Fantastic 4 the Laughs
Some disclosure before I give my latest review: I've never been much of a F4 fan. Why? The crappy villains. Like Hulk, Wonder Woman, Superman and others, the Fantastic Four only had two, maybe three worthwhile adversaries. Compare that to the rogue's gallery that Batman, Spider-man or the X-Men have to face on a regular. So while I loved the heroes, the comics themselves never really appealed to me.
That being said, I give Fantastic Four the Movie an 8/10.
As an Origin Movie: 8/10; it used enough time to explain how the characters got their powers and began their transformation into heroes.
As a Summer Movie: 9/10; good laughs, cool heroes, nasty villain. Not to mention that it's picked up some of the slack.
As a Marvel Movie: 7/10; I think the X-Men and Spider-man sequels were better.
As some may know, Marvel's been trying to incorporate genres and themes into their adaptations. The X-Men movie is a sci-fi with the theme of diversity and acceptance. Spider-man is an action/romance flick about responsibility (and duality). The Punisher was in action drama dealing with revenge.
Fantastic Four is a comedy about family and teamwork. You won't notice it at first; because it's real subtle and most people are so used to the anvils that X-Men and Spider-man dropped they don't feel the formulaic tickle this movie has.
So what are the Pros and Cons?
Well what's good is that they only have to focus on five main characters. This allows you to see the relationship they share with each other. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) is a down-on-his luck egghead (think Egon Spengler with a classier look and more optimism). Victor Von Doom (Dr. Doom) is his old college rival who's a more successful businessman but lacks in the humanitarian department. Susan Storm (Invisible Girl) is Reed's ex-girlfriend and Victor's current employee (both of course he sees it as more). Ben Grimm (The Thing) is Reed's muscle and best friend through thick and thin. And Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) is Sue's little brother and a pilot who was under Ben's command back in the day. The interactions are believable for a movie, and evolve as events send all five on a collision course of...um, cosmic proportions.
The fighting is what can be expected for a comic movie about super heroes that don't do that much fighting: adequate. You'll see stretching, fire tricks, super-lifting and moments of invisibility where necessary. Except for Johnny, these guys were never really known for flaunting their powers.
The lesson of family and teamwork is realized when Doom figures out that the best way to get his revenge and make himself a real power-player is to divide and conquer the F4. And naturally, that's when you get the best fight scenes (I'll count Fantastic infighting just this once).
The cast do their best to make this as entertaining as possible. Ioan Gruffudd's Reed is the quintessential academic who's more into variables than emotions. Jessica Alba's Sue is better suited as a matriarch than a scientist. Michael Chiklis is the best of the bunch as the tortured Ben. Chris Evans gives me hope that when future casting of "young, wild and arrogant" characters is called, people won't just think of Chris O'Donnell. And Julian McMahon slips into the role of Big Bad Dr. Doom easily, considering he past experiences.
If you don't want to see a super-hero flick with a comedic slant (and some of the jokes are kind of lame). Don't bother. If you like laughs with your action, check it out.
That being said, I give Fantastic Four the Movie an 8/10.
As an Origin Movie: 8/10; it used enough time to explain how the characters got their powers and began their transformation into heroes.
As a Summer Movie: 9/10; good laughs, cool heroes, nasty villain. Not to mention that it's picked up some of the slack.
As a Marvel Movie: 7/10; I think the X-Men and Spider-man sequels were better.
As some may know, Marvel's been trying to incorporate genres and themes into their adaptations. The X-Men movie is a sci-fi with the theme of diversity and acceptance. Spider-man is an action/romance flick about responsibility (and duality). The Punisher was in action drama dealing with revenge.
Fantastic Four is a comedy about family and teamwork. You won't notice it at first; because it's real subtle and most people are so used to the anvils that X-Men and Spider-man dropped they don't feel the formulaic tickle this movie has.
So what are the Pros and Cons?
Well what's good is that they only have to focus on five main characters. This allows you to see the relationship they share with each other. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) is a down-on-his luck egghead (think Egon Spengler with a classier look and more optimism). Victor Von Doom (Dr. Doom) is his old college rival who's a more successful businessman but lacks in the humanitarian department. Susan Storm (Invisible Girl) is Reed's ex-girlfriend and Victor's current employee (both of course he sees it as more). Ben Grimm (The Thing) is Reed's muscle and best friend through thick and thin. And Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) is Sue's little brother and a pilot who was under Ben's command back in the day. The interactions are believable for a movie, and evolve as events send all five on a collision course of...um, cosmic proportions.
The fighting is what can be expected for a comic movie about super heroes that don't do that much fighting: adequate. You'll see stretching, fire tricks, super-lifting and moments of invisibility where necessary. Except for Johnny, these guys were never really known for flaunting their powers.
The lesson of family and teamwork is realized when Doom figures out that the best way to get his revenge and make himself a real power-player is to divide and conquer the F4. And naturally, that's when you get the best fight scenes (I'll count Fantastic infighting just this once).
The cast do their best to make this as entertaining as possible. Ioan Gruffudd's Reed is the quintessential academic who's more into variables than emotions. Jessica Alba's Sue is better suited as a matriarch than a scientist. Michael Chiklis is the best of the bunch as the tortured Ben. Chris Evans gives me hope that when future casting of "young, wild and arrogant" characters is called, people won't just think of Chris O'Donnell. And Julian McMahon slips into the role of Big Bad Dr. Doom easily, considering he past experiences.
If you don't want to see a super-hero flick with a comedic slant (and some of the jokes are kind of lame). Don't bother. If you like laughs with your action, check it out.
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