Fantastic!

I'm sure you can tell what I saw over the weekend! Don't let the reviews throw you off, this was actually a good movie. You know you can always discredit a "bad" review when it comes from someone you don't like. So what about everyone else who is giving the film bad reviews? Most of the reviews I read completely missed the point. Did they even bother to watch the film?! They all sounded like they were out on a mission to ignore the good things about the film and only amplify the bad.
First off, I don't care what anyone says--they got The Thing (a.k.a. Ben Grimm), down to a T. Check out the photo! Everything about him was dead on. His costume, his voice, his persona, his famous catchphrase, "It's clobberin' time!" ...it was all there! I was so glad that they didn't resort to CGI with him. I heard that Micheal Chiklis, the actor who played The Thing, had a big hand in that. Many thanks, Micheal. I tip my hat to you, sir.
     The actor playing Victor VonDoom (oh come on, you can't hide it... you're Dr. Doom!), wasn't bad. He played his character with just enough sneer that you just loved to hate him. The actor who played Reed Richards was good as well. Ioan Gruffudd is actually one of my favorite actors. He plays his characters very well, not to mention that he looks just like Reed Richards! I first saw him on the A&E series "Horatio Hornblower," which is an excellent series indeed. I was glad to hear that they had casted him for this movie. It was cool to see Horatio in a radically different role. The actor who played Johnny Storm did pretty well too. I think he acted much better in this movie than his previous role in "Cellular." Some of his scenes were hilarious.
     Now the one person I wasn't sure about was the actress they chose for Sue Storm. You know who she is, Jessica Alba. From the minute I heard she was cast, I immediately thought she was only there for the 15-year old boys. Well, I was right. There were a few scenes which were obviously written to give audiences a view of her figure. Nearly all the guys in the theater I went to were whoopin' and hollerin'. I have to be honest, I can't say I blame them. The good news is that she still did a nice job in spite of all that. I think all of the actors did a great job. The problem with this movie was definitely not the acting.
     Some of the reviews called the movie an "action-less actionfest," but I say they're mistaken. Okay, the Fantastic Four did not have as much action as say, Spider-Man or X-Men, but that's okay! It was actually part of the story. Think of the context, people! Before they gained their powers, the Four were a group of ordinary people. Dr. Doom was just a selfish businessman with a subtle grudge against Reed Richards. After they got their powers, they were still a group of ordinary people, at heart. With the exception of Johnny, they were more concerned with returning themselves to normal than embracing their new abilities. That being said, how can you expect them to become butt-kicking crimefighters in only a few days? None of them really wanted to fight crime to begin with. What about Dr. Doom? How can you expect him to become supremely evil when he only has two days to build up his vendetta? Doesn't anyone find that unrealistic?
     In X-Men, it made sense for Wolverine to be able to fight after only spending a few days with the rest of the team. Where was he were we first introduced to him? He was pit fighting in a cage match! Plus, he supposedly had a background in the military! None of the members of the Fantastic Four had anything like that. I thought their abilities were portrayed acurately for the situation. They were able to deal some damage when it counted. I wonder what these reviewers would say if their fighting abilities were exagerated. They would probably jeer the film even more! What a bunch of losers.
     The only problem I could find with this film is the similarity between Doom's origin and the Green Goblin's origin in Spider-Man. To the uninitiated, it might seem like a cop-out. It is true that Dr. Doom's origin was different in the comics; his origin for the movie still serves it's purpose. Let's not forget that in the movies, Dr. Doom's reason for turning evil was not the same as the Goblin's. Dr. Doom did not go insane from a mind-altering substance. Dr. Doom became evil because he let the power go to his head. As for his menace, that is something that builds with time. This movie takes place in the course of only a few days! Again, I thought his portrayal was accurate. Dr. Doom was on edge in the movie, though not completely psychotic. I'm sure he will be much different in future films, especially now that he has a reason to be.

     Overall, this was a good film. I suggest you check it out. They managed to capture the tone of the Fantastic Four without losing the humanity. The drama between the characters, which is a huge part of the stories, is nicely done. Do yourself a favor and ignore these Hollywood reviewers who are paid to bad mouth decent movies. They trashed this movie, but said that Batman Begins was excellent. Don't even get me started. They can take their two thumbs and stick them up their noses for all I care. Go enjoy a nice comic book adaption for a change. I am definitely going to see it again, and I suggest you do as well.