so slick and charming that, if you met him in real life, he'd get a solid smack for his arrogance. But this isn't real life, people, in case you forgot-this is the Marvel Universe, where clothes are tight and the dialog...isn't. Who cares? This movie is so fun that you wish these people did exist and would take some media focus off the jerks that are in the public eye.

something missing. With Spider-Man, for example, I liked it, but I thought the Goblin could have been much better and Toby M. made a great Peter Parker, but mediocre Spider-man.But the Fantastic Four . . . this one seemed to finally put it all together. The good guys were good without being goody-goody the bad guy was bad without being a caricature the setting was grounded and realistic not an altered reality like the early Batman films allowing just enough suspension of disbelief where it was really needed. Sure there were moments that could be questioned: "Would that really happen? Would he really say that?", but it's just about impossible to make an ambitious film like this without a few moments like that. What I really loved is they had POWERS, and they used them. You didn't get the feeling as you did with X-Men for example that they were being held back. They looked like they were coming right off the comic page.Here's a little breakdown: Chris Evans/Human Torch - Amazing. I think a lot of credit has to be given to whoever did the casting on this one. No offense to Mr. Evans, but I got the feeling that playing an over-the-top superstar thrill seeker wasn't much of a stretch for him - if it was I really owe him a tip of the hat, but he seemed completely natural in the role. If Sam Raimi had thought to put Chris E. in the Spider-Man suit and let Toby M. play Peter P., we might have had a very interesting film. And kudos to the special effects department on this one, when the Torch "Flames On" you can practically feel the heat coming off the screen.Michael Chiklis/Thing - Again, the casting was perfect on this. Michael C. WAS the Thing. He made you feel his pain, but he didn't wallow in it. While I thought they might do this with CGI, I'm glad they didn't. MC brought a depth and realness to the character that no computer could hope to match. There were a few moments when the suit didn't look quite right, but it was never enough to destroy the moment.Ioan Gruffuld/Mr. Fantastic - Ioan G. did a good job, but he didn't have as much to work with as the other characters. He was believable and likable, but not a standout with everything else that was going on. The special effects were well done, but since your brain knows people can't actually stretch, it never quite looked "real". Still, to the filmmakers credit, they didn't hold back, and there were scenes such as a fight with the Thing that had me sitting slack jawed and amazed.Jessica Alba/Invisible Woman - Jessica A. is simply breathtaking to look at. Now that I've said that, I feel a little less guilty saying her acting, while not bad, was a little flat. Still, she brought a special quality to the character, and many, many men and boys will walk out of the theater in love with her. The invisibility/force field effects were generally well done, but not quite what I expected, and at times I found myself wishing they had done them a bit differently.Julian McMahon/Dr. Doom - Like many fans, I had been hoping for Doctor Doom - RULER OF LATVERIA, but in the context of this film, you can see that it wouldn't really have worked. This is an origin piece. The Fantastic Four aren't really the Fantastic Four yet. They're just a bunch of confused geeks trying to figure out who and what they are. Doctor Doom - RULER OF LATVERIA would have dispatched with them before breakfast. The ending, however, perfectly sets up a sequel and I'm almost certain there WILL be a sequel - this film is too good not to get one in which the a mature Fantastic Four can face a mature Dr. Doom. For this film, Julian M. was subtle yet powerful. He wasn't a cartoon bad guy, but a real bad guy. The kind you've met before who will shake your hand and look you in the eye while he's sticking a knife in your back. His relationship with Sue is creepy and it really defines his character. Everyone in the audience can see that he doesn't even understand what love is. To him, love is possession. Toward the end, he becomes truly frightening, but it's not a jump like some villains. You could see the evil smoldering below the surface from his first on-screen moment.Overall, the film was well balanced and a LOT of fun. It was very funny at points, it was very heart rending at other points. Dramatic, intense and exciting. Remember that moment in Star Wars when Han Solo came back to help Luke blow up the Death Star. Remember how you just cheered an celebrated with the heroes? That's how this film made me feel.I'm afraid I'm not eloquent enough to describe just how much I loved this movie. While not perfect, the sum total of the parts created a great, memorable experience.

for an origin film. It beats the first installment of any hero flick I can think of including Superman and Spider-Man.Huge Thumbs Up!

the effects are great. I definitely recommend this for everyone - it's a great summer movie. Not going to win any awards - but is perfect fun to get out of the summer heat.

