Fantastic Four [2005] (3 Stars)

I was terribly disappointed with this film when it was released, but I'll start off by naming its good points.

It has my favourite Stan Lee cameo, even though it's only a small appearance. The scene last eight seconds, of which Stan's face is only visible for four seconds. He plays Willie Lumpkin, the Baxter Building's mail man. This is the role Stan was born to play.

In Fantastic Four #11 (February 1963) Willie Lumpkin applies to join the Fantastic Four. He should have been accepted. Ear wiggling is a power that very few humans possess.

Willie Lumpkin first appeared as a young postman in a daily newspaper strip written by Stan Lee from 1959 to 1961.

Has anyone ever taken the trouble to write a full bibliography of everything written by Stan Lee? I wouldn't want to read everything, but it would at least be interesting to have a list.

The other positive point of the film is the excellent casting and acting of the Fantastic Four themselves.

I know almost nothing about Ioan Gruffudd, but I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Reed Richards better. His facial expressions look like they're copied directly from the pages of the comic book. Is that good acting, or was he born with these expressions? I don't know.

Chris Evans perfectly pulls off the brash swagger of Johnny Storm. It's a very different character to the quiet, reclusive Capain America (Steve Rogers) that he played six years later. It's a tribute to his acting ability that he can portray both characters perfectly.

Jessica Alba not only looks like Susan Storm, she also has the cool confidence of the character. It's a shame that the film ruins her back story. In the film she's said to have a PhD, but she wasn't that intelligent in the comics.

Michael Chiklis has nailed the character of Benjamin Grimm perfectly. He's a tragic character with a hot temper. He doesn't quite look like the Thing does in the comic books, but he walks and talks like him.

If those are the good points, what's wrong with the film? Everything else! There's so much that's wrong that I can't write about all of it, but I'll point out the worst parts.

The origin is wrong, totally wrong. The Fantastic Four fly into space with Victor Von Doom? Susan Storm works for Doctor Doom? Doctor Doom wants to marry her?

The character of Doctor Doom just isn't the same person we know in the comics. In the film he gains his super powers by being bombarded with the same cosmic rays as the Fantastic Four. In the comics he had no super powers. He was only a scientific genius who used his brain to become the world's most powerful villain. I don't understand why Stan Lee didn't put his foot down and object when the film twisted Doctor Doom's character beyond recognition. A metallic body, super-human strength and the ability to shoot electric bolts of energy from his hands? He never needed all that in the comics.

The Fantastic Four were my favourite super-heroes when I was growing up. I bought more of their comics than any others. Each issue had the heading "The world's greatest comic magazine". Very little of this greatness can be seen in the film.

Success Rate:  + 1.3

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