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.

You Can Spot it as a Sequel from a Mile Off

I was on Spring Break last week, and during the middle of the week my friend and I decided to take a trek to the mall and its adjoining dollar theater. I'm a sucker for anything Disney and she loves dalmatians, so it was pretty easy to agree on 102 Dalmatians. I was quite impressed with the live-action remake of the animated Disney classic, and I wondered how this one would hold up. Disney did, after all, give us The Rescuers Down Under, Simba's Pride, and Toy Story 2. But when it comes to live-action, most of their recent attempts at sequels have been rather weak (as opposed to sequels to early movies, such as The Absent-Minded Professor, The Shaggy Dog, and The Love Bug). I went expecting a decent but not outstanding movie, and that's what I got.

The movie begins in the prison wherein Cruella DeVil (Glenn Close) is housed. After undergoing an experimental treatment, she seems to be cured of her despicable nature. When she returns home after her release from prison, Cruella (or "Ella" as she now prefers to be called) insists upon having all of her furs locked away because she now cannot bear the thought of harming an animal. She is now ready to re-enter society as a productive citizen.

Her parole officer, Chloe (Alice Evans), is not convinced, and she is very suspicious when Cruella takes over the Second Chance dog shelter, about to be shut down due to lack of funding. While keeping tabs on Cruella and another client who works with the dogs, she meets Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd), who happens to be quite a dapper gent, in my opinion. He has four "dogs" -- one is actually a parrot named Waddlesworth (Eric Idle) who insists he is a rottweiler. A romance begins to blossom between the two of them, and the dog shelter flourishes. It seems that the biggest worry at the moment is helping Oddball -- daughter of Chloe's dog, Dipstick, who appeared as a pup in the first film -- deal with the fact that she has no spots.

But disaster strikes when the resounding chimes of Big Ben cause Cruella to revert back to her old cruel self. Determined once more to get her dalmatian coat despite the judge's stipulation that a repeat offense would lead to the transferral of her entire fortune to the dog shelter, Cruella drags her butler Alonso into the task of kidnapping the puppies. She also employs a French furrier, Le Pelt, to aid her in the creation of her wonder garment. And how does she get away with it? Why, Kevin, of course. The perfect motive: he wanted her money for the shelter. Kevin is framed and thrown in jail, and Cruella prepares to steal Dipstick's pups, which will provide the hood of her coat.

The rest of the movie is, obviously, a race against time to try to keep Cruella from doing her dire deed. This is Oddball's chance to shine, and she proves that the greatness of a dalmatian is not determined by the number of her spots.

There are a couple of twists and turns in this movie, but it's not as entertaining or endearing as the original. Alonso the Butler, who I pitied from my first sight of him in the original, has his moment in the sun in this movie, and I was glad to see that. But the focus in this film is first on Cruella, then on Chloe and Kevin, who weren't even in the original. Their prolonged courtship does strike me as more realistic than Roger and Anita's instant marriage, but I thought there was too much focus on the humans. The dogs have a much lesser role in this film, and I think that's a shame.

Also, there are a couple of little things I don't quite get. How could Cruella not have heard Big Ben all that time? What police department allows a guy to take his pets into prison with him? And how could Kevin just get off scot-free after escaping? Granted, I wanted him to, but I don't think it would work that way.

Still, it's a good movie, and well worth seeing at the dollar theater or renting. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it, but I'd say it'd be entertaining for at least a couple viewings.