Fantastic Four: The Movie Review

I'd be remiss if I failed to share with you my thoughts on the Fantastic Four movie. This, the latest from the unceasing Marvel movie mill.

Let's get one thing straight, right from the bat: I thought it was great!

Of course, I went into the theater wanting to like it, and for the most part, I was satisfied. I've realized in the last couple of years, that a comic book fan can watch a comic book movie with one of two attitudes: a) Get every last detail absolutely accurate or I'll pick it apart with my finely-honed nerdly disdain, or b) Capture the essence of the story and characters and I'll have an open mind with your artistic license. (A) Attitudes usually write snarky little dismissals on their websites, while (B) Attitudes typically come out of the movies happy.

The joy I derive from these comic book movies is purely from watching beloved characters I've grown up with take on flesh and blood, and to experience them in a whole new way. For the most part, I haven't been disappointed too much, lately. They all take part in the spectrum of good to not-so-good, from X-Men 2 all the way to Elektra (which, in truth, I haven't seen yet). And not to digress too much, I think much of the ire for Daredevil and Elektra are for the most part due to their A-list-type stars. Daredevil really wasn't all that bad, but Ben Affleck just seems to have some quality about him makes people want to hit him...

That being said, it was a delight to see the story of the Fantastic Four come to life. What sets the FF apart is their interaction with each other. And, to that degree, the movie nails perfectly. Chiklis and Evans were perfect for the roles and completely brought to life the Torch-Thing squabbling right from the comic book pages.

Similarly, Alba and Gruffudd do right by their characters as well. I mean, we must be honest... the characters of Sue Storm and Reed Richards aren't quite as fun as Johnny Storm or Ben Grimm, but they have their virtues... and certainly their qualities are crucial to rounding out the foursome. Alba plays Sue as the long-suffering, strong-minded woman trying to get Reed to notice her (there's a great scene in the beginning where just about EVERYBODY notices her... except Reed), and Ioan plays up the superintelligent and virtuous, yet emotionally dense Mr. Fantastic.

So, essentially, the best part of the movie is the middle part, as they are all coping with, and exploring their newfound powers.

What unfortunately knocks down the movie from "perfect," in my book, is the awkward inclusion of Dr. Doom. Doom is, in my opinion, the best villain in the Marvel Universe. The character is so full of himself, so egocentric, so ruthless... you can't help but sort of like him. His whole speaking of himself in the third person is strangely endearing...

"None but Doom shall ride the merry-go-round today! Begone, brat ... SO SAYS DOOM!"

"Doom demands rainbow sprinkles on his vanilla ice cream!... SO DECLARES DOOM!"

Disappointingly, Dr. Doom is sort of thrown in at the end for a 10-minute fight climax that is full of exciting potential, but never quite gets going. However, I must say that seeing the FF work together (even if it was really for only about 5 minutes) was thrilling! It was almost a throw-away sight gag when Mr. Fantastic contorts himself into a water funnel to freeze Dr. Doom.