Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

"I should be on that list!"

Best Stan Lee cameo EVER.

After the travesty of the 2015 film it's so good to see a cinematic version of the FF which faithfully reproduces the characters, makes them engaging, is full of thrills and action, and generally continues in much the same vein as it's excellent 2005 predecessor. There's very much a '60s feel, adapting one of the classic Lee/Kirby tales and including Reed's and Sue's wedding to boot, and even turning Johnny into a kind of Super-Skrull for the climax after an inspired sub-plot where he swaps powers with other team members, which has particular resonance for Ben. Yes, we hardly see Galactus and that's disappointing, but there's precious little that's wrong with this film.

The film is well-scripted, the cast continue to be excellent and the characters are all true to themselves, with the continuing exception of Dr Doom. The Silver Surfer is done well too, although Laurence Fishburne is a little wasted in a voice only role. I had to laugh at the set piece in London, something which is happening a lot in films I'm watching at the moment, but it works well.

Yep. That's how it should be done, Fox. Let's be more like this and less like the recent film, hmmm?

Fantastic Four (2005)

"A few days in space. It'll be great. What's the worst that could happen?"

I can't remember where, but I recently read an interview with Stan Lee (he's 93, you know) in which he expressed the view that this film was excellent, really captured the four main characters and the dynamic between them, but that the use of Doctor Doom as a character was misconceived. This blog post is essentially me agreeing with him. Who am I to contradict the great Stan Lee? And, moreover, he's right.

(Incidentally, I love Stan's cameo in this film playing Willie Lumpkin, for once not only an actual character from the comics, but one he created).

The four main characters are perfectly written and played. Special praise has to go to Michael Chiklis as Ben, a perfect piece of casting, but Chris Evans as Johnny is also superb, and a very different performance from the same actor's portrayal of Captain America.

However, while Julian McMahon plays the role he's given very well indeed and even wears the costume at the end, this is not Doctor Doom but an entirely different character, which is a shame. That isn't enough to stop the film being very good, but it's a definite black mark.  

Still, I like the way the origin is not dwelt upon, and the script portrays all of the characters exactly as they should be. The relationship between Ben and Johnny, in particular, is perfect. This isn't the best Marvel film adaptation ever, but it's certainly a decent attempt.