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Review

For anyone who grew up immersed in the world of Marvel comics, few phrases uttered on the big screen have been more anticipated than "it's clobbering time." It is, unfortunately, only these people who will gain much joy from this year's Fantastic Four. Whereas the X-Men and Spiderman films have certainly - while appeasing longtime fans - made legions of new ones who likely went back to uncover the wealth of literature devoted to those superheroes, Fantistic Four appeal is not so broad. There is not doubt, this film rightly forgives the evils of the '90s attempt at the same story (a made for television movie,) but this is about all it really attempts.

Similar to the first Spiderman film, Fantastic Four pretty much devotes its time to the origins of the these four superheroes as well as their nemesis. A scientist named Dr. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), along his ex-girlfriend Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), his old college roommate and old friend, Viktor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), and pilots Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) head to a space station and encounter extreme exposure to a radiation cloud, rendering them all changed. Susan (now the Invisible Girl) gains invisiblity, Dr. Reed (Mr. Fantastic) can stretch himself beyond a normal human, Johnny can control fire (Human Torch), Ben (The Thing) is transformed into a being made entirely out of solid orange rock, and Von Doom's (Dr. Doom) body structure changes into metal. Under the strain of his transormation, Doom loses his mind and becomes the nemesis to our four new superheroes.

The cast of Fantastic Four - at best - approaches their roles with a stiffness that, to some extent, is forgivable. Unlike Superman or Spiderman, where the focus is on the character and persona behind the superhero, the individuals in Fantastic Four are secondary to the whole group. The special effects are solid, if not extraordinary or groundbreaking. This sets the tone for the entire film: a fun, mindless ride (perfect for a summer blockbuster,) but it wastes the opportunity of turning one of the most cherished and fruitfull series in the Marvel canon into something exceptional.

 -- Justin Hallman