Good Film Depiction of the Fantastic Four

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2014)

I own FF comics from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. My first favorite comic as a kid was Fantastic Four; my favorite superhero was The Thing and my favorite villain was Doctor Doom. I was naturally looking forward to this film version.
The casting is one of the highlights. I admit that I had my doubts regarding Jessica Alba as Sue Storm and especially Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, but Alba does a fine job and Gruffudd was very much on the mark as "Mr. Fantastic" (giggle). As for the Human Torch and The Thing, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis are truly outstanding in their respective roles.
What we have to understand is that the film is the ORIGIN story, so the characters are all relatively young here. Reed & Ben are probably only about thirty years old at this time (or slightly older), Sue is in her mid-twenties and Johnny is in his early twenties. Needless to say, don't expect to see a depiction of the Fantastic Four from issue #555! Some have also complained that The Thing is missing his notable rocky eyebrow but, once again, the story takes place when they first get their powers. Those of us who know our FF history know very well that he had no defining eyebrow back then. Only as he mutated over time did the eyebrow appear.
What has always separated the Fantastic Four from other comic heroes is that they're a FAMILY; and all the character hallmarks of this family are wonderfully depicted in this film: Johnny & Ben's fighting, Hothead's likable show off-ness and arrogance, Reed's great intellect yet total lack of common-sense social skills, The Thing's grumbling struggle over being a monster and outcast, Reed's obsessive attempts to give The Thing back his humanity, as well as his attempts to restrain Ben when he has an understandable temper tantrum, Sue & Johnny's sister/brother bickering, etc.
Other notable FF hallmarks are present as well: The Baxter Building, Victor Von Doom, Latveria and Ben's blind girlfriend Alicia Masters. Heck, even mailman Willie Lupkin is here, naturally played by FF creator Stan Lee. Also, Sue Storm's original hero moniker "the Invisible GIRL" is even poked fun at.
Doctor Doom is perhaps the greatest comics villain of all-time and they picked a very fitting actor for the role, Julian McMahon. As for the idea of linking Doom's origin with the FF members, I don't personally mind this, minor changes are naturally to be expected when changing mediums. Where they went wrong, however, was to fail to show Victor become truly scarred and hideous -- the very reason he came to create and wear the mask and armor. Yes, there was a little scarring but it wasn't enough.
Doom's costume is hit-and-miss: the hood and mask look great but the rest of it deviates too far from his great costume in the comics. Still, this was an acceptable alteration.
In the comics Doctor Doom had a definite diabolical charismatic presence that would give you goosebumps. There's a little bit of this feeling in the film but it's swept away when the good Doctor SPEAKS. Yes, when Doom talks his dialogue and voice are so wimpy and nonthreatening that it pretty much ruins the part. These missteps force me to lower my rating.
Some criticize that the material isn't serious enough, and maybe the creators did go a little overboard here and there with a bit of zaniness, but the overall tone is serious. Make no mistake, although there is a lot of humor (which is an essential part of life), this is not a campy joke-fest. People must understand that the FF are a colorful, fun group of superheroes; they're not dark like Daredevil or Batman. Hence, the movie is a fun, colorful and brisk film, yet it remains essentially serious.
One thing I fail to comprehend is the ridiculous bashing the film has received. "Fantastic Four" is every bit as good as "X-Men" which came out in 2000; both films are about the origin of a superhero team. Have we been so spoiled by the great superhero films since then (e.g. Spider-Man 1 & 2, X-Men 2, Daredevil Director's cut, Batman Begins, etc.) that we can no longer recognize or appreciate a fine comic film? If "Fantastic Four" came out in 2000 before "X-Men" it would have been deemed a superhero masterpiece.
So many people rave about how great "Spider-Man 2" is, and it is a well-done superhero film, but what about the stupid subplot regarding Peter losing his spider-powers because of his lack of confidence? Since when did Peter's spider-powers depend on his confidence? His powers were derived from a radioactive spider bite; hence, his powers would not come-and-go depending on his confidence level! I'm just pointing out that, as good as "Spider-Man 2" is, it is not without its flaws.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a good and fun film version of the Fantastic Four. The missteps with Doctor Doom are its only real shortcomings. If you like or love the Fantastic four, or just have a casual interest in them, you'll likely enjoy it. If not, why are you reading this?
GRADE: B