One of the better comics adaptations

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2005)

After reading the 'professional' reviews I went to see Fantastic Four with some trepidation, but the film is much better than many of these reviews would lead you to believe. The casting for the FF themselves was spot-on, and the film develops their personalities and relationships brilliantly. This is also the film's only real flaw - although the scenes showing how the Four adapt to their new-found powers and how they relate to each other are enjoyable, too much time is spent on this and not enough on developing the adventure itself. Victor von Doom's transformation to the evil Dr Doom is done fairly well, but Doom himself doesn't really come across as the towering evil genius you expect from the comics. There is none of the egomaniacal posturing or the grand "Who dares to challenge the magnificence of Doom?" type lines we've all come to know and love from the comic books. Overall, though, the film was a pleasant surprise and well worth watching for anyone who has read the comics. For anyone who hasn't but who has the capacity to return to their childhood for a couple of hours, this is a good introduction to some clean, comic book fun.