The Thing is the Thing that Makes Fantastic Four Worth Watching

At the outset of the summer, I had a list of several movies I wanted to see in the theater – most of which I still haven’t. The Fantastic Four was not on that list, but when my uncle issued an invitation for me to go see it with his family, I was happy to accept. I tend to be a bit leery of films inspired by comic books simply because they generally tend to be very destructive, but this did look to be one of the more family friendly of those adaptation, an impression that seemed to be confirmed when almost all the previews were for films rated G or PG. So I settled in with my jumbo popcorn and an open mind. As it turned out, I liked it quite a bit.

I don’t know anything about the source material, so I can’t comment on how faithful the film was in terms of character and plot elements. I was warned ahead of time by my brother that watching the movie meant putting up with Jessica Alba, a name I was unfamiliar with. “And what’s so wrong with Jessica Alba?” I inquired. “She was in Dark Angel,” Nathan muttered darkly. “And you watched Dark Angel?” I persisted. “No,” he replied. “So how do you know it was such a bad show?” I asked. “Because Jessica Alba was in it!” he concluded triumphantly while I shook my head and decided not too rely too heavily on his circular logic. She plays Sue Storm, who I couldn’t help but compare repeatedly to Trillian, probably because I had just seen Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy a couple weeks before. She serves a similar purpose, with the protagonist, Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), having dated her in the past and now being forced to see her with another man. This man, incidentally, is Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), the former rival to whom Reed must turn for assistance in launching an experiment that could have earth-shatteringly positive consequences.

Joining them in this voyage are Johnny (Chris Evans), Sue’s hotshot younger brother, and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Reed’s paternal friend. There is considerable interpersonal strain inherent in the formation of this group. Reed is jealous of Victor, who in turn is contemptuous of Reed. Sue is angry with Reed because of the way their relationship ended, and she isn’t especially thrilled by all the advances the suave Victor is making on her. Meanwhile, Ben is furious that his former employee Johnny is now his boss, and Johnny is more than happy to rub it in. The clashing personalities hardly make for an ideal situation, but when they return to Earth with an assortment of bizarre powers, it seems Sue, Johnny, Reed and Ben are going to have to learn how to live with one another.

Victor, meanwhile, remains on his own, his rage festering as he realizes that his business is tanking thanks to Reed’s little trip. Oddly enough, it never seems to occur to any members of the quartet, soon dubbed the Fantastic Four, that Victor might have acquired strange attributes as well. Their focus is on figuring out how to undo the changes that were made to their DNA. Ben is especially eager. His transformation made him clumsy and intimidating, a rock-like giant so alarming that his wife left him. Being branded with the humiliating nickname “the Thing” didn’t help. But the other three have more useful powers: invisibility for Sue, stretchiness for Reed, and the ability to burst into flames and fly for Johnny. The latter is especially fond of his newfound abilities and is in no hurry whatsoever to give them up.

I imagine The Incredibles was informed a bit by this comic, as the film reminded me a lot of that recent Disney / Pixar venture. The invisibility and stretchiness were a particularly powerful reminder. As for the characters, Ben was by far my favorite, a very sympathetic man who provided most of the film’s heart. Johnny was amusing, though if was shut up with him for days on end I suspect I would find him very obnoxious. Reed and Sue were likable enough; again, they mirrored the relationship between Arthur and Trillian in Hitchhiker’s Guide. For whatever reason, this romance seemed a bit more believable, but I still wasn’t all that impressed with that element of the storyline. Victor was an intriguing villain, arrogant and out for revenge but still someone I could feel sorry for at times.

Predictably, there was quite a bit of destruction in this film, though there were, happily, few casualties. In the end, it’s a pretty good film with plenty of action, done in such a way that it is appropriate for younger audiences. No doubt there will be a sequel, and when it comes I would not be adverse to seeing it.