Fantastic Four 2005

• Directed by Tim Story
• July 8, 2005
• Based on the Fantastic Four created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

A group of people deal with newfound abilities following exposure to cosmic rays.

In recent years it has become fashionable to talk smack about Fantastic Four 2005 though it gets more right than it gets wrong. It is fun and exciting with plenty of humor though that never undermines action or tension. It maintains a nice balance between funny and serious.

The family dynamic of not always getting along and disagreeing is more on point than most anything else in this film. The characters are bonded in a way they can’t quite explain beyond a shared event even if they don’t want to be. They have each other’s back even when they don’t want to. The Fantastic Four is supposed to be Marvel’s first family and that is done here right.

Like originally conceived, the power each possesses is an expression of their basic personality. A little on the nose but such were comics then. Reed is always reaching beyond his grasp. Sue feels invisible. Johnny is a hot shot. Ben has a rocky exterior but a sensitive core. Doom views himself as all powerful, and he very nearly is.

I do think they get Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd) pretty correct. My familiarity is based more on some cartoons over the comics, but he is a man whose intellect far outstrips all others to the point he has difficulty relating to others.

One thing I need to ask is why do people complain so much about casting Jessica Alba as Sue Storm? Jessica Alba is mixed race and honestly with a little bit of blonde hair she just looks like your average California girl or the perception thereof with a collagen lip injection. That and she is a passable actress. People act like her casting was a war crime.

Victor von Doom (Julian McMahon) is a combination of the traditional Dr. Doom and maybe even Tony Stark. He seems devoid of any knowledge of magic being more schooled in science with a distinct focus on business. He does not sport some vague Eastern European accent so without one passing mention of the ‘old country’ you would not even know there was a hint of Latveria in the character. This does leave out stuff that would add 30 plus minutes but also skips foundational character elements.

McMahon could be a little hammy at times and over act a bit in this but I think in general he gets the attitude right. Doom is arrogant and full of himself. His ego is backed up by his ability to get results when he wants them. He is truly as good as he believes himself to be. The major issue is the character of Doom spends far too much time without anything mildly resembling his costume. Eventually he does get the mask and a suit but it takes far too much time.

The CGI used can be a little wonky. The stretching of Reed is probably the most questionable but I think Sue and Johnny generally work well. The suit for The Thing was probably my favorite effect. Maybe in modern times it could’ve been dressed up a little bit with some CGI but I think it works well for the era. Fantastic Four 2005 occasionally does look cheap by modern standards. It’s a very Canadian production (look at many of the minor character actors) which was cheap then to begin with. Shots can be tight and it feels like something is missing in the footage.

They really don’t do a good job of informing the audience that Sue and Johnny are siblings. It’s barely even mentioned in the movie. One or two lines give it away, but nothing much. This is something important.

Plot and actions of the characters mostly work. The only thing that I really question is when Johnny lights the garbage scow on fire to lead the missile away. Garbage scows aren’t automated. There is definitely a small crew on there. So not only when the missile hits could people die but the same goes for when Johnny sets fire to the detritus on it. As a scene involving a hero it just is not thought out.

One thing you will notice is that unlike many superhero films today not all the characters are on the screen at one time using their powers. It was something that was a little harder to do and certainly much more expensive 20 years ago than it is today. They save that for the climax and it is a nice payoff. The finale is more of brains rather than a big knockdown superhero battle. Dr. Doom is subdued and supposedly sent back to his home country.

Maybe I’m a touch alone in this but I think the Fantastic Four 2005 is a good movie. Maybe not great but very good. It gets more right than it gets wrong.