Fantastic Four (2005) arrived during a transitional era for superhero movies—after Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man movies but before Iron Man—and in hindsight, it embodies the worst instincts of that in-between phase. Directed by Tim Story, this early attempt to bring Marvel’s first family to the big screen is less a celebration of its source material than a clunky adaptation that coasts on name recognition and outdated visual effects. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps about to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe next month, revisiting this original version only underscores how low the bar really is for improvement.
On paper, the setup for Fantastic Four remains faithful to the comics: Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) are transformed during a space mission funded by the mysterious and power-hungry Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). The exposure alters their DNA and grants each of them unique abilities—Reed becomes elastic, Sue turns invisible and projects force fields, Johnny becomes the Human Torch, and Ben is transformed into the hulking, rock-skinned Thing. As they grapple with their new identities, the group bands together against Doom, who gains his own powers and begins his descent into villainy as the iconic Doctor Doom.
Despite a premise that should be exciting and character-driven, Fantastic Four lacks the spark that has defined better superhero ensembles. Much of the film feels flat—both visually and emotionally—and the dynamics between characters rarely go beyond surface-level banter or forced romantic tension. Jessica Alba’s Sue Storm, in particular, is frustratingly underwritten, reduced to little more than a visual accessory in scenes that should have given her agency. Even Chris Evans, whose natural charisma would later shine as Captain America in the MCU, is stuck delivering one-liners and eye-roll-worthy antics as Johnny Storm.
There’s also a persistent tonal confusion. Fantastic Four wants to be lighthearted and fun but never manages to find the right rhythm. Unlike Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which juggled camp, sincerity, and action with a deft hand, this film feels like it’s playing dress-up with comic book tropes, hoping nostalgia or visual effects will do the heavy lifting. Instead, it lands somewhere between unmemorable and unintentionally silly.
The film’s special effects, considered serviceable in 2005, haven’t aged gracefully. The Thing’s costume design, while practically executed, now feels like a bulky relic, and many of the digital sequences lack texture or immersion. At the time, this may have felt passable, even exciting for some audiences, but it doesn’t hold up alongside more modern superhero fare. It’s also hard not to look back at the casting and wonder what might have been. Ioan Gruffudd is never quite believable as Reed Richards, and Julian McMahon’s take on Victor Von Doom lacks the gravitas and menace of one of Marvel’s greatest villains. Compared to what’s possible today (especially with Robert Downey Jr. being cast in the Dr. Doom role in the MCU) the choices here feel especially lightweight.
In the broader timeline of superhero movies, Fantastic Four fits somewhere alongside the X-Men films from the same era—occasional bright spots, but mostly forgettable. It’s not aggressively bad, and it’s clear there was some effort to honor the spirit of the original comics, but the result is a limp, uninspired version of the Fantastic Four that neither embraces the camp of early superhero films nor rises to the potential of later Marvel blockbusters.
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With a new Fantastic Four film poised to reintroduce the characters to a new generation of audiences, this 2005 outing is best remembered as a learning experience—a misfire that helped pave the way for future adaptations to get it right. As it stands, Fantastic Four is little more than a dated relic, watchable only for curiosity’s sake, and not because it earns a place in the canon of great superhero cinema.
Score: 4/10
Fantastic Four (2005)
- Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Hamish Linklater
- Director: Tim Story
- Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Superhero
- Runtime: 106 minutes
- Rated: PG-13
- Release Date: July 8, 2005
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