Despite an underwhelming reputation, the fact is "Fantastic Four" is harmless fun that does a decent job at being entertaining, despite not being particularly good.

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2014)

Back in 2005 (wow time flies), in the aftermath of other big comic-book films like "Spider-Man" and "X-Men", Marvel and 20th Century Fox unveiled their long-awaited (and long-time coming) feature- length "Fantastic Four" adaptation. (Well, technically it was the second adaption, with the first being a low-budget unreleased B-movie in the 90's, but I digress) General audiences seemed to enjoy it to an extent upon release (at least in the real world, and not the negative-Nancy world of the internet), but critics weren't thrilled at all. And since its release, the film (and it's sequel to a lesser extent) have gained a somewhat mixed (if not even slightly negative) reputation.
So where do I stand on this film? Somewhere in the middle. I can't objectively say that it's a good film, but at the same time... I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the heck out of it as silly entertainment, and still watch it from time to time. It's a very fun, light, simple flick that doesn't take itself seriously, and I think that does give it value. Sure, I like my deep, metaphorical dramas and thrillers... but sometimes I want to shut my brain down and watch CGI, action and silly jokes, which is what this film specializes in.
We follow Dr. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), who convinces his former colleague, the self-centered Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) to allow him access to Von Doom's privately owned space station, in order to study an interstellar cosmic storm that he thinks may be linked with evolution on Earth. Together with his astronaut friend Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), genetic scientist and former flame Susan Storm (Jessica Alba), and Sue's brother Johnny (Chris Evans), Reed and Victor head to the space station. However, a miscalculation on Reed's part causes them to inadvertently be hit by the full force of the storm, causing bizarre mutations in each person- Reed gains the power to stretch his body like rubber, Susan can turn invisible and create short- lived forcefields, Johnny gains the power of fire and can fly, and Ben becomes a giant rock-like creature dubbed "The Thing."
After inadvertently being unveiled to the public during a heroic rescue, they become media darlings, and begin to try and work out a way to return themselves to normal. However, Victor (whose body has slowly began to turn into an organic metal-like substance in addition to gaining control over various forms of energy) slowly begins to unravel, deciding to seek vengeance on the so-called "Fantastic Four", before using his powers for other nefarious deeds.
The cast is sort-of mixed, but I do feel they have a great chemistry on- screen, even when all of the performances aren't up-to-snuff. Gruffudd and Chiklis both basically rule the film, both giving great performances that ground the film and make it work. Chiklis in particular, who is able to make "The Thing" both fun and tragic all at the same time. Evans (who would later go on to become Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films) does alright as Johnny, but I think he pushes the humor a bit too much and played Johnny a bit too snarky. (Though thankfully he fixed this in the second film) Alba is beautiful, but as in many of her roles, her acting is mixed. She's great in some scenes, but underwhelming in others. McMahon does make for a very decent villain, though, despite a lot of his dialog being nothing but clichés we've seen done before in other films, and he seems to be having a good time being an over-the-top comic-book bad-guy.
The script is where the film sort-of falls apart. It's too much of things we've seen too many times before. It's very paint-by-numbers, you could say. Even though the cast does have a chemistry, the writing just doesn't do them justice, and it definitely does not to justice to the source material. When everything spoken is cliché, and when the "science" presented is more laughable than believable, there's an issue. I also took issue with the pacing, and how little actual action there was for what should have been an action-packed movie. (There are really only two "big action sequences", whereas most action films have at least 3-4 big action sequences.)
Direction courtesy of "Barbershop" director Tim Story is also a bit underwhelming, but at the same time, I can't say it's poorly directed. Just basic. Which I don't find surprising since Story hadn't done anything like this prior. That being said, I do think he has an alright visual style, and his choice of composition, visuals, etc. are fine. Nothing to write home about but fine.
However, those problems just can't stop me from enjoying this film for two simple reasons- First, the cast does have a good chemistry, which is able to overcome much of the cliché-ridden issues with the writing. And second, the film doesn't take itself too seriously, and constantly tries to give us fun humor as we see the Four as a family who don't always get along. Sure the jokes don't all hit, but enough do that I found myself chuckling at a reasonably consistent rate. And really, that's more than I can say for many films- this movie doesn't want to be dark and brooding, it wants to be light, fluffy and silly. So I can forgive a lot of the problems, because that is admirable in this day and age. There aren't enough light-hearted action flicks these days, so I found myself embracing this film.
So yeah. Sue me. I enjoy it as a piece of silly, fluffy entertainment, and I don't think it's as bad as it's reputation suggests.
I give "Fantastic Four" about an average 6 out of 10. If you want a silly, fun movie that doesn't require too much thought, and has just enough action to keep it exciting... look no further.