Rough around the edges

Rating: 6/10 (9 July 2005)

I just came back from the show. I give it a 6 out of 10.
First, I'm glad that Marvel was finally able to get the F4 on the big screen as a major motion picture. The F4 comic was a favorite of mine years ago, and I was eagerly waiting for the official release.
Well, the movie was OK, but it could have been so much better. It was obvious to me that a lot of the problems came from the director's seat and the scripting.
The acting never "gelled" for me for any of the actors. This was due to a fair number of poor lines being handed to the actors, but the majority is due to bad direction. Many scenes could have made it if they were redone. Tim Story just didn't have enough experience as a director to know when a shot scene was ready for use.
Scene continuity and pacing was a constant problem in this film. Again, I blame the director.
Jessica Alba did about the best job of all the actors, but even she had some scenes where I lost her character. Michael Chiklis also did an admirable job in a lot of spots as the Thing.
The special effects were OK, but nothing to write home (or to IMDb) about.
They did do a really good job making the Thing look realistic, however.
Another positive thing that Marvel did on this movie was to avoid the all too common "Let's introduce half of all the characters that ever appeared in the comic" ploy to appease the fans. The right amount of characters were introduced in the movie without adding more confusion.
Things I wish were done differently:
(1) I wish that Bryan Singer didall of the Marvel movies. The X-Men series is probably the hardest plot line to pull off successfully, but it has been the best comic-to-big screen series I have seen yet. He could probably have changed some of Marvel's recent "clunkers" (this movie falls into this category) into hits.
(2) Less time spent on Johnny being a bratty thrill-seeker.
(3) Continuity. There were scenes where the F4 were supposed to be in a secure, isolated observation area, and the next thing you know - poof! - they're out in public. Also, almost every scene where Victor Von Doom reappeared in seemed awkward in the transition. Lots of other continuity problems as well.
(4) Make the F4 seem more like a team. Johnny's character seemed to constantly throw this off. And while past friendships and romances were brought out in the film, they didn't seem to be very solid relationships.
Oh, well. If they do a F4-2, maybe they'll get the kinks out.