Was It Really THAT Bad?

A look back at Fantastic Four (2005)

For over a decade now there has been an explosion of comic book movies, some good and some bad. 2005's 'Fantastic Four’ is largely considered one of the bad ones. But is it really all that bad?

First off, let's put this film in perspective. For the most part, prior to 2000 the majority of the major comic book movies featured either Batman or Superman. Sure the were movies like 'Spawn’ in 1997 and 'Blade' in 1998, but the comic book movie boom that we know today really started in 2000 with 'X-Men'.

Since then it's definitely been a bit of a rollercoaster. For every 'Iron Man' or 'Captain America: Winter Soldier', it seems like we get stuck with a 'Cat Woman' or 'Green Lantern'.

So, let's break this one down.
The effects in this movie don't hold up. Especially when compared to 'X-Men', 'X-Men 2', 'Spider-Man', 'Spider-Man 2', and 'Hellboy' all of which were released in previous years. I think, looking back, these special effects were even pretty bad by 2005 standards.

But what about the story and characters?
Well the story isn't terrible. There are some pacing issues, a couple plot holes, and some of the character's motivations are a little fuzzy, but it's still watchable.

The characters are probably what pulls the movie down the most. The chemistry between them isn't bad, but they're just not interesting.
Reed Richards is dull.
The Human Torch is a bad boy stereotype.
The Thing is whiney.
Sue Storm is Jessica Alba, so what do you expect?
And Dr. Doom isn't menacing at all.

So is there anything good about it?
Yeah. If you put it on not expecting a hard-hitting gritty comic book movie, but are just looking for some light-hearted fun, then it's OK.

Watch it again, or for the first time. It's not great, but you may find that the film isn't as bad as it's reputation.

Hey, it could be worse, at least it's not as bad a 'Fan4stic'.

 I give this one a 2 out of 5.