This Film Is A Pleasant Surprise

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2005)

The Fantastic Four - A DVD Movie Review
The genre of super heros changed dramatically from the cartoonish 1950's DC "Superman" and "Batman" 10 cent comics, to the mid 1960's in a more human and realistic tale of real people thrust upon the responsibility of one day being, just regular folk--and then tomorrow--super heros, when Marvel comics created the "Fantastic Four."
From the "Fantastic Four" many other stories of human emotion were thrust upon the then typically susceptible teenage angst with such other super heros, that didn't want to be imbued with super powers. It was just that destiny bestowed upon these fantasy figures a great responsibility. It started with the "Fantastic Four", but then there was "Spiderman", the "X-Men", "Hulk", "Daredevil", "Ironman", and "Captain America" and more. These legends on pulp paper are the stuff of my teenage hero worship.
Recently to my delight, Hollywood has converted many of these Marvel heros of my youth to film. Some of these movies work. Some don't. That works include "Spiderman", the "X-Men" series, "Elektra", and now the original "Fantastic Four."
This film is a pleasant surprise. Generally given Luke warm reviews, I found it to be absolutely grounded in the comic book legend, albeit upgraded to today's time. The "Fantastic Four" were four people that were, through coincidence thrown together, altered by cosmic rays, to possess diverse but great powers. Although these powers were different, and their personalities clashed in this story (and in the comics too), ultimately they formed that fantasy of super hero story making: The Super Hero Team.
The script is pretty good. The cast is a bit young, except for Ben Grimm, but it works. And the villain in Dr. Doom is not a sissy. Dr. Doom is a really bad, scary, murderous, and powerful guy and like the "X-Men's" Magneto he needs to be explored more. It is somewhat refreshing to watch this kind of film and look at good and bad as black and white. A side note is, that a great weakness in the Spiderman movies--is that the bad guy is really a good guy, boo hoo, I feel sorry for him--not! No, in comic book genre, the villain must be totally evil and the hero(s) must triumph over this ultimate evil.
As far as the special effects go, they are really good and some unique. Sue Storm as the Invisible Girl works in invisibility and in her force field (although Jessica Alba is too young for the part but never mind--she is so beautiful), Johnny Storm as the Human Torch scorches in attitude and flame, and the CGI and prosthesis form that builds Ben Grimm's orange rock creature The Thing is outstanding. Reed Richard's Mr. Fantastic's stretching is the hardest effect to do, and in certain scenes it works well but in some it looks kind of cheesy.
Regardless, all in all I really liked this film and recommend it. By the way, the villain, Dr. Doom survives, to suggest menace another day (a necessary comic book commodity), and as this was essentially a super hero "origin" film I full expect another "Fantastic Four" movie.
The extras on the DVD were average and the DVD transference was a bit dark - not bad but a little muddy.
Now, I am just waiting for an intelligent "Captain America" and "Ironman" Marvel film to be made.
P.S. The Great Stan Lee, creator of the comic "Fantastic Four" did a cameo in "The Fantastic Four" as a mailman. Sweet. But you gotta be a comic book geek to get that one.