Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Comic Book films seem to be on a roll these days, and even the least of them is better than some of the best of the Marvel-inspired films of the last decade. Who can forget the God-awful New World productions of Captain America or, worse yet, The Fantastic Four. The latter, made in 1994, was a really bad effort; so bad, in fact, that it was never really released to a large audience. Pretty embarrassing, that.

But everyone deserves a second chance, and 2005’s Fantastic Four is a vast improvement on its predecessor. (Never seen the 1994 version? Do yourself a favor, then. Don’t). Granted, this isn’t my favorite superhero flick. But it’s still good solid fun, and I enjoyed it upon its theatrical release and now on DVD home video well enough.

Like Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four is a Marvel icon, and it’s a wonder that it has taken so long to get a quality version of their story told on the big screen. And if you don’t know the story by now, let’s get into it then, shall we?

Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) is a brilliant scientist on the verge of an amazing breakthrough. He’s discovered a violent cosmic storm approaching the Earth, one the likes of he theorizes may be responsible for life as we know it. But to get as much data as he can on the storm, he needs to analyze it directly from space.

Enter Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), a wealthy industrialist from the tiny European nation of Latveria who just happens to have his own space station. As ambitious as he is greedy, Doom agrees to get Reed into space on the assumption he will be able to profit from Richards’ discoveries.

Along with his assistant Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) and her brother, Johnny (Chris Evans), Reed and Doom head for the stars on a ship piloted by Reed’s best friend, Benjamin Grimm (Michael Chiklis). But something goes terribly wrong. The storm arrives well ahead of schedule, and with Ben trapped outside, there isn’t time to get the shields fully into place. The entire ensemble is exposed to a barrage of the mysterious cosmic rays.

The result: their DNA is fundamentally altered, and they begin to display amazing new abilities in short order. Reed can extend any part of his body like a thing of rubber. Sue can become invisible, and create force fields telepathically. Johnny can burst into flame with a thought, like a human torch. Ben has become a grotesque Thing, covered with orange rocks. And Victor’s body becomes metallic, with an ability to control energy at will.

Soon dubbed the Fantastic Four, The Invisible Girl, Mister Fantastic, The Thing, and the Human Torch choose to use their powers for good. All seem to come to terms with them, except for Ben, who desperately seeks to regain his lost humanity. Victor, however, chooses to use his gifts to pursue his own dark ends. Realizing that the Fantastic Four stand in his way, Doom attacks them one by one. The result: a clash of titans in an epic battle of uncertain outcome.

Fantastic Four is an enjoyable little film that, while perhaps not quite as appealing as Spider-Man, manages to capture the essence of the comic storyline. There are a few changes, of course, such as the origin of Dr. Doom, who never accompanied the Four on their fateful trip into space in the comic continuity.

But the action is decent, and as the “origin issue” so to speak Fantastic Four does a decent job setting up the characters as they explore their newfound abilities. The conflict between Doom and the Fantastic Four is fairly well elaborated, though Doom himself seems a bit less imposing than he does in the comics. McMahon’s squirrelly voice coming from behind the stoic match has a lot do with that, and seems very incongruous. A synthesized, deeper voice is more in order ala Darth Vader.

The interplay between Ben and Johnny is a lot more fun. The two are continual adversaries with a sort of love-hate relationship, always playing pranks on each other and trading barbs on a regular basis. This provides a bit of comic relief, and what’s a comic book movie without comic relief?

Special effects are, well, Fantastic. The Thing really looks like the early, lumpy pile of orange rocks he was initially. The Human Torch is amazing, too, and we can really believe Reed can stretch and Sue can turn invisible.

Casting was nicely done for the most part, with Chiklis a perfect choice as Ben Grimm. At first, I wasn’t sold on his thick Bostonian accent (Grimm is a dedicated Brooklyner). But he really works in the role. Gruffudd looks the part of Richards and does a fair enough job, as do Alba and Evans. McMahon seems the one weak spot, in my estimation he’s just not villainous enough as Doom.

This one is recommended, and gets three and a half out of four stars. I’ll be kind and round up for Epinions purposes. If you do buy, shell out the extra few bucks for the Ultimate Collection Set. It includes the widescreen DVD, a set of six collector cards, and even better, a CD-ROM that contains the first 23 issues of the Ultimate Fantastic Four comic in their entirety. All packaged in a collectible logo tin can.

Now if we can only get Galactus and the Silver Surfer in the sequel....

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Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8