Review of Fantastic Four (2005) by Patrick L — 27 Feb 2013

A fantastic film, compliment and pun intended! 10/10. Fantastic Four is enjoyable every time I watch it. This film introduces us to Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue Storm and Johnny Storm and Victor von Doom who will team up to see through an experiment of Reed Richards only to have a cosmic storm affect each and every one of them. Ben Grimm will be hit hardest while outside the space station, for reasons unknown he eventually transforms into a rocky and monstrous Thing.

Ioan Gruffudd is Reed Richards - Mr. Fantastic, the beautiful Jessica Alba is aptly cast as Sue Storm - The Invisible Woman, Chris Evans is her brother Johnny Storm - The Human Torch and Michael Chiklis.

Is Ben Grimm, the ever loving blue-eyed Thing while Doctor Doom is chillingly played by Julian McMahon.

We find the characters with Sue and Reed estranged from each other, Sue and Johnny working for Victor Von Doom's company and Ben with Reed trying to find funding and equipment for genetic research. Reed and Sue, long broken up due to Reed's obsessive experiments and failure to understand what Susan wants of him, are awkward when they find themselves working together with Doom on the project. All five go up to Doom's space station on which they are affected by a cosmic storm and effectively receiving unique powers. Johnny, a hotshot, is given lead pilot status though Ben Grimm is the far more experienced of the two.

Adventurous Johnny is the first to discover that he has changed when he literally bursts into flames due to being too excited. Ben becomes a rock-covered thing as if to protect himself from any harm that Reed leads him into.

Sue discovers that she becomes invisible perhaps because she has often felt that way and that also she can bend light/energy and construct a shield force capable of deflecting energy away from herself or others. Sue gains the power to protect herself from being hurt by exerting a force-field like power.

Reed, in an awkward moment, discovers that not only can he stretch his mind and intellect but also his body and his creativity brings about some of the weirder moments in their lives as they discover and explore their powers. Reed becomes pliable like rubber as if in answer to his desire to stretch himself to meet his goals.

Doom, craving power, becomes mingled with the metallic substances that made up his space station's protective shields and becomes so disfigured that he uses a mask to hide his face. He finds that he is either capable of absorbing power and/or is becoming a metallic being and he, alone of the five, decides to do whatever he wishes rather than doing the right thing.

Each reacts to their eventual transformations differently, Ben visiting his lady friend then disappearing when she rejects him out of fear and/or loathing. Johnny being thrilled to discover he has power over fire, Sue being shocked when she turns invisible due to feeling unappreciated by Reed, Reed being surprised by his power to control his body's form and length and Doom being vengeful and greedy when realizing he has power to absorb and fire energy.

The four heroes save people during an accident that Ben unintentionally causes and are thrust into the spotlight being quickly accepted by the public apart from fear or loathing of Ben. Gradually Reed and Sue come back together, Doom takes vengeance upon them, defeating Ben and Reed but ultimately the four unite and defeat him. In the meantime, Ben has met blind Alicia who readily accepts him as he is and she gives him a happy ending despite his being The Thing!

2 thumbs down to all the negative reviews below as clearly they don't appreciate this film for what it is. I imagine they like the latest gore-flick from Tarentino or some other one dimensional film maker?