Story
Fantastic Four tells the story of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, four astronauts affected by cosmic rays in space who end up with superpowers.
Saying the Fantastic Four are iconic is an understatement. They are Marvel's first family, and for a lot of people, myself included, this was our introduction to them. In terms of origin stories, I think this does an okay job of introducing the four and their powers; however, in terms of the Fantastic Four? It's meh.
I do think having them face their most iconic villain in Doctor Doom was the right idea; it was a safer bet than having them face Mole Man and Giaganto.
Acting
I am 50/50 on the casting, to be honest. I think Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd and even Julian McMahon do a decent job as Reed Richards, The Thing and Doctor Doom, respectively (within the confines of the movie). I guess my issues come from Sue and Johnny Storm. And in defence of Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, I think my issues are less about their acting, which is okay for the most part and has more to do with how they are written.
Sue Storm is the emotional centre of the Fantastic Four, and I see where this movie was trying to go with that, but it felt like she was on the back burner a lot of the time. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that she was sexualised quite a bit in this movie. There is a running gag in this movie and its sequel where she has to take off her clothes to hide from people. And it is treated like a joke, and it's not funny. Susan is intelligent in her own right and one of the strongest of the four, and we only ever see glimpses of it in this movie.
Johnny Storm is where my main issue lies. He embodies the jock archetype that I have never liked. I will say, though, that there is a time and place for characters like this, and he does fit in with the group dynamic, seeing him become slightly less self-centred and hot-headed (pun intended) makes for an interesting character arc.
Writing/Direction
This movie was released in 2005 and is dated much like a lot of movies that were written and released in the early 2000s. It is no one's fault that the references, behaviours, and slang age the film and lock it to the time period it was released in.
It is also important to note that this movie did come out at a time when comic book movies were not as mainstream as they are today. And due to that fact, the movie couldn't be as comic-accurate as a lot of movies are now (a gripe many had with the sequel, which I will get into next week.)
CGI/Set Design
I might be in the minority, but I think the CGI is pretty good, even by today's standards. Reed's stretching looks good; it's one of those effects that I think is going to look a little silly no matter how well it's done, based on the inherent 'goofiness' of his powers.
Michael Chiklis wearing a prosthetic suit might have been the right choice, as I am not sure the CGI would have looked that good back then.
Score/Soundtrack
I went to see Materialists a few days ago (review for that incoming), and on my way to the cinema, I listened to the main score from the new movie, and after listening to it a few times, I listened to the score from this movie, and I like it. I think John Ottman's score fits the tone of the movie; it is recognisable and feels heroic to me.
Overall Thoughts
The fact that this movie is canon in the MCU feels like a fever dream, but it really is, and was brought back to "relevance" after Chris Evans reprised his role as Johnny Storm in 2024's Deadpool and Wolverine, a movie that I didn't really like much. It felt a little too on the nose, and the character wasn't updated to fit the 2025 landscape (though I didn't expect him to be)
I say all of that to say that I enjoyed this movie. I liked it in the early 2000s as a child, and I liked it 20 years later as an adult. This movie is campy, and whether or not it is intentional, I liked that about it. It's very obvious when you watch it that the movie isn't taking itself too seriously. Now, is it a good Fantastic Four movie? Arguably no. Is it a good movie? Not really, but it is fun. And sometimes that is what you want in a movie.
On my way home from finishing this review, I heard that Julian McMahon passed away from a private battle with cancer, and it left me pretty shocked, especially as I just watched him in this movie as well as The Residence not too long ago. May he rest in peace.
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