Fantastic Four....

Movies based on comic book superheroes seem to be the "in" thing nowadays, and Fantastic Four is the latest movie of the genre to be shown on the big screen.

Unless you've been living under a rock, or for some reason you've never been into comic book superheroes, the premise of the movie is pretty much identical to that in the comic books. During an experimental space mission, four astronauts, scientist Reed Richards, ex-girlfriend Sue Storm, and pilots Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm are exposed to cosmic radiation. The exposure changes their DNA and gives them superhuman powers: Reed, the ability to stretch his body, Sue, the ability to become invisible and to project force fields, Johnny, the ability to generate intense heat and turn into a being of flame, and Ben, superhuman strength and a rock like exterior which makes him invulnerable.

These powers only manifest themselves after they returned to earth, and part of the story tackles not only with how they deal with their new powers, but also how they deal with each other, and the fame that their powers bring them. Forced to reveal their powers to the public while saving lives in an accident, they are hailed as heroes and given the name Fantastic Four. Reed is subsequently known as Mr. Fantastic; Sue, The Invisible Girl; Johnny, The Human Torch, and Ben, The Thing.

Serving as protagonist in the story is the Fantastic Four's arch-nemesis in the comic books: The armor clad Dr. Doom.

The movie is not at all that bad, neither is it that good. It is quite entertaining, and it doesn't require a genius or your undivided attention in order to come across. It is definitely not as cerebral nor painstakingly slow as Ang Lee's Hulk, it doesn't possess a deep backstory, or a deep bench of characters as that of the X-Men movies, and neither is its character development anywhere as complex as Spider-Man. At the end of the day however, it doesn't really matter. It may not win awards, nor keep you up thinking at night, but it will keep your eyes glued on the screen for its duration, and you hanging on the edge of your seat until its exciting conclusion. As far as movies go, that's saying a lot.

All in all, very entertaining. My son liked it. That's good enough for me. :-)