MOVIE REVIEWS
Fantastic Four
Richard Foster
Stretching, bending, people burning up, busting through things and then just vanishing – no, it’s not a one night stand, it’s the characters from the latest comic to take big screen life, the Fantastic Four.
To be honest, the Fantastic Four wasn’t exactly the first comic I would read, but it is still interesting once they get to their adventures. Kind of like the movie, interesting once they finally start doing something.
The movie seems to take forever to set up, with the acquisition, hiding, exploiting and later embracing of their powers.
For those who don’t know, super-scientist/humanist Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) is trying to better humanity and discover cures for all illnesses. This leads him to fundraising, and the office of fellow scientist/big business man Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). Richards needs use of Von Doom’s space station to study some electrical storm in with the accompaniment of Richard’s friend Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), scientist Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) and her brother, pilot Johnny Storm (Chris Evans).
While in space, they run into problems when the electrical storm passes by and they all end up inheriting powers. Richards, later named Mr. Fantastic, can stretch and bend like rubber; Sue can make herself invisible and develop energy fields, which gives her the name of the Invisible Women. Johnny can manipulated/engulf himself into flames, making him the Human Torch, and Ben Grimm becomes a rock – well, his body becomes solid rock organs in all – and he is properly known as The Thing.
After realizing their powers, they have the ever so famous internal struggle of the “What do we do?” typical superhero stuff. Of course, Von Doom, who can basically absorb anything electrical because his body is one big electrical circuit decides early he will use his powers for his own good.
Von Doom, now Dr. Doom, takes on his rival Mr. Fantastic and his Fantastic Four, and in typical hero fashion they are over matched and must figure out how to defeat him using not just their powers but their minds, once again teaching kids that brains, not brawn will win in the end. Thank you after school specials, a.k.a. school house rock.
Putting sarcasm aside, the Fantastic Four was good, but not great. After seeing Batman Begins and how great that was, I had my expectations up. There was a lot of humor, especially between Johnny and Ben, but that is how it was in the comics because Johnny is young and immature and Ben is very conscientious about his freakish appearance.
There was also the gag of Ben, The Thing, trying to adapt to his new life of being a gigantic rock. Simple things, like trying to go up an elevator but his weight holding down the elevator, or eating and biting threw the fork, or even just trying to pick up a simple item like a ring.
Though entertaining, the movie was a little slow. There was too much of trying to appeal to all ages and not enough substance. Like the random snow boarding scene that served only the purpose of Johnny realizing his powers, which I understand. But later in the movie, he attends a motocross event to once again learn of and exploit his powers for celebrity.
It was almost as if the development of a plot was secondary compared to the establishment of each person’s powers, and not to mention the sexual tension between Reed and Sue.
Once again in a superhero movie, ala the Batman series, the villain made the movie so entertaining; Julian McMahon was awesome as Victor Von Doom and Dr. Doom. How he carried himself, his arrogance was oozing through the screen and his overwhelming sense of ego over everything else was great.
Fortunately for this superhero movie, they didn’t stick to all stereotypes and kill off the villain and left it open for Dr. Doom’s return in a sequel, if they make one, (which knowing the movie companies’ love of money, I see it happening). Though if they make a sequel I will be there to see it and not just for Jessica Alba, or for the fact I’m a geek, but because I like stories, and this was a good story, though it needed a little help.
