07-12-2005, 03:13 AM
I will be completely honest. I was dreading this movie. If Chanty hadn't wanted to see it so badly, I might have even skipped it in the theater. Basically, it comes down to the bad press it had been garnering for the last two or three months. No one seemed to have high hopes for Fantastic Four, and many had condemned it to death far before its release date.
I have never been so happy to be wrong in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed Fantastic Four. It was an excellently fun, summer popcorn flick. Did it hold up to the best its comic book counterpart has had to offer us over the years? No, it did not. But I certainly didn't allow that to keep me from enjoying the movie.
I was of coarse pleased with Michael Chiklis as The Thing. He captured the role well, just as I knew he would. Ioan Gruffudd did an admirable job as Mr. Fantastic. He took a difficult role and made the character approachable and even likable. That was something that I wasnât sure Mr. Fantastic could be on the big screen. I was afraid he would just come off as a know-it-all egg head with no redeeming qualities. And the Human Torch was nothing short of amazing. Not only did they capture the look perfectly, expertly duplicating his comic book facade, but Chris Evans played him to the T. He may very well be one of the most perfectly adapted comic book characters in film history (except for the less-than-blonde hair) But of the four, I think I was most pleasantly surprised by Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman/Girl. This is not to say that I think she was great, but she was certainly better than any critic had given her credit for. Because letâs be honest, it isnât Ms. Albaâs fault that she was cast as the big sister of a guy who, in reality, is only one and a half months younger than she. So yes, the big sister bit comes off a bit more as sibling rivalry than it does as wise older sister advice, but I believe she made the most of what she was given.
And while I will give Julian McMahon a positive review for his acting, Doom himself departs a bit too much from his four color roots for me to give the character the same thumbs up. Although if you read between the lines, you can see that they may be setting him up to hold truer to form in the sure to be made sequels. That was really my only major problem with the movie: other than the wretchedly useless addition of a heartless fiancee for Ben Grimm. Where did they come up with that gem of an idea? Did they think we wouldnât understand the characterâs plight without him being jilted by a superficial blonde b%$@h? Ahh well, her moments were brief and ultimately forgettable.
Was it as good as the summerâs other major comic book offering? Not even close, but I really did enjoy Fantastic Four. It ranks somewhere around Daredevil and the first Spider-man on my sliding scale of favorite comic flicks. And I gotta say that is far better company than I had expected them to be keeping.
I have never been so happy to be wrong in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed Fantastic Four. It was an excellently fun, summer popcorn flick. Did it hold up to the best its comic book counterpart has had to offer us over the years? No, it did not. But I certainly didn't allow that to keep me from enjoying the movie.
I was of coarse pleased with Michael Chiklis as The Thing. He captured the role well, just as I knew he would. Ioan Gruffudd did an admirable job as Mr. Fantastic. He took a difficult role and made the character approachable and even likable. That was something that I wasnât sure Mr. Fantastic could be on the big screen. I was afraid he would just come off as a know-it-all egg head with no redeeming qualities. And the Human Torch was nothing short of amazing. Not only did they capture the look perfectly, expertly duplicating his comic book facade, but Chris Evans played him to the T. He may very well be one of the most perfectly adapted comic book characters in film history (except for the less-than-blonde hair) But of the four, I think I was most pleasantly surprised by Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman/Girl. This is not to say that I think she was great, but she was certainly better than any critic had given her credit for. Because letâs be honest, it isnât Ms. Albaâs fault that she was cast as the big sister of a guy who, in reality, is only one and a half months younger than she. So yes, the big sister bit comes off a bit more as sibling rivalry than it does as wise older sister advice, but I believe she made the most of what she was given.
And while I will give Julian McMahon a positive review for his acting, Doom himself departs a bit too much from his four color roots for me to give the character the same thumbs up. Although if you read between the lines, you can see that they may be setting him up to hold truer to form in the sure to be made sequels. That was really my only major problem with the movie: other than the wretchedly useless addition of a heartless fiancee for Ben Grimm. Where did they come up with that gem of an idea? Did they think we wouldnât understand the characterâs plight without him being jilted by a superficial blonde b%$@h? Ahh well, her moments were brief and ultimately forgettable.
Was it as good as the summerâs other major comic book offering? Not even close, but I really did enjoy Fantastic Four. It ranks somewhere around Daredevil and the first Spider-man on my sliding scale of favorite comic flicks. And I gotta say that is far better company than I had expected them to be keeping.