Not fantastic.

Rating: 3/10 (21 July 2005)

These days, movie releases always seem to fall into three categories; sequels, remakes or comic book adaptations. The latter has been a tried and true Hollywood fixture since the first time we saw "Superman" don his cape and tights.
Thus continues the tradition of the Marvel Comics series in the form of "Fantastic Four", which reportedly underwent years of delay due to production and casting issues.
Some might say the payoff was well worth the wait, but perhaps I'm in the wrong position to judge since I've never possessed any degree of adept knowledge of the originating illustrated works, nor of its real-life counterparts.
After seeing such offerings as "X-Men", both "Spiderman" installments, "Daredevil" and its inferior spin off "Elektra", I've nonetheless gathered enough insight to determine that all these movies basically follow the same premise.
They are all accounts of average Joe's, whom because of extraordinary circumstances, become plagued, or blessed, depending on one's personal perception, by unusual abilities.
"Fantastic Four" gathers an ensemble of medical scientists, Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), who are sent on a space mission, and soon become exposed to radioactivity emanating from a cosmic outburst.
Shortly thereafter, the group begins developing unusual symptoms, due to the altering of their DNA properties.
The eventual transformations presented here are ones of invisibility, flexible elasticity, spontaneous combustion and turning into a stone formation.
From then on, the group must learn to adapt to their powers, as well as to their new found public attention and resulting celebrity status. And somewhere amidst all the action, there is also an underlying social message about being different and being accepted for who you are.
As is expected from all these types of movies, there is the obligatory nemesis, presented to us, and to its adversaries, as Dr. Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). The cast of heroes is quite likable, and it's easy to get involved in their camaraderie and the laughter-inducing bantering they exchange when they are not out trying to save the world.
Considering the movie's closing scenes, as well as its progressive box-office clout, a franchise of many sequels will inevitably be made, but it's doubtful it's something that I'll be anticipating.