Lightweight Four

Rating: 4/10 (14 August 2005)

With Hollywood churning out superhero films from comic books at a fast pace one has to accept that some (if not most) will be disappointing efforts that seem like rushed efforts and I think this film is exactly what I just described. Story is about Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Susan Storm (Jessica Alba), and her brother Johnny (Chris Evans) who go up into orbit on a space station to check on a cosmic storm but things go wrong when it suddenly changes direction and the four of them are exposed to cosmic radiation. Heading their voyage is a successful industrialist named Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) who is hard pressed by the companies CEO's to make their shares more profitable...or else.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** The four of them return to Earth and find out that they have all been genetically altered by the storm with Reed (Mr. Fantastic) being able to stretch like rubber and Ben (The Thing) turning into a Hulk-like figure made out of orange rock. Susan (Invisible Girl) can turn invisible and create force fields while Johnny (Human Torch) can become supernova hot and also fly but what they don't know is that Von Doom was also altered by the storm. Dr. Doom is slowly becoming metallic and electrical and when he is fired after the space catastrophe he vows revenge on all those involved including the Fantastic Four.
For whatever reason the studio hired one Tim Story to direct this ambitious project and one has to wonder how he was given the opportunity because his previous efforts (like the wretched "Taxi" and the low budget "Barbershop") hardly makes one think that he can handle something this size. It's noticeable right from the get-go that Story is in over his head but what I think is even more clear is that this film lacks any type of star power whatsoever. I'm not trying to insult any of the actors because I think their all good performers but is there really anyone in this cast that can put butts in theater seats? The actor who does come off best is Chiklis as The Thing who's role is understandable because his appearance is so drastically changed that he loses his fiancé. But the film still wants the viewers to think that The Thing would be sitting in a coffee shop by himself without drawing any attention or crowds and that Ben's fiancé would casually walk outside in Brooklyn wearing nothing but a nightie! My biggest complaint with this film comes from the casting of McMahon as Von Doom and it's because he's so damn soft spoken! He wears what looks like a Darth Vader rental and is supposed to be trying to kill people and take over the world but all I could think of when I watched his character was "COULD YOU PLEASE SPEAK UP". Instead of Dr. Doom maybe his nickname should be Mr. Lowkey because I can't think of one scene where he raises his voice. While superior films like "Batman Begins" and "Spider-Man 2" take their time with character development and showing the effects of having an alter-ego this effort merely (and barely) touches on those issues. This film suffers from an inexperienced director and a weak script and doesn't possess actors in it's cast to make anyone take notice so what audiences are left with is an effort that looks like it was rushed into theaters to make it's summer release date.