Okay for an afternoon of devouring a large popcorn, an extra large drink, but not much more than that

Rating: 5/10 (10 July 2005)

After reading the reviews of this film, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. But for a summer afternoon when you have nothing else to do or you've already seen all the other good films you could do a lot worse. I think what bothers me the most is the fact that in more capable hands the film could have been a whole lot better. It has some good things in it, but the weaknesses it does have are glaring. So where do I begin? The acting was a mixed bag. Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm (The Thing) was easily the best of the lot. Even covered in heavy foam rubber rock he managed to make his character come to life. Chris Evans as Johnny Storm wasn't too bad either. At least he showed a genuine enthusiasm for the role. In truth, Jessica Alba has been knocked around rather hard by the critics so I won't pile on. Who cares if she can emote, or she doesn't look like she could be any kind of a scientist? She was good eye candy, and that was good enough for me. It was fitting that Ioan Gruffud play Mr. Fantastic though because his plastic performance fit in with his character. He was as dry, stale, and emotionless as the suit on Ben Grimm. Even when he was supposed to get emotional near the end, one could see no change in his performance. Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom could have phoned his performance in as well and probably did. As the villain, he just wasn't very threatening or villainy enough. Hopefully if there is a sequel they will both be given the boot.
The script by Michael France left a lot to be desired. The love triangle between Doom, Richards, and Storm was never believable not even in the early moments of the film. The script spent too much time having the characters whine and whine about their powers and not enough about them being super heroes. And when they finally did settle down and have a couple of adventures, (exactly two, one on a bridge and one near the end of the film)the adventures just weren't that "fantastic" and in truth, only the scene on the bridge was worthwhile. The climactic battle at the end was more or less "anti-climactic" and merely passable.
Worse was the editing in the last hour of the film. There was a lot of jumping from scene to scene and a certain lack of continuity.
So hopefully, if there is a sequel, the least we can hope for is a better script, a director who knows what to do with the story, and the kind of special effects one would expect out of a film like this. As it stands now though, the initial effort was just barely passable. You may enjoy certain aspects of it while you watch, but when you wake up the next day you'll probably be hard pressed to even remember most of it.
I give this film a five out of ten.