Fantastic Four (2005)

Director: Tim Story

Writers: Mark Frost, Michael France

Composer: John Ottman

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Hamish Linklater, Kerry Washington, Laurie Holden, David Parker, Kevin McNulty

More info: IMDb

Tagline: 4 times the action. 4 times the adventure. 4 times the fantastic.

Plot: A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Here's yet another flick I put off watching for a decade because I'd heard nothing but shit about it and it's not that bad.  I didn't love it but I liked it.  For the most part it was pretty good.  While I didn't care for McMahon's performance as Doctor Doom, I really enjoyed Chris Evans and especially Michael Chiklis as Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm.  They were awesome. The rest of the team did a good job, too, but those guys elevated the picture.  The effects were good and I was completely OK with Grimm's body suit.  The story moves pretty quickly and it's not long into the film before the kids are hit with the radiation and their powers start to surface.  I enjoyed they time spent in each character discovering them but I would have liked more of a learning curve than what the film restricts them to.  And that leads to the rushed build-up and finale with the villain.  I dug how the team defeated Doctor Doom but the picture felt too short and they should have also spent more time with his character arc and destruction.  I was so surprised that I liked it that I feel even worse for childishly trashing the sequel, FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007).  I feel like I should at least give it another chance someday.  I realize this isn't high art or anything spectacular but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing the sequel again.  The 20th Century Fox DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen print and an awful lot of extras.  The funny thing is, from what I've seen of the new film coming out soon, I'm not all that jazzed to see it but I'm sure that'll change...maybe in ten years or so.