Fantastic Four Hot Take: 2005 Movie Wasn't Even That Horrible

Summary:

• 2005's Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story, is a film that is commonly criticized – despite grossing $333 million worldwide, the project received mixed reviews.
• However, considering the film in isolation from other failed Fantastic Four-related projects, it is hard not to notice that this is a worthy superhero movie for its time.
• Fantastic Four has a fast pace, decent visuals and, most importantly, a perfect cast – from Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards to Michael Chiklis as the Thing.

In the early sixties, Marvel was in a creative crisis. One of the lead writers and editors, the legendary Stan Lee, was even on the verge of leaving the company. Instead, Stan teamed up with the equally legendary artist Jack Kirby to create the Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four revolutionized the world of comics. Stan and Jack were the first to introduce readers to a number of previously unimaginable concepts: the world saw superheroes who not only did not try to hide their nature, but flaunted it and enjoyed the popularity that had fallen upon them. Readers were introduced to characters who, on the one hand, were a real family and, on the other, fought each other almost more often than they fought real villains.

In 2005, Fantastic Four Received Mixed Reviews

A movie version of the Fantastic Four was released in 2005 thanks to 20th Century Fox and director Tim Story. The movie grossed more than $333 million worldwide, although reviews from both critics and audiences were mixed.

Now, praising the Fantastic Four movies is bad manners, as in 2015 was released a second adaptation made by Josh Trank, which was a huge failure for a number of different reasons.

But if we look at the 2005 film in isolation from the sequel called Rise of the Silver Surfer and Josh Trank's project, then we can see that the adaptation with Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis is a worthy representative of the superhero cinema of its time.

It Was a Funny and Truly Entertaining Movie With Brilliant Cast

Tim Story's movie, released in the pre-Marvel era, was a frivolous fantasy with a dash of comedy. In terms of humor, Tim Story's Four is even better that some comedies with Adam Sandler, and the script, although not very deep, clearly outlines the stages of formation and development of relationships between the characters.

Tim Story wanted to make an unstoppable, fast-paced movie with a lot of action and charismatic actors, and he succeeded in doing so.

However, the biggest success of the project is not the action or the stunts, but the cast. Ioan Gruffudd became the perfect Reed Richards – an eccentric scientist who never leaves the lab and now has to step out of his comfort zone and become a real hero.

And the Human Torch, played by Chris Evans, is an incredibly charming daredevil and perhaps the most charming character in the movie. He is the only one who enjoys the fame that has fallen on his head, making obscene jokes at every turn. And Michael Chiklis? He looks like the Thing without any makeup or CGI.