Fantastic Four (2005) Review


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🎞️ Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we?

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📜 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

In this early 2000s Marvel adaptation, we follow Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), a brainy scientist hoping to study cosmic energy in space with the financial help of powerful and mysterious businessman Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). Reed is joined by his best friend Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), former flame Susan Storm (Jessica Alba), her reckless brother Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and Von Doom himself as they embark on this space venture.

Naturally, things go sideways, the crew is exposed to a cosmic storm, and everyone comes back to Earth with a bizarre set of powers: Reed can stretch, Sue turns invisible and creates force fields, Johnny becomes the Human Torch, and Ben transforms into the rocky powerhouse known as The Thing. Meanwhile, Victor gains powers of his own and starts down a dark, villainous path.


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🕊️ In Memory Of

Julian McMahon, who portrayed Victor Von Doom, sadly passed away following a private battle with cancer. His performance as Doom helped define this era of comic book villains with equal parts charisma and menace. While the film has its flaws, his portrayal left a mark and is fondly remembered by fans.

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🧍‍♂️ Character Rundown

Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) – A brilliant yet awkward scientist who gains the ability to stretch his body. He’s soft-spoken, kind, and a bit oblivious when it comes to love.

Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) – A confident and intelligent scientist who can turn invisible and create force fields. She’s caught between her past with Reed and her present with Victor.

Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) – A cocky, thrill-seeking hothead (literally) who can burst into flames and fly. He’s the chaos element of the group.

Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) – A gruff but loyal friend transformed into a rock-covered brute with a heart of gold. He struggles most with his new form.

Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) – A narcissistic billionaire with a god complex who becomes corrupted by power. McMahon’s slick delivery makes him entertaining even when the writing doesn’t always serve him.


👎 Comic Inaccuracy Breakdown – 5 Fumbles:

1. Doom’s Origin – In the comics, Doom’s powers are mystical and rooted in both science and sorcery. Here, he’s just a bitter CEO zapped in space.


2. Tone – The film leans heavily into camp and rom-com elements. The Fantastic Four stories often have more weight and philosophical depth.


3. Sue Storm’s Role – She’s portrayed too much as a love interest or emotional pawn rather than the brilliant scientist she is.


4. Ben Grimm’s Tragedy – The emotional toll of being The Thing is brushed over quickly with a sudden romance.


5. Doctor Doom’s Costume – His armor and mask are awarded as some kind of ceremonial gift? That’s not the Doom fans know.

Let’s talk about Doctor Doom’s look in Fantastic Four (2005) — because while the film takes plenty of creative liberties, this is still my favorite version of Doom’s suit in live action.

Is it comic-accurate? Not really.
But it works. And it works hard.

Instead of donning armor he built himself, Doom’s body becomes living metal — fused and transformed by cosmic radiation. His skin literally hardens into an iron shell, which gives his movements this slow, heavy, ominous weight. He doesn’t wear armor — he is the armor. Every step sounds like a coffin lid slamming shut.

Layered over that is a dark green trench coat with a hood, flowing and torn just enough to feel dramatic, but grounded. On his chest sit gold circular clasps, almost like warped medals — a callback to his status and vanity, but now twisted and scorched.

And then there’s the mask.
This isn’t some medieval welding job. It’s not mystical. It’s a trophy. A ceremonial gift Victor received for humanitarian work — before he became a recluse, before the transformation. It was meant to honor the man he was. And now? It’s a prison he hides behind. When he finally puts it on — it’s not to intimidate. It’s to cover what’s left of a broken ego and a body he can’t bear to look at.

It’s not faithful to the comics. It’s not perfect.
But it feels like Doom.
Cursed. Bitter. Regal. A man turned into metal — and rage.

And even now, with all the money and CGI in the world, no live-action version has topped the vibe this one gave off.





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⏩ Pacing / Episode Flow

The movie’s structure is very “first draft energy.” It takes nearly half the runtime to even get to the space accident, and the rest becomes a strange mix of sitcom hijinks and vague villain plotting. It speeds up in the final act but drags a lot in the middle.


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✅ Pros

The casting is spot-on. Chris Evans, in particular, nails his role.

The Thing’s practical suit looks great and gives real weight to Ben’s tragedy.

The film’s goofiness gives it a distinct identity in a sea of grimdark comic book films.

Michael Chiklis as The Thing:
One of the genuine highlights of the 2005 Fantastic Four is Michael Chiklis’ portrayal of Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. Not only was Chiklis a longtime fan of the Fantastic Four comics, but he campaigned hard for the role — and it shows. His performance captures both the gruff exterior and the tragic loneliness at Ben’s core. What makes it even more impressive is that his entire costume was done with practical prosthetics and makeup, not CGI. In an age when everything was quickly going digital, there was something undeniably cool and tactile about seeing a real, physical Thing onscreen. You could feel the weight, the texture, and the heartbreak — all thanks to Chiklis’ dedication in a hot, heavy rock suit.


