Reed Richards (Iaon Gruffudd) is a scientific mastermind, but inept with personal relationships and business investments. He’s determined that a new version of the interstellar electrical storm that may have started the evolution of man is about to happen again. He takes his idea of flying into space to study the phenomenon to his former schoolmate Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), who now runs a highly successful business that employs a space station. Von Doom also employs Richards’ ex, Susan Storm (Jessica Alba). Richards, Von Doom, Grimm, and the two Storms (Johnny was thrown out of NASA) head into space, encounter the energy storm, and return to Earth with extraordinary powers, even though the mission is a disaster for Von Doom’s company.

While entertaining, the discovery in the film is set up by some of the stiffest dialogue this side of an episode of Dallas. Reed insists on the four of them (all the main characters except Von Doom) holing up in his lab until they can determine whether the powers are permanent. This allows for some team bonding, for Reed and Sue to rekindle their tenuous relationship, and for Von Doom to (inexplicably) take a lot longer to manifest his powers of energy disruption. Ben’s encounter with a potential suicide jumper on a New York bridge turns in to a traffic disaster and the FF end up saving lives, getting lots of media coverage, and earning the team name.

Meanwhile, the bad publicity generated by the failed space mission and by the incidents on the bridge cause Von Doom’s financial backers to drop him, and in a sequence way too reminiscent of Norman Osborne’s troubles in the first Spider Man flick, Von Doom’s skin begins to turn to metal, he begins to lose touch with his sanity, and he casually kills his doctor and his former financial backer. The best effects in the film are saved for the end battle, particularly when Johnny outraces a heat-seeking missile.

Sure, there’s a little more to the plot, but not enough to bother detailing here. Gruffud is appropriately nerdy, but appears more confused than smart. McMahon is arrogant, but shows very little savvy or menace, and even slips out of his American dialect into his native Australian once or twice.

The film’s bigwigs decided to make the Invisible Girl/Woman/Sue Storm character an expert in some kind of biological or astro-physical science (not unlike Jean Grey in X-Men). After presenting the premise, the writers do nothing with it. Ultimately, Alba’s considerable beauty and youth – not quite immature, but barely believable as an expert in anything – work against her. She doesn’t speak like an air-headed fashion model, but she looks like one, complete with blonde hair and a deep tan. Add to this a number of gratuitous undressings and you wonder what the filmmakers were really after with the character.

Long-time Marvellites will have their issues with the writing, but should still enjoy the depiction of the FF’s powers and the references to less earth-shaking plot elements (like Stan Lee’s cameo as