Saw it with the kids yesterday.
I liked it. As said above, didn't love it. Liked it. Thought it had a number of solid moments and is far superior to DAREDEVIL.
A solid B.
Strengths: the SPFX were solid. I thought they captured the FF onscreen terrifically. The scene with Reed stretching around Ben to subdue him was excellent.
Ben and Johnny were Ben and Johnny. Johnny in particular.
I loved characterizing Reed as "the world's dumbest smart man." Because that's Reed in a nutshell.
It was a focused story (avoiding all the things that weakened DD).
I really felt it was believable that, in this day and age, a crowd of people witnessing super-heroics WOULD applaud the heroes, not cower in fear.
Weaknesses
Jessica Alba. She's pretty, but she's not as good an actor as any of her co-stars.
Some of the dialogue had moments of hokiness. I can't recall specifics, will have to see it again.
Doom's revenge on the Board of Directors...man, that's right outta SPIDER-MAN and was a major groaner.
Doom in general: Dr. Doom is Marvel's greatest human villain, Marvel's Darth Vader. Although I understood that the cinematic FF tried to borrow elements from the Ultimate FF, I felt that it was a mistake to approach Doom in that manner. It didn't destroy the movie for me, but it just put Doom across as just another bad guy. And that's not Doom.
A show of hands for everyone who now finds that it's a distraction when Stan Lee shows up. 'Nuff said, guys. No more Stan cameos. Ya ever heard of the Fourth Wall? And geez, now you give him dialog.
Liked the ending, pretty much. I understood Ben's refusal to have Reed cure him, though I wish that this part had been made more obvious. I saw Ben's refusal as based on two things: 1. Alicia does not find him a monster, thus Ben can find love as the Thing; 2. Ben feels that by keeping his powers, he can always be there to protect Reed. I really got a sense of Ben's need to protect Reed in this movie. I don't know if this really was ever a part of the comic (I can't recall it), but I think it's a great angle for the movie and any sequels.
Loved the nod to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK on the ship bound for Latvaria at the end.
I was expecting a lot worse based on the reviews I'd heard about. I was overall pleased.
Last edited by Jim Jackson; 2005-07-11 12:06 PM.
