Film Reviews

Fantastic Four

• Rating:
• Director: Tim Story.
• Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis.
• Details: US / 106 mins (PG).

Four scientists (Gruffudd, Alba, Evans, Chiklis) working on a space station are struck by a cosmic storm; on their return to earth, the quartet discover they have superhuman powers of strength, elasticity, invisibility and resistance to fire. Anxious to return to normal as quickly as possible, the four conduct tests to see if their condition can be reversed, but they reckon without the malevolent intentions of their former employer, Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). If you're a fan of the Fantastic Four you might well be thrilled at their depiction on the big screen; the movie is bright, breezy and saturated in a day-glo version of reality. It also offers fast-moving action sequences, with each hero getting to display his or her particular talents on at least three occasions. Unfortunately, that's about all there is to Fantastic Four. Not being a fan, I don't know if you're actually supposed to care about these people, or if it's possible to care for characters who are to all intents and purposes indestructible. There's no sense of danger or real threat; as a result, the movie offers little by way of mounting tension or character development. Worse, there's the nagging feeling throughout that Fantastic Four is simply a flesh-and-blood version of The Incredibles, a movie against which Fantastic Four fares badly by comparison, not least because The Incredibles had the wit to appreciate how ridiculously infantile this guff about superhero worship really is.

Review by Declan Burke