fantastic four review

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Picture courtesy of The Thing.

Average Ratings

Value for Money	6.5/10
Overall rating	6/10

100% Recommended2 out of 2 Reviews

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By Timix1 on 9th Aug 2005

Timix1's Ratings

Starring Actor/Actress	Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Albo, Michael Chiklis,
Where Did You See It?	Cinema
Value for money	6/10
Overall value	6/10
Timix1's recommendation

Good Points

Light, breezy summer-movie escapism.

Bad Points

Some miscasting and so-so action sequences.

General Comments

In the wake of successful film adaptations of comic books like SPIDERMAN, X-MEN and this summer's BATMAN BEGINS, you would hope that some real effort was made into bringing one of Marvel Comics' most beloved properties to life. The premise of FANTASTIC FOUR should be familiar to anybody who's picked up a comic book in the last forty years: while in outer space, a group of scientists become exposed to radiation and are granted superhuman powers which they decide to use to safeguard humanity, namely from their arch nemesis, the power-hungry Dr. Doom. After toiling in development hell for years (not to mention surviving an ultra-cheesy, bargain-basement 1994 adaptation that is one of the most bootlegged sci-film in history), this film finally saw the light of day this summer, but the end result doesn't exactly live up to its considerable potential. Its special effects and action set pieces are decidedly low-rent, and it lacks the strong character development from which the aforementioned SPIDERMAN and X-MEN movies greatly benefited. Unlike those films, FANTASTIC FOUR never bothers to delve too deeply into how these new powers might actually affect someone's life or the question of one's responsibility to the public when one possesses such abilities; here, adopting the role of 'superhero' is almost a given for our heroes. The exception here would be the disfigured Ben Grimm (a.k.a. The Thing), to whom actor Michael Chiklis brings real pathos and gruff humour. Otherwise, Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd (as estranged lovers Sue Storm and Dr. Reed Richards, respectively) fare the worst, being miscast in underwritten roles, while Julian McMahon brings a bit of spark to the proceedings as the greedy control-freak Victor Von Doom. Chris Evans as Sue's impudent younger brother Johnny Storm takes full advantage of his character's devil-may-care attitude and makes him fun to watch. True, FANTASTIC FOUR could have been a much better film, but its light, unassuming touch isn't always a bad thing. Give it credit for not wallowing in moroseness as in the otherwise solid HULK movie from 2003. This movie never pretends to be anything more than an unpretentious popcorn flick, and if you approach it that way, you'll have a good time. As such, FANTASTIC FOUR is not so much 'fantastic' as it is merely 'adequate', but while I don't typically praise studies in underachievement, I'll take a well-grilled hamburger over poorly cooked filet mignon any day.

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