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Ramblin' Man
Movie Ramblin'; Fantastic Four, Michael France and Mark Frost, Tim Story, cont
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Another huge plus for the movie is the cast.  Jessica Alba carries Sue Storm very well.  This is NOT the Invisible GIRL, this is a competent scientist who doesn't take crap from anyone.  Not from her annoying brother, the possessive 'fiance', or the clueless scientist/ex-boy-friend.  Chris Evans is also a joy as Johnny Storm.  He's the one who looks at his powers and goes 'Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!' and enjoys them with all the exuberance of a 25 year-old in heat.  And Michael Chiklis captures the heart and anguish of Ben Grimm very, very well.  He feels both sides of the coin.  One moment he's a monster the cops are shooting at, next the crowds applaud as they see him save some firefighters. 

France and Frost also created a nice sense of teamwork... well, at least at the end of the film.  One of the keystones of F4 is they are a TEAM; always working in tandem like a basketball team.  Each move leads to another, which leads to another, and hopefully creams the bad-guys.  Most action movies are about the loners who happen to kick serious butt.  In this case, though, Frost and France create a very good example of team strategy when the Fantastic 4 take out Dr. Doom.  Done badly, this turns into a Rube Goldberg kinda process; Mr. Fantastic turns into a giant tube, the Thing rolls a car DOWN the tube... you get the idea.  It's sad.  Instead, Francis and Frost take advantage of each characters' powers and find a neat way of immobilizing Dr. Doom. 

What doesn't work?  Well, Ioan Gruffud (who's name I have yet to hear pronounced) is ok as Richards.  There are times when the befuddled professor schtick is a bit over-done.  However, his relationship with Ben Grimm is very legit and is a joy to see.  There's a scene where Grimm's fiance leaves him and drops the engagement ring on the street.  Grim can't pick it up because his fingers are just too big and there's Reed picking up the ring for him.  Yes, it's a very male-bonding 'Fellowship of the Ring' kinda moment, but they both make it work. 
 
Julian McMahon is also a bit of good and bad as Dr. Doom.  I LOVE the powers they've given Doom.  Yes, sit down, fan-boys/girls.  Doom has POWERS; neat energy things, actually.  As fun as the entire world-conquering megalomaniac is, having this guy also shoot blasts of energy AND being super-strong makes him a bit more fun when taking on the F4. 

On the other hand, McMahon isn't given a lot to work with in terms of a personality for Doom.  Yes, he's a rich guy who has an ego, blah, blah, blah.  Seen that, done that waaaaaaaay too many times... and that's it.  There isn't the charm and wit of Hackman's Luthor, the tragedy of McKellan's Magneto, the manic energy of Nicholson's Joker.  Doom is just a rich guy who now has MORE power.  Wow, what would happen if the Enron guys were put into this slot?

The end result is a very fun film to watch.  A light story with a fun group of characters keeps this movie moving and is a nice chunk of summer fluff.  And of course, be ready for a sequel.