Better than War of the Worlds!

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2005)

I went to Fantastic Four with low expectations. People on here have been complaining about it and the draw is not what was expected at the box office, but I went to a matinée anyway, just to see what all the grousing was about.
The movie was better than expected. Although I dislike Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, the rest of the cast was well put together and acted about as you would expect. Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom was a good call - he seems to delight in being a murderous sociopath. The movie opens with Reed Richards asking Victor Von Doom for money and time on his space station to study a cosmic storm that they believe may have spawned life on Earth. Alba mails in a hey-look-at-my-boobs performance as Von Doom's pseudo love interest and science adviser.
Obviously, they get up to space and get microwaved by the strange radiation that transforms them all. They wake up after a few days in Von Doom's medical building, showing no ill effects. Within a few days their powers begin to manifest. Last to change is Grimm, who spazzes out and attempts to go home to his wife, who of course refuses him. Cast out, he inadvertently creates a huge traffic mess that exposes them all to the media. What follows is your typical comic book movie story.
The plot is not exactly difficult to follow, but that's OK. If you came to this movie expecting an Oscar-winning masterpiece, then you're gonna be disappointed. If you're looking for a fun way to kill a couple hours, then this movie will keep you entertained.