Some comic book movies are fun and adrenaline-inducing, but this one is not

Rating: 5/10 (17 January 2010)

This is one of many high-budget live action comic book adaptations from the past decade or so, and unfortunately, it's not one of the stronger ones. I've never been very familiar with the famous "Fantastic Four" comic book series. For a while when I was a kid, I used to like to read comic books from the library, and remember taking out an issue from this series at one point, but can't remember much about it at all. This silver screen adaptation did not catch my attention when it was released in 2005, but sometime last year, I watched the 2007 sequel, "4: Rise of the Silver Surfer", thinking it was the original 2005 release. This was obviously a little confusing for me. The original made more sense to me when I watched it afterwards, but it still wasn't very entertaining.
A scientist named Reed Richards believes that clouds of cosmic energy cause evolution, and he and his friend, astronaut Ben Grimm, seek funding for a space voyage to study a cosmic energy cloud which Earth will soon be passing. Von Doom Industries CEO Dr. Victor Von Doom agrees to support this mission, and takes along two other employees: his chief genetics researcher and Reed's ex-girlfriend, Susan Storm; and her brother, the excitable Johnny Storm. The mission does not work out as planned, and the five of them are all exposed to cosmic radiation! They all make it back to Earth alive, but one by one, they discover that the radiation has altered their DNA! Reed can now stretch himself like elastic, Sue has the ability to become invisible, Johnny can ignite his body and fly, and Ben becomes a super-strong, rock-like being. Victor has also been affected by the radiation, and with his new powers, he becomes the enemy of the other four!
My biggest complaint about this movie might be Johnny Storm, played here by Chris Evans. I don't know what this character is like in the comics, but in this movie, he's such an idiot! The part where he flirts with a nurse and very quickly ends up taking her on a ski trip is stupid, even if it's mildly humorous at times (intentionally). Johnny does some stupid things, and is a very unlikable, arrogant character. This definitely helps sink the film. There are some poorly crafted physical fights between the main characters, unsurprisingly including one between Johnny and Ben, but also one between Reed and Ben. The dialogue is fairly weak at times, such as in one argument scene between Reed and Sue. Another problem (as if there aren't already enough) is the story, which takes too long to get to the main problem, and there aren't too many battle scenes. Clearly, the script could have been better, and could have made a better movie. Also, Ben Grimm/The Thing might be the only character who really stands out.
This comic book movie isn't terrible, and it may have some mildly exciting moments. The special effects are obviously very pleasing to the eye, which you can expect from these high-budget modern blockbusters. However, the visuals are not enough to make up for all the flaws, and for the most part, there's really not a lot of excitement at all. Even though this film spawned a sequel just two years after its release, it's certainly not one of the most highly praised films in its genre, and that's perfectly understandable. Some love this adaptation of "Fantastic Four" and some hate it, but if you ask me, it's mediocre. Worse comic book movies have definitely come from Hollywood in the past ten years (a time when lots of them have been made), but so have much better ones, even if most of them aren't masterpieces. So, if you want good adrenaline-inducing modern superhero movie, I think you will have to look elsewhere.