm! And his quarrels with Ben were true to the original series...
Stan Lee as mailman Willie Lumpkin was hilarious, but Doom needs more work on the arrogance but using Balthazaar the demon from Charmed was effective nevertheless! Look forward to round two, Annihilus? Puppet Master?? Doom redux??? The Wedding that nearly never was? Wow!