‘Fantastic Four’ Offers A Thin Plot, Which Is Perfect For Summer Fun

After the recent failures of Elektra, Catwoman and The Punisher, some in Hollywood wondered if the well of comic book adaptations had begun to run dry. However, in the midst of Tinseltown’s summer of discontent (as has been widely reported, this season set a record for the most consecutive weeks in which box office receipts had been below last year’s numbers), it has become apparent that superhero films are not still reliable, but they are displaying quite a bit of range.

On the one end you have Batman Begins (the highest grossing Batman film since 1989’s original with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson), perhaps the most psychologically complex and compelling take yet on a comic book character, and on the other is Fantastic Four, a thinly-plotted trifle of a film which comes nowhere near the gravity of the most recent version of Gotham’s Caped Crusader. But taken on its own, as a summer diversion, it can be taken as frivolous, albeit corny, fun.

Directed by Tim Story (Barbershop, Taxi), this adaptation of the 44-year-old Marvel comic book follows a team of researchers who travel into space to study a cosmic phenomenon that might unlock clues to solving many of humanity’s greatest mysteries. The mission is led by top scientist Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and funded by egotistical billionaire Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), who also joins the crew, along with Richards’ friend and aide, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Richards’ former squeeze and fellow scientist Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) and Storm’s cocky brother and team pilot Johnny Storm (Chris Evans).

Things go awry when their station is hit by massive radiation from a violent cosmic storm and they return to Earth with some interesting side affects: Reed can elongate his body and stretch like rubber; Sue can become invisible and project power force fields; Johnny can ignite his entire body into a ball of flame; and Ben finds himself permanently transformed into a rock-skinned behemoth of massive strength. Finally, the vain Von Doom also finds himself altered, and the affects of the radiation on his countenance (and his bankrupted bottom line) lead him to seek revenge against Richards for his error.

Fantastic Four covers some of the same territory as last year’s superior film, The Incredibles, as it examines this dysfunctional “family” of four which has to come to terms not only with their newfound powers and abilities but also the notoriety and fame that come with them.

While Evans scores as the charismatic Johnny (he grasps the spirit of fun and adventure for which Story seems to be striving) and McMahon apparently enjoys playing the heavy, the film falters a bit by not completely embracing its humorous nature. Every time it tries to build drama or suspense, the proceedings ring hollow and hackneyed. That’s not helped by the fact that Alba is never quite believable in her role.

It’s reminiscent of a similar problem with last summer’s epic, Troy. Just as that film’s Helen, Diane Kruger, lacked the presence to adequately persuade me that a thousand ships would be launched for her, Alba is simply unconvincing as both the beguiling focus of Richards’ and Von Doom’s competing affections and the older, wiser sister of the brash Johnny. Certainly not all this film’s flaws rest on her shoulders, but her casting doesn’t exactly help matters either.

Fantastic Four, rated PG-13 for intense action sequences and some suggestive content, isn’t likely to be remembered long after you watch it, but to its credit, it’s fairly engaging while onscreen. That may not exactly be a ringing endorsement, but sometimes all you want in a summer movie is to be distracted…and in that case, “Fantastic Four” will do just fine.