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❌ Cons

It’s corny. Like, full cheese pizza corny.

The plot is beat-for-beat recycled from better superhero origin stories.

Doom is nerfed into a copycat of Green Goblin with less complexity.

The effects haven’t aged gracefully.

Almost no one seems to face real consequences for mass destruction.

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🧠 Final Thoughts

Is this the best Fantastic Four movie? Not even close. But it’s not trying to be a grand epic—it’s trying to be fun. And in that, it succeeds. Despite tonal inconsistencies, logic gaps, and strange writing choices, it’s still entertaining. There’s a charm to its early-2000s camp.

It doesn’t respect the comics as much as it could’ve—but it also didn’t deserve the hate it got. Consider it a flawed gem.

A Doom-Sized Problem: Green Goblin 2.0?

One of the biggest letdowns in Fantastic Four (2005) is how shockingly derivative this version of Victor Von Doom is — and not in a charming homage kind of way. No, this Doom feels less like the iconic ruler of Latveria and more like the studio said, “Hey, remember Norman Osborn from Spider-Man (2002)? Let’s just… do that again. But shinier.”

Let’s break it down:

Both are corporate moguls who start off as arrogant CEOs funding scientific experiments.

Both fund the lead hero’s work, then get pissed off when said hero overshadows them.

Both suffer facial disfigurements after a lab accident, and instead of medical help or therapy like a normal human, they dive headfirst into full-blown murdery supervillainy.

They even both get metallic suits with faceplates, make sinister speeches in boardrooms, and murder people who doubt them — in practically the same scenes.

Oh, and don’t forget the slow descent into madness while whispering angrily to themselves in a dark lab. Been there. Green-goblined that.


Victor Von Doom is supposed to be this terrifying blend of cold intellect, science, and dark sorcery. A man who could beat you in chess, physics, and a war on your home soil — in the same afternoon. But this Doom? He’s just Norman Osborn in a business suit with static cling. The depth, the regality, the mythic scale of the character — all reduced to “jealous investor with lightning hands.”



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⭐ Rating: 8/10


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⚠️ Spoiler Warning

Below this point are full spoilers including plot twists, ending details, and character fates.


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🎬 Favorite Clips Segment

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Also.lets quickly talk about how the team gets their nicknames, ir comes after Johnny does a bike stunt at a Talley.

Newswoman: “Can you take us through the team? Give the public some names to work with! For example… the Invisible Girl?”

Sue (dryly): “Girl?”

Johnny (grinning): “What? It’s catchy.”

Newswoman: “And what about Reed? What do you call him?”

Johnny: “Oh, I always considered him a dork. A brilliant, stretchy dork. But hey — Mr. Fantastic has a nice ring to it, right?”

Newswoman: “And him—what’s that… thing?”

(Johnny turns to the crowd, smug and theatrical, pointing at Ben like he’s unveiling a magic trick.)

Johnny: “That? That’s it. The Thing.”

Ben (grumbling): “Okay. Now I’m gonna go kill him.”


🧨 Spoilers

We discover that Doom slowly loses his humanity—literally. His hair falls out, his skin turns metallic, and his temper flares. He even starts murdering people with electrical powers he randomly acquires, including zapping a guy clean through the chest.

Ben Grimm’s story gets especially tragic. After his transformation, he returns to his wife—who literally leaves her wedding ring on the ground and walks away. Oof.

One of the film’s dumbest yet most iconic scenes is the bridge rescue. Ben accidentally causes a traffic disaster while saving a man from suicide, and the crew’s chaotic efforts to stop more damage end in… applause? Okay.

Victor’s villain arc is a recycled Green Goblin plot: gets powers, gets booted by his company, murders board members, goes full evil.

He eventually manipulates Ben into using Reed’s machine to lose his powers—only so Doom can gain more. Ben goes human, Doom gets stronger, and finally dons his mask (a random ceremonial gift?) and full metal form.

The final showdown includes:

Ben yelling “It’s clobberin’ time!”

Sue’s nosebleeds every time she uses her power (and the movie not caring).

A group combo attack that ends with them freezing Doom using a fire hydrant. (Science!)


And yet… one moment genuinely hits:

🥹 The Goodbye Scene

The goodbye between Sully and Boo—wait, wrong film—Reed and Sue? Nah. It’s Ben and Alicia. Wait… we’re getting emotional over this film?!

Okay no, for real: the city throws a party for the four heroes for saving themselves from the guy who was only targeting them. Huh?

Oh and Victor’s frozen corpse is shipped off somewhere mysterious.

Reed proposes to Sue. She says yes. And roll credits.

This movie may not be perfect, but hey—it’s fantastically dumb fun.