public eye but there are many problems inside the team. Never seen superheroes fight like this but the Fantastic 4 bicker a lot. Ben and Johnny act like 5 yr olds and get into it bad at the x-games. Sue and Reed really love each other but reed is too distracted to pay her attention. And doctor doom turns them against each other and breaks the group up.A lot of romance in this movie more than the hulk or x-men. Ben looks like a monster and the public doesn't identify to him as much as the other 4. But a beautiful blind woman named alicia does and she helps him cope because she knows what its like to be outcast too. The actors who played these two characters were very good because of the touching scenes showing how terrible he felt because he was now a hideous monster while the rest of the 4 still look human. I felt sorry for his rejection and pain like wolverine said when his claws come out every time. The big love story is about Reed and Sue. They cant get on the same page for most of the movie and Doom thinks he owns Sue. But she rejects him for Reed and I wont spoil it all but the end is a very beautiful scene that was almost better than when MJ came back for Peter at the end of Spider-man 2. The actors all do a convincing job. My favourite was the wicked Julian Macmahon. Doom is one scary strange one who reminded me of the emperor in Sith but better looking. Some of his lines were weak but it did not come off cheesy because of the way he said them and acted. He's the villain but you admire him since he is suave and intimidating. Was also impressed with Alba. She has come a long way since dark angel. I liked her in Sin City but this movie showed she is more than a sex symbol. Some don't think shes a good actress but she did a very great job here. She and Iaon Gruffud are really good together.I thought it was good. Story could have been a bit more complex but the actors, direction and effects make up for it, and the Human Torch is impressive to see on the big screen. 9/10.

much. I was also worried about the motorcycle scene. It is good special effects, but unneeded in a film such as this. Overall, it's a great movie and I am happy to give this 8 out of 10.

space ship to gather information that would be helpful in curing diseases and other good stuff. The crew consists of Ben Grimm Michael Chiklis , Reed Richards, Ioan Gruffudd , Johnny Storm Chris Evans , Sue Storm Jessica Alba & Victor Von Doom Julian McMahon . While in the space station, the super cosmic storm hits hours earlier than expected and all 5 are caught in the storm, forever altering their DNA or something like that . The one that got it the worst was Grimm.The standouts from this movie are The Thing/Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm/Human Torch & Sue Storm/Invisible Girl. The Thing & Torch stand out because of both their characters and personalities & Jessica Alba stands out pretty much just because she is Jessica Alba.I feel that Reed Richards was more of an annoyance in the movie and not as likable a character as, say, the Human Torch. Also, I fear that Dr. Doom will probably forever be compared to the Green Goblin from Spider-Man, due to the hokey masks and all. Also, the voice for Doom did not quite fit for me. I am not sure if his voice is supposed to be that docile or not, but I always pictured a deeper, more menacing voice for him.I do hope this movie is not as criticized as movies such as Hulk or Daredevil. This movie was not that bad, probably not even as bad as I have made it seem. I would rate it somewhere in between X-Men and Daredevil. 7.5/10

were a bit contrived and we weren't sure why/how the character ended up there - for example, Johnny Storm is suddenly in a bike jumping show - but maybe he knows someone on the inside - so we will just let it go. Besides, it's a comic book.It seemed very true to the feel of the comic books. I really enjoyed this show and would recommend it.

to 10 yr olds, it has to play to 30 year olds, or even 60 year olds, so what do you do? Well you can ensure your film has got some jokes, some action, some romance, some eye popping special effects, and mix in the main staples of the comic book, hey presto ! Or you can slavishly stick to every plot twist , every nuance, and every back story ever printed in the comics to please the percentage of your audience who are hard core fans of the comics. I love films ,all films, all types, but this is a business, look at Batman Begins, what a great film, but its taken it 1 month to make over $180 million in the U.S, thats not amazing business, this doesn't mean its a bad film, I thought it was amazing, but obviously a large portion of the films potential audience have shied away from it, why?, well I didn't feel it was suitable for a kid under 12 and cant imagine a large number of the fairer sex found much to their taste in there. The studios just wont pump mega bucks into something which only appeals to a limited number of punters. "Jaws" the book ,changes substantially, as "jaws" the film,there's a lot missing, didn't effect it much,in fact if you have read the book and seen the film, I think most would agree the changes were right for the film. I do hate changes to source material, one film in the pipeline for a long time now is "The A Team", words cannot express the love i have for that show, but the movie will be barely recognisable, and you've just got to swallow it. I think what you can really say is, if your adapting a book, comic, TV show, whatever, its not how close you stick to the source material that will win you the biggest audience, but how well you identify what type of film the material dictates it to be, and then make the best film you can of the type you decided on , then cross your fingers !