Not a bad adaptation

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2006)

Generally people were unnecessarily hard on this movie, which does what it tries to do fairly well. If you're looking for a decent Fantastic Four adaption you'll find it here: the storyline charts the origin of the group and their big nemesis, Dr. Doom.
It's exceptionally well-cast: Chiklis is the definitive Ben Grimm, but even Jessica Alba, a woman who I was sure would never deliver a decent performance in her life, does okay as Sue Storm. (Not that it's an exceptionally tough role, but still.) The personal interactions are generally believable, as far as "believable" goes in this kind of thing. The movie makers get the look right: it's bright and colorful the way the comic always was, and full of the gizmos the comic always had. And while I can't say the CGI work was standout, it's not intrusive, anyway.
I can't say that this will ever be one of my favorite comic book movies, though. One of the problems, oddly, is that there's a bit too much personal interaction: a comic book movie that only has two real action sequences seems to miss the point, somehow. The second, more serious problem, isn't really the movie's fault so much as the source material: I just don't think this series has aged very well. I think people generally are looking for something different in their comic book heroes than what the F4 can really provide  there's a kind of simple innocence to these guys which I'm sure some find appealing, but frankly which I find to be rather blah. Another way to say it is that I find these guys pretty dated.
Still, that's not really the movie's fault. And while I'm unenthusiastic, generally people who are fans should enjoy this.