 | 12:49 pm - Fantastic Four
So we went to see the Fantastic Four last night.
Theatre wasn't as empty as you might have expected, given the lateness of the hour and the fact that the movie has been out awhile.
My basic impressions: The characterizations were what I remembered from my childhood. Ben the always right, hard nose, "Next time, you'll listen to me!" kinda guy; Johnny the flashy know-it-all daredevil babe magnet; Reed wasn't his usual stuffy self. He was "oooh, so distracted scientist," but the Reed I remember was more than just that, he was so gosh darned proper and prissy in many respects, so he was a bit off. Susie was whiny and controlling towards Johnny (which is actually what I remember, although it's a bit more grating now), her characterization was the least like what I expected, although different enough from Dark Angel to show that Alba has some range, which is good news for her, although it really didn't do much for sue.
And Julian MacMahon's Doctor Doom was delicious in every respect. He plays with the flamboyance and style you'd expect from an evil (about to be) villain.
The breakout character of the flick was really Michael Chicklis. Reed Richards has never had a whole lot of depth, but The Thing has always been the secret softie beneath the hard shell and it really does come out here. The one quibble I had with his character is, it took him years to find Alicia. I have a hard time believing in his Deb. Deb. Deb! Deb! Deb! Deb! Oooh, look, new girl! stance. I would have bumped Alicia to the second movie, assuming 1 did well. Of course, being teh comic buff, I recognized Alicia right off just from the way she was introduced. Hoppie leaned over to me and said, "Who's that?" and I responded immediately, "Alicia!" and then a minute later, she walked out of the bar and called back, "By the way, I'm Alicia." or something like that. Boy was I smug.
The plot was a little thin, The Thing turning back into The Thing to fight Dr. Doom. Yes, I know he's responsible for taking care of the hapless Reed, but a guy like Ben Grimm is not going to believe he has to be composed of orange rocks in order to kick a pansy like Victor Von Doom, energy bolts or no. Also, I feel like part of the movie was cut, the part where it made sense that Von Doom drops the Armani for green cloak Dr. Doom outfit. They explained the mask as being a gift or something from Latveria, but it might have made more sense if they gave the whole costume that approach and called it traditional ruling garb of Latveria or something.
And them's my basic thoughts.
Current Mood:  accomplished
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