Fantastic Four

I watched, with great disappointment, the latest cinematic version of Marvel's Fantastic Four superhero team.  I had expected a grand spectacle from this reboot by 20th Century Fox, but sadly, the movie just didn't deliver.  Funny, I felt I was watching a sister movie of the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles.  The special effects weren't bad, but weren't entirely convincing either.  Even the plot was different from the comic books--first, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm are grade school classmates, and when they grow up, Ben Grimm just tags along for the ride to another dimension, instead of actively piloting the mission.  Next, after the four get their powers, The Human Torch, The Thing and Ms. Invisible become government agents (weapons) in the absence of Mr. Fantastic.  Third, the villain Doctor Doom actually accompanied the group to the other dimension.  Strange how Hollywood writers re-write simple well-loved stories.  My my, I didn't even notice any romance blooming between Reed Richards and Sue Storm.

I understand the movie made some money at the box-office, but given the comparison with other Marvel movies, I'd put the movie to rank even lower than the Marvel "duds" (Matt Salinger's Captain America, Ben Affleck's Daredevil, Jennifer Garner's Elektra, Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider, Dolph Lundgren's Punisher and Eric Bana's Hulk).

Next time, maybe?