It hasn't been a fantastic summer season, at least not for the movies. Does the trend continue?

Rating: 7/10 (6 July 2005)

It hasn't been a fantastic summer season, at least not for the movies. Not to say that there have been too many mediocre movies as opposed to good ones, quite the contrary. The big summer movies thus far ("Star War: Revenge of The Sith", "Batman Begins" & "War of The Worlds") have pleased large sections of the audience but haven't had the universal appeal that truly merits them the summer crown. So is this the movie that finally deserves the title? Scheduling couldn't have been more kind to "Fantastic Four". It comes at a time when the all-important family audiences have been offered nothing but much darker and more adult fair and family movies that did not manage to seamlessly tap both the parent and the adolescent crowd (e.g. "Madagascar"). That is not to say the comic book adaptation tries being brainy whether it be with how well the characters are written or the plot plays out. Nevertheless it does provide the necessary thrills and spills to keep both young and old entertained during its short 1 hour 45 minute runtime.
For those who don't know the movie follows the exploits of four everyday human beings who are given extraordinary powers. In his quest to study a once in a lifetime cosmic event Reed Richards a/k/a Mr Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd) and his longtime buddy Ben Grimm aka The Thing (Michael Chiklis from the excellent TV show "The Shield") decide to a/k/a for financial assistance from the ever-scheming Victor Von Doom a/k/a Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon from another excellent TV show "Nip/Tuck" and the not so excellent "Charmed"). In an instance Victor's current squeeze Sue Storm a/k/a The Invisible Girl (What?) (Played by the gorgeous Jessica Alba) and her immature brother Johnny Storm a/k/a The Human Torch (Chris Evans who's "Cellular" I've yet to catch) are added to the mix and we're off.
Unlike many recent superhero outings writers Michael France & Mark Frost hurry up the proceedings and our heroes, and obligatory villain, are speedily given their powers. It's an enjoyable, if familiar, ride as we discover the characters individual strengths and weaknesses just as they do. We've seen it all before from Peter Parker's first web slinging episode to Matt Murdock's terrifying first sonar vision and subsequent martial arts training. Nonetheless I personally always find such scenes/montages entertaining and feel they're very informative to the large numbers in the audience who're meeting these fascinating characters for the first time.
I'm not a frequent reader of the "Fantastic Four" title but from my little knowledge of the title I can safely say that they've tried to stick as closely to their origins as possible. The only victim is the character of Victor Von Doom. Fortunately, it isn't as bad as many had imagined. Making the ruthless tyrant from Latveria a Donald Trump type tycoon might not have gone down well with fans of the character but it plays out pretty well. Plus the obvious setup for a potential sequel indicates where we'll find Dr. Doom next. It's also enjoyable to see the famous sites such as the Baxter Building carefully replicated on screen.
One of my greatest fears regarding this movie has always been The Thing's bodysuit and make-up effects. It just looked terribly bad in the early stills, trailers and promotional artwork. Although I would've loved to see a larger version of the character Michael Chiklis excellent performances helped me look past that. He really gets into the skin (every pun intended) of the character and truly owns the role.
I was right about one thing though - the addition of Jessica Alba to the cast definitely had to do with trying to get horny 12 year olds in the cinema. It's so blatantly obvious from her body hugging, cleavage revealing getup to a random scene where she's made to strip on the pretext of turning invisible and sneaking past a crowd. Imaginative? Sure. But why go through all the hassle when both Reed and Johnny manage to sneak past the police barricade without resorting to such cheap tricks? Oh well, at least it gives the perverts out there another scene to screen cap (*cough*please e-mail me the link if you find it online...*cough*). I still don't think she fit the role and what's with the whole Invisible Girl thing? Maybe I remember it a little different but wasn't it always supposed to be "woman"? If anything truly stands out like a sore thumb it has to be the by-the-numbers plot. You should truly leave your brain at the door as every scene can be predicted right from the offset. In place of it we get great scenes exploring the "first family of comics" aspect associated with F4. Director Tim Story could've easily gone with over-the-top special effects laden match-up (king of puns aren't I?) between The Human Torch and The Thing but instead decides to tackle it very much like a family dispute.
The movie may not deserve the summer movie crown I mentioned earlier but it is a fun ride. If it wasn't for the been there, done that vibe one gets after stepping out from the cinema and the no-brainer plot it would have definitely bowled over the audience and critics alike. On the whole though it's a pleasant popcorn entertainer.