(non-spoiler review)

Fantastic Four is Marvel’s latest venture in bringing comics to life. You would have to have been on your own space station for months to have avoided all the media hype for this movie. If the critics are to be believed this is one of the worst films made this year if not ever. My personal feelings are that the media blitz surrounding this movie soured many of the critics before they ever saw it. Sometimes I think the professional critics’ heads are harder than the Things! (a pet peeve: our local KC star critic misattributed a line to one of the characters using it as an example of the character being stupid…one would hope that if you’re getting paid to write a two paragraph movie review that you could at least get your facts right!)

Fantastic Four is a fun movie and it is fantastic in its own way. It is not the one star stinker that many would have you believe nor is it a four star blockbuster. It is a fun summer movie, not without its problems, that introduces the world to these classic Marvel characters. In looking at the Marvel films over the last few years it appears that the successful formula is to have the first movie be primarily about setting up the characters with a brief action sequence towards the end of the movie (X-Men and Spiderman are perfect examples) and then move into a more action intensive formula for the sequel. I think in part that Daredevil and the Hulk were less well received because they did not follow this formula, at least not in the same way. Fantastic Four feels very much like X-Men and Spiderman. It is not as good as those two movies but all in all it was a very enjoyable film. It is not much of a spoiler to tell you that you’ve seen the greater part of the action sequences if you’ve seen the trailer. What you don’t see in the trailer is what is at the heart of this movie: the past relationships that each of these characters has had with each other and the way circumstances force them to form a much deeper bond with one another. This movie is about setting up just who the Fantastic Four are and I liked it that way.

I was not disappointed with any of the actors chosen for this movie. Ioan Gruffudd, a relative unknown to me, was great as Reed Richards. I enjoyed the romance between Richards and Sue Storm, played by Jessica Alba. I read some heavy criticism of her acting in this role but I thought she did a fine job and had good chemistry with the other actors. Chris Evans was very fun as The Human Torch and, as always, Michael Chiklis was excellent.
Chiklis’ performance as the Thing was fantastic enough that it takes away from the fact that his Thing outfit isn’t the best that today’s cutting edge technology has to offer regarding costuming and effects.

I’ve heard several criticisms of the effects for this movie. Again I thought they were fine. If compared to the effects in War of the Worlds or Spiderman 2 they do pale in comparison but they are still very good and in no way detracted from the experience for me. The Human Torch effects are simply amazing!

I don’t know if Fantastic Four will have enough success to garner a sequel but I’m really hoping that the formula pays off for Marvel and that they do. I had a basic knowledge of the characters before hand and after seeing this I would definitely enjoy seeing them be further developed in a subsequent film.

This is another fun summer popcorn flick made more fun for me since I’m a comic book geek. A little action, some romance, good special effects and comic book goodness…hey, that’s a formula that gets no complaints from me!

(relatively non-spoiler review)

War of the Worlds, Steven Spielberg’s latest summer blockbuster, is based on an 1898 novel by H.G. Wells. I have admittedly never read the book and despite the fact that it was written in the 19th century, War of the Worlds has always had a particularly 1950’s feel to me. This may be due in part to George Pal’s 1953 film version of War of the Worlds though I honestly don’t recall having seen this. Thus it was with the images and the world view of 1950’s science fiction that I entered the theatre this past Saturday evening to partake in the tradition of the 4th of July weekend summer blockbuster.

To begin, I enjoyed this movie. In the tradition of movies like Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow it is a movie that simply must be seen on the big screen. Though reportedly nothing like the 1953 film, I took pleasure in the fact that the rampant paranoia and bookend Twilight-Zone narratives gave it a 1950’s feel. The story was solid and made quite enjoyable because I did not know the ending and was able to sit in ignorant bliss until the very end. This was a movie that played upon fear and as such could almost be categorized as a horror film rather than a science fiction film. I’ve come across professional critics and amatuer reviewers who report being truly terrified while watching the film. While I didn’t find it that scary it is a very dark and suspenseful film with a few good “jump out” moments.

The special effects in the film were nothing short of excellent. From the emergence of the tripods and their march of decimation to the destruction of cities, the effects were real and believable and incredible. I mention again that big screen viewing is a must. This film is visually arresting in both its special effects and in the look and feel of the earth as darkness falls and the aliens advance across the countryside.

The acting is quite superb. Tom Cruise does an excellent job playing a man that is absolutely terrified in the face of the unfathomable. Mary pointed out that unlike many adventure blockbusters where the man character quickly becomes brave, fearless, and herioc Tom Cruise’s character is a man who remains terrified even while trying desperately to save his family. The fear does not leave and Cruise does an excellent job of staying in character. I was pleased that his performance was such that I did not once think of the craziness that has surrounded him as of late. Dakota Fanning was equally incredible and the more movies I see her in the more I have to wonder if she is not some being from outer space herself or if she is channeling the spirit of some deceased Oscar-winning actress because she is simply amazing. I’ve been impressed with every role she’s played and stayed impressed here. She is very, very good. The supporting cast was also chosen well and performed admirably.

Once again, I enjoyed this movie. That being said I left the theatre thinking that I was glad to have seen it, that is was worth the price of admission, and that I would probably never see it again. I’m not sure exactly why I feel that way. I am one of the biggest re-watchers of movies that I know. War of the Worlds, while excellent on many accounts, does not hold much replay value for me. Perhaps it is the lack of romance or perhaps its the fact that once you know how it ends it will never be as suspenseful as it was the first time around. Like I said, I’m not sure. I read about Spielberg remaking War of the Worlds around the time that Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was released. At the time I remember thinking that it would be great if he remade the movie with modern technology but set it in the time period where it was written. While I would’ve still loved to see that I wasn’t disappointed with the modern version. I do think that it lost some of its immediate terror due to the fact that the invaders were now from somewhere in outer space vs. being from Mars.

To coincide with the release of the movie New York Review of Books has released a hardcover copy of the 1898 classic with illustrations by a favorite of mine, Edward Gorey. At nearly $17 in the stores I suggest an Amazon.com purchase if you’re looking to own this one ($11.53). My next foray into H.G. Wells’ world of alien destruction will be via the written word, however I once again suggest that you go see this movie. It is an enjoyable summer blockbuster that will make you thankful that no one from “out there” has discovered us yet….or have they?

(Try to keep your comments spoiler free as I know there are a few readers who want to see it but haven’t. Thanks!)