fantastic 4 not so fantastic

I have been eagerly anticipating this movie now for over a year, so it’s of no surprise that I went to see the vary first showing at midnight. I even paid for my brother and his girlfriend to go because I’m such a nice guy.

Synopsis:

Reed Richards in an attempt to leave his mark on the world, and get out of debt, enlists the help of three long time acquaintances, and one high school rival turned multimillion dollar tycoon on his new project. The study, and intelligence gathering of a spacial storm. This storm he believes could help the human race enrich their daily lives. However he is off on his calculations,, and the storm alters the D.N.A of the five companions.

Now Reeds, (Ioan Gruffudd) Sue Storm, (Jessica Alba) her brother Johnny Storm, (Chris Evens) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) must adjust to life with these new abilities, as well as life in the public eye. As the Fantastic 4, they soak to put an end to multimillion dollar tycoon Victor Von Doom. (Julian McMahon) Whose experience with the spacial storm has put him on the ultimate power trip literally.


I must say I’m a little disappointed with this movie. The reason being is that I don’t think the script was so great, I mean this is the summer blockbuster season, and this movie just doesn’t fit the bill. Yes in the beginning it has a lot of action, but it tapers off quite a bit till the end. The rest off the movie just feels like a bunch of people with anger management issues. It almost plays out like one of Dr. Phil’s family in crisis shows. It needs a lot more action, and a lot more of the emoational depth we have come to expect from feather film adaptations of Marvel comic books.

What drama there is comes from Michael Chiklis portrayal of Ben Grimm. Chiklis does a great job bringing Ben Grimm’s complexities to life. You can feel and believe the hardships his corrector encounters while trying to adjust to his new life. I felt deeply saddened by what he had to now experience at the hands of some non understanding people. Weather that’s because of his great acting, or the fact that I could totally relate with what his corrector had to go through is for someone other then I to decide. But I can tell you that if you thought Chiklis could only play the tough guy he does on F/X’s The Shield, you’re wrong. His portrayal of the gentle yet tough Grimm is outstanding.

Don’t get me wrong I think the directors cast all the right people for the write roles. Ioan Gruffudd played a very good leader and scientist, Alba was the glue that holds the family together, and between the two correctors you can tell they have an almost jaded past. Evans pulls off the flamboyant pretty boy, who thinks he’s god’s gift to everything that you’d expect from Johnny Storm quite well. And McMahon is perfect as the arrogant egotistical Doom. He’s got the look and the voice a villain should have. Let’s face it, this isn’t the first time Julian McMahon has played a bad guy, and boy does he excel at it.

It’s my opinion that the special effects were probably the focal point in this movie. They were done vary well, there amazing in fact. Of course they would have to be when you take unrealistic powers that would only work in comics and turn them around so they look like they work in live action film. They do indeed work except when the human torch starts to fly. Yes I know he does fly in the cartoons and comics, and that works in that medium. In live action however it makes you wish they would explain how he could fly (which they don’t) otherwise it feels and looks and feels far fetched and cheesy (which it did).
In short I did like the movie, although I was expecting more from an eagerly anticipated summer film. I liked the acting. I just wasn’t to crazy about the script. It’s missing the drama, emotion and action that films like Spiderman, X-Men, and the new Batman Begins has. My advice is this. If you have nothing to do, and want to get out of the house then go see this movie. But don’t blow off some major fun filled plans because you want to go see this movie.. Kind of a toss up I know, but then again so was this film