No "Batman Begins"... but mostly solid stuff

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2005)

Well, I just returned from watching "Fantastic Four"... and I think the mixed reviews it's been getting are pretty justified. For those of you who aren't aware, "Four" is about four (duh) friends whose genetic material is changed by a radioactive cloud on a trip to outer space, and their subsequent evolution into the well-known superhero team. Sounds like a fairly interesting story, right? It would be, but "Fantastic Four" falls short in the one area that gave "Spiderman" and "Batman Begins" such high praise-- character depth. Unlike many reviewers, I don't think the problem lies with the actors; the script was terrible. The screenwriter's one-liners and dumb jokes seem more fitting for a bland teen movie, and there is hardly any room for growth.
In fact, the acting is fairly good. Chris Evans (as Johnny Storm) is probably the funniest part of the movie; all of the good dialogue went to him, and his antics are, for the most part, in line with what I think the comic's creators had in mind. Michael Chiklis (as Ben Grimm) deserves a lot of praise not only for getting into that Thing suit every day, but for giving the gentle giant a depth that none of the other characters reaches. Ioan Gruffudd's Reed Richards is appropriately stiff, painfully geeky, and as a result isn't very likable, but he's a fine young actor, and I give him props for remaining true to the character. Jessica Alba's interpretation of Sue Storm was less than satisfying; however, her lines were by far the worst. Julian McMahon played a pretty flat, one-sided Victor Von Doom, but with a self-explanatory name like that, the creators were already condemning him to the one-sided evil villain subgroup.
Otherwise, if you're looking for something entertaining to watch on a hot summer's day (or want a good smash-em-up superhero film to take the kids to that isn't as dark as the newest "Batman" installment), "Fantastic Four" delivers. If you're looking for an interesting movie that will make you think, I'd advise you to look elsewhere.