Bigger? Definitely! Better? Not necessarily.

Rating: 8/10 (25 July 2005)

By now, most have heard of, if not seen, the original unreleased Fantastic Four movie which was made in order to keep the film rights until a "proper" movie could be made on a bigger budget.
Twelve years on, it's been made at last, and the FF have finally become a familiar name to non-comics fans, and the movie made it to number one in the nation! However, the general consensus among comics fans seems to be, "It's good, but..."
Speaking for myself, I do like this movie, and I genuinely hope there will be a sequel, maybe with even more screen time for Stan "The Man" Lee as Willie Lumpkin. But I have a warmer feeling for that first film, which I feel got so many things right that the second movie just didn't.
I'll only illustrate my two biggest gripes, the rest being pretty minor:
1) The costume worn by Julian McMahon as Norman Osborn-- sorry, I mean Victor Von Doom. I've tried to get behind the hooded trenchcoat look, but I just can't; though I will own that my opinion of said garment improved when I saw the very ritzy red lining.
In the first FF film, Doom, as played by Joseph Culp, wore the traditional-- and much more impressive-- armor and cloak.
2) I didn't like what they did with Alicia Masters. This has nothing to do with Kerry Washington, who plays her, being black (although that would sorta ruin her stepfather the Puppet Master's scheme to have her infiltrate the FF by disguising her as Susan!). It has to do with them making her into a hippy-dippy, "goddess"-worshipping flower child with that most un-Alicia-like trait-- an "edge."
As portrayed in the comics, Alicia is the softness that counters Ben Grimm's roughness, and this was brought out much better by Kat Green in the original movie. Granted, I do think that Miss Washington is the better actress; on the other hand, Miss Green played "blind" more convincingly.
Another thing I've observed is that while the costume worn by Michael Chiklis is obviously more sophisticated in its construction than the one Carl Ciarfalio wore in the first film, Mr. Ciarfalio's nonetheless had a more impressive design.
Overall, the new movie is a good, solid superhero flick, and a whole lot of fun to watch; the showdown between the FF and Doom especially is the stuff that legends are made of.
The main problem lies in the script, particularly in the drastic alteration in the origin of Doctor Doom (mind you, his going along on the space trip with the others does make for an intriguing "what if?"). Also, what the original "Fantastic Four" had which the new movie lacks-- or at least doesn't seem to have as much of-- is an obvious and genuine affection for the source material.
Here are my assessments of the two casts:
REED RICHARDS/MISTER FANTASTIC
Alex Hyde-White > Ioan Gruffudd
Both were great at playing the stalwart scientist, but Mr. Hyde-White was more authoritative, as Reed usually comes off in the comics. Mind you, Mr. Gruffudd deserves major props for delivering a convincing American accent-- no mean feat for a Welshman, I'm told!
SUSAN STORM/THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
Rebecca Staab = Jessica Alba
Frankly, I can't decide. Both did an able job portraying Sue's passion, strength of character, and desire to keep the family together. Miss Staab mainly played Susan's tender side, while Miss Alba played her with more steel, but both were very effective. And Miss Staab looks like Sue Storm.
BEN GRIMM/THE THING
Michael Bailey Smith/Carl Ciafalio < Michael Chiklis
Again, rock-solid performances on both sides, but Mr. Chiklis was a bit more affecting in the way he presented the angst visited upon Ma Grimm's Number One Son. Mind you, as the human-looking Ben Grimm, Mr. Bailey Smith did have one thing that the comics Ben has which Mr. Chiklis didn't: hair.
JOHNNY STORM/THE HUMAN TORCH
Jay Underwood > Chris Evans
Both played insufferable jerks-- which works, because that's what Johnny tends to be-- but Mr. Underwood had a bit more of the youthful exuberance which marks the character, and played a wider range of emotions, diving headfirst into each one. It also helped to have a Human Torch who did not tower over the Thing. As for Mr. Evans, he eventually showed that his version of Johnny gave a toss about anything but himself, but it took a long time.
VICTOR VON DOOM/DOCTOR DOOM
Joseph Culp > Julian McMahon
Some have criticized Mr. Culp's deliberately over-the-top performance, but to me it was total and utter DOOM; look at the King of Latveria in any comic and you'll know what I mean. Mr. McMahon needed to get his teeth into it more; also, his American accent was a little off-putting.
ALICIA MASTERS
Kat Green > Kerry Washington
See above comments.
Here's what I think should happen: twelve years from now, someone will make a third Fantastic Four movie. Third time being the charm, this one will have the heart and soul of the first and the production values and dynamism of the second.
THEN they'll have something!