Fantastic Four

This film is exactly what one might expect a comic-book movie to be: lightweight, modestly entertaining, and more than a little hokey | Andrew Coffin

Fantastic Four, a film that's been in development for years, may disappoint diehard fans now that it's reached the screen. But the film is exactly what one might expect a comic-book movie to be: lightweight, modestly entertaining, and more than a little hokey.

The movie (rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and some suggestive content) is based on the popular Marvel Comics series created by Stan Lee in 1961. Scientist/astronauts Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm all take part in a space mission that goes disastrously awry, leading to a collision with a radioactive "cosmic storm." Returning to earth with their DNA fundamentally altered, the four—along with the mission's financial backer, the ominously named Victor Von Doom—discover that they possess special powers reflective of their personalities.