A Nutshell Review: Fantastic Four
OK, I admit I've always been a closet Fantastic Four fan. Before
Stan Lee created the better known Spider-man, Hulk, X-Men, he
created Fantastic Four, touted as the World's Greatest Comics
Magazine, back in the 60s. Reed Richards is Mr Fantastic, Sue
Storm/Richards is The Invisible Girl, her brother Johnny Storm is
The Human Torch, and Richard's best friend / one time Sue's ex is
Ben Grimm, aka The Thing.
This is not the first time that the origin has been recreated in
film (the first one being a desperate attempt to secure movie
rights, and is a tacky B-production), but this is the version
that's done so right.
And I dare say this is the BEST Marvel comic book adaptation ever,
staying very true to its characterization just as Stan Lee
envisioned it to be. Classic touches include the bickering amongst
the characters and of course the very cliche (perhaps FF
popularized it?) basic plot of cooperation and teaming is stronger
than the individual. The spot-on rivalry between Johnny and Ben,
the use of their powers on one another (always liked it when
Richards overpower Ben), and the costumes themselves serve a
purpose, highlighting the Invisible Girl's curves... oops, I mean
the suits being exposed to the same radiation and adapting the same
properties as its wearer, and Ben's fedora and brown trenchcoat
looked so in place.
I could go on, like Richard's vow to Ben to help his tragic friend
(and themselves) reverse the effects on their DNA, his overworking
in their penthouse headquarters of the Baxter Building, the
rejection of The Thing's appearance by the public, Johnny's
impulsiveness and crave for popularity, and Sue's peacemaker role
amongst the boys. What I also liked is that this film takes its
time to develop their arch-nemesis Victor Von Doom, as his
transformation takes place throughout the movie until the
finale.
Compared to Spider-man, there isn't a sappy romance to slow things
down (and Mary J Watson was never Peter Parker's first!), nor are
there too many heroes and villains like X-Men such that each
character has limited screen time because of the focus on its most
popular character Wolverine. In this film, each character has their
own adequate share of the limelight, though I must mention that the
Human Torch outshone the rest in set action pieces, while The Thing
stole the show with humour. The film doesn't seem too long (about
the same duration as the original X-Men), but it manages to pack
all the action, emotion, backstory nicely as one summer
flick.
Kudos to the casting team in bringing together actors who look the
role too. Although 3 out of 5 stars are more goggle box actors
(Alba, McMahon, Chilklis), they sure looked comfortable in their
outing on the big screen.
If two's a company, and three's a crowd, then Four's just
FANtastic! Looking at box office numbers, I don't think it'll outdo
Spider-man, but I'm still game for a sequel - they can bring on
Galactus for all I care! Look out for the cameo appearance of Stan
Lee, whom you always expect in a Marvel adaptation that meets
expectations!
