Pedestrian and by-the-numbers but not awful

2005's Fantastic Four emerged before the Marvel Cinematic Universe era, when studios licensed several iconic comic book characters in the hope of creating lucrative blockbuster franchises. After the success of Spider-Man and X-Men, Marvel's First Family was an obvious candidate for a big-budget adaptation. With a script credited to Mark Frost (Twin Peaks) and Michael France (2003's Hulk), Fantastic Four retains the light-hearted, adventurous tone of the comic books, but the feature is startlingly pedestrian and by-the-numbers, making it one of the lesser Marvel adaptations to date. With an enormous pool of potential directors, it is baffling that 20th Century Fox handed the filmmaking reins to Tim Story, who was fresh from helming 2004's critically reviled action comedy Taxi. Although not awful, Fantastic Four is incredibly mediocre, as it lacks wit, heart, a sense of humanity, and passion. It delivers the bare minimum for the genre, but there is nothing to elevate it above the ordinary.

While studying cosmic clouds in space, Dr. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) are struck by a cloud and soon develop superpowers after arriving back on Earth. Reed discovers that he can stretch his body like rubber, Sue can turn invisible and create force fields, Johnny can transform into a human fireball, and Ben transforms into a superhuman rock monster. The media dub them "The Fantastic Four," with superhero names also emerging: Reed is Mister Fantastic, Sue is Invisible Woman, Johnny is Human Torch, and Ben is The Thing. Meanwhile, Dr. Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) blames Reed for the failure of the mission, for which he faces backlash from his stockholders. As the Fantastic Four work together to study their abilities and hopefully find a cure, Doom begins to mutate into organic metal and plans to use his powers to exact revenge.

Fantastic Four is not the first live-action movie featuring the Marvel superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, as Roger Corman produced a cheap, famously unreleased feature film version in the early 1990s that was shelved after completion. In the ensuing years, Fox pursued a big-budget adaptation, though it took ten years for Fantastic Four to enter multiplexes after a decade of development hell. Unsurprisingly, Frost and France's script adheres to the familiar origin story template, depicting the titular team receiving their powers and learning to deal with the abrupt change. The film will likely disappoint viewers hoping for endless action and spectacle, as the set pieces are few and far between; however, this is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the villainous aspect of the story is distinctly lacking. Despite the presence of the terrific Julian McMahon, Doom's portrayal fails to do justice to the iconic comic book villain, as the script reduces the nuanced character to a simplistic, generic, one-dimensional bad guy. The script does not give Doom a compelling motive or even a proper plan - he merely wants to destroy the Fantastic Four because he is envious of the publicity they are receiving. Even a trite world domination plot would be more interesting than this.

Furthermore, with the movie trying to give the spotlight to everyone in the titular team, there is no singular protagonist in Fantastic Four, which makes it challenging to become genuinely invested in the story. The most promising subplot involves Ben's fiancée, Debbie (Laurie Holden), who cannot accept his physical condition. Ben's story comes teasingly close to being poignant, especially when Debbie silently leaves her ring on the road to silently call off their engagement, but this narrative thread ultimately feels too insignificant and perfunctory, never delivering any genuine emotion. Similarly, Ben's newfound relationship with a blind artist named Alicia (Kerry Washington) feels tragically undercooked. It feels like the film was pared down to the bare essentials during editing, which is indeed the case, as Fox later restored 20 minutes of unseen footage for an obligatory extended cut on home video, which contains more character-building moments.

Despite a generous $100 million budget, Fantastic Four is workmanlike from a technical perspective, with passable but not spectacular special effects, unremarkable cinematography, and a forgettable original score that fails to introduce a recognisable theme. After going through several directors (including Chris Columbus, Peter Segal, Raja Gosnell, and Peyton Reed) and a long development period, Fox hired Tim Story and rushed the movie to meet its summer 2005 release date, allowing barely six months for post-production. The problem is that Story is not a visionary director in the same league as Christopher Nolan or Sam Raimi, and he is in over his head with Fantastic Four. There is nothing unique, exciting or stylish about Story's handling of the picture, as he does the bare minimum in translating script to screen. The narrative is not constantly engaging, and the pacing is hit-and-miss, though there are a few highlights. One enjoyable sequence is a goofy montage of the titular team adjusting to their powers while Johnny plays a prank on Ben, set to the tune of Gabin's " Bang Bang to the Rock 'n Roll."

2005 was a different time for big-screen special effects, as CGI merely supplemented, rather than replaced, practical effects and sets. Fantastic Four was the last time that filmmakers used practical effects to bring The Thing to life, and the suit is enormously believable and impressive. The production also constructed a 200-foot set for the Brooklyn Bridge action sequence, rather than relying solely on digital effects. Unfortunately, the CGI throughout Fantastic Four is a mixed bag, with moments of slipshod compositing that looked below-par in 2005 and look even worse after two decades. Not everything looks awful, as the flame effects for the Human Torch are impressive, but the rubbery Mr. Fantastic appears overly cartoonish. Meanwhile, the action scenes are sufficiently entertaining, from the much-publicised bridge sequence to a climactic showdown with Doctor Doom, but none of the set pieces are necessarily riveting or exhilarating.

In terms of casting, Fantastic Four is a mixed bag. The late Julian McMahon sinks his teeth into Doom and brings a sinister edge to the role, though Doom's relationship with Sue is wholly uninteresting and unconvincing. Indeed, Jessica Alba is pleasant eye candy, and the film even contains a gratuitous underwear scene for the actress, but she fails to bring any dimensionality or passion to Sue Storm. Likewise, Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd tries his best but does not make a significant impression as Reed Richards, although his American accent is convincing. Faring better is Chris Evans, the future Captain America, who makes the biggest impression as the smarmy Johnny Storm, consistently engaging in pranks and stirring up his friends in increasingly amusing ways. Evans generates the movie's only moments of genuine humour, and his charisma and gusto make him a perfect Johnny Storm, making it unsurprising that Evans later reprised his role in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine. Rounding out the team is Michael Chiklis, who delivers a terrific performance underneath the elaborate suit, espousing a gravelly voice and making the character feel real. Meanwhile, the late Stan Lee is also on hand here, making a cameo appearance as a postal worker.

Twenty years after its release, Fantastic Four remains a curious footnote in superhero cinema, overshadowed by the unreleased 1994 film and its associated complications, as well as the disastrous 2015 reboot, which was plagued by reshoots, studio interference, a disgraced director, and its eventual critical mauling. With an inadequate director and a mediocre script, 2005's Fantastic Four never reaches its full potential, although it is superior to a number of recent Marvel Cinematic Universe productions, as the franchise has lost its lustre. This adaptation is harmlessly diverting and watchable, striking the middle ground between the brilliance of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and the direness of Catwoman.