Review of Fantastic Four (2005) by Kai82 — 05 Oct 2021

It is a solid superhero movie and introduction of the titular characters. Might not be a masterpiece or rival the MCU movies but is not garbage either and if you compare it against the 2015 reboot you will definitively see the qualities of this movie.

The Fantastic Four have a long history in comics and were introduced in 1961. They have a lot of great story arcs and popularity even if it declined a bit over the years. Movie wise they have definitely not much luck but this here is pretty faithful and well made given the circumstances (just look at more modern movies that tried modernizing classic stories and you see what I mean) I know that hardcore fans will hate me for this statement which is somewhat fair to be honest.

Story: Like I said this is the introduction movie for the characters. It explains how they get their powers and their resolve A group of 4 humans were doing / observing an experiment in space and when something goes wrong were hit by cosmic radiation.

This does not have the expected consequences of radiation poisoning (Don't look this up as it is a nightmarish topic). All of them develop different abilities and have to deal with the changes. This is the set up.

The story works more than it misses but while it is entertaining it is not a masterpiece either. I think they could do more here with the story and to a bit lesser content with the characters except Victor which is a terrible representation (but with a good actor that delivers).

Lets continue with the cast. I think Ioan Gruffudd is excellent as Reed Richards and I can see him become as iconic as the MCU counterparts with better scripts. I am a fan of Jessica Alba since Dark Angel.

I like her performance but also think they could use her character better. Sue Storm is an often overlooked powerhouse and this does not change with or without her powers. Chris Evans as Johnny Storm seems now so out of character since he became the embodiment of Captain America and nailed the role.

I say he delivers but was destined to become something far greater. Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm is an interesting character an I like his performance. While I see a great performance their comic counter parts have more depth a greater stories.

I will praise the support actors too. Now to the elephant in the room. I am also a fan of Julian McMahon and even say he does an amazing job with the given role or better said script. However Victor von Doom is not just an evil bad guy.

He has depth and in a regard has hero qualities, honor and values. For example: When he took over the world in the comics he ended all wars, solved world hunger and turned the armies into emergency help forces.

Not your typical villain and there is always the doubt that he is right while the heroes are too naive to change the world for the better. Also deply within he sees him not worthy of powers in a cosmic scale.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as he has also quirks and weaknesses that make him interesting. Did I point out that he is a king in the comics and deeply cares for his people but even this is a bit flawed by his quirks? Back to the review.

From the technical standpoint it looked really good back then. Be it special effects, costumes, make up and sets. Good performance in that category. Overall this is enjoyable but not memorable. The movie is nearly never brought up today as the MCU set higher standards.

Worth watching at least once for me.