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The Fantastically Mediocre Four
by Jarrod (movies profile)
Jun 25, 2007
310
of
524 people found this review helpful
Well, it had to end somewhere. A string of surprisingly well-done comic movies (Batman Begins, X-men 2, Spiderman 2) has hit its first speed bump, with the release of The Fantastic Four. Okay, okay; so maybe i forgot Elektra, but who DOESN'T want to forge that one. Well, and i guess that means we need to count Daredevil, too. But OTHER than that, I mean.
That's not to say the movie wasn't without its', albeit few, merits. Worth mentioning is the chemistry between the Thing and the Human Torch; who do a spectacular job of bantering playfully and angrily. Overall, they are the two strongest characters in the film. With Johnny nabbing the best and worst lines, the real winner is the Thing, with Mr. Chiklis. playing a sufficiently distraught man coming to terms with his newly overhauled life, losing his wife, and having the most noticeable and disfiguring power.
Despite some bad CG, the films overall effects are still impressive, and make some of the sillier aspects of the film more interesting.
The Von Doom character was well-cast, and even his wandering accent wouldn't have mattered if the movie interpretation had been written well at all. Next to a soundtrack that boasted a who's who of up-and-coming mediocrity, it was the most disappointing aspect to me. He was little more than a rich, egotistical bully; a far cry less interesting than the comic Doom in every aspect.
Reed Richards is fairly well-played by Ioan Gruffudd, and Jessica Alba, appearing in her 300th movie this year, plays Sue Storm - an intelligent corporate assistant to Von Doom, who can't seem to find clothes that button all the way up, and holds none of the characteristics of the comic Sue minus curves.
The movie adheres strongly to the rule that dictates a plethora of cheesy dialogue and forced one-liners be present throughout; and i found myself laughing at the unintentional even more than the intentional laughs.
After all is said and done, this film really just ends up being a giant tease, with little in the way of real delivery. The characters spend most of the movie developing and coming to terms with their new comsic powers; with a disappointing, physics-retarded, climax-less battle at the end of it all.
The movie is clearly aimed at a younger audience than most comic films; and with plot holes so big you could fly a human torch through them, it's better to just keep track of the not-so-big picture - the movie just isn't that good. |
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