Not fantastic - but not terrible, either.

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2005)

The advance buzz on "Fantastic Four" had me wondering whether this was going to be a repeat of the "Punisher" fiasco - that is, a big budget remake that was just as bad as the low budget schlock version. As it turns out, "Fantastic Four" isn't nearly that bad, though it pales by comparison to the best films of the superhero genre.
The film often more closely resembles an 80s Ivan Reitman effects comedy than it does an adventure foil - except that it's not especially funny. Of the cast, Micahel Chiklis as The Thing fares best. Director Tim Story never seems to entirely get a handle on the material, and seems a bit over his head.
All in all, though, "Fantastic Four" is a reasonably entertaining diversion, as long as you're not comparing it to "Spider-MAn", "X-Men" or "Batman Begins". This is closer to "Batman Forever".