Should have been named "Forgettable Four"

Rating: 4/10 (12 July 2005)

* Possibly some spoilers * I wanted to like this movie. I really, really did. I wanted to like it a lot. Unfortunately they pared the script and direction down to appeal to that 12 to 17 year old demographic that drives so many Hollywood movies. Unlike the Spiderman movies there was no real character development. Reed Richards is a mature, level-headed, clear thinking person - in the comic book. The movie portrayed him as a love struck idiot/genius, incapable of forming complete sentences or taking any action. Ben Grimm had no real edge to him ("Poor me. Poor me") and his confrontation with his "fiance" was pitiful. The Torch and Sue were fairly accurate - the movie Johnny was more annoying than the comic Johnny, and the movie Sue was much stronger than the one in the comic (this was good).
Plot was boring. I'm still not sure what Von Doom was so angry about. He was jealous? Of what? He had more money than god and now had power. Alba is nice, but that kind of money and power can get you anyone else you want. The fact that he can't have her is hardly reason to risk dying. Maybe it was the acting that made it all seem so mundane and trite.
Maybe Fantastic Four II will be better. Spiderman 2 was better than its first, as was X-men 2. Both follow-ups had more depth and a richer character development. Maybe they'll spend a little more money somewhere and get a better story or better effects, hopefully both. Maybe I'll lower my expectations of Hollywood - again.
See Batman Begins. See it twice. That's what these movies should be like.