Johnny Storm: The Movie

Rating: 7/10 (30 July 2005)

The Fantastic Four (created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) is the comic book credited with starting the domino effect, which resulted in what Marvel comics is today. Unfortunately, you can't say the same about the film. For those unfamiliar with The Fantastic Four, the back story behind it is that two siblings (Johnny and Sue Storm), a scientist (Reed Richards), and an assistant (Ben) go to outer space and gain superpowers. There superpowers are the result of being struck by a cosmic storm. Reed a/k/a Mr. Fantastic can stretch any body part -insert joke here-, Sue a/k/a The Invisible Woman can become invisible as her superhero name suggests. By the way, there's some great scenes involving the sexy Jessica Alba having to strip down because her cloths don't become invisible. Anyway...Johnny a/k/a The Human Torch can set himself on fire. Ben a/k/a The Thing is the most tragic character. He became famous in the comic book world for being one of the first characters to hate being a superhero.
The film itself has many flaws. It was too short and Dr. Doom doesn't really do anything special. However, the film manages to survive because of Johnny Storm. Chris Evans is great as Johnny and I loved the character. I also felt the character was very funny. If you're a fan of The Human Torch then I feel like you will be very satisfied. Another aspect of the film that works is that the filmmakers captured The Fantastic Four as a family. That is one of the main reasons why The Fantastic Four have been around for so many years. Stan Lee always tried to make the reader relate to something about his characters. With The Fantastic Four we can relate to the fact that they are a family who love each other, but at times could get at each other's throat.
RATING: 3(***) out of (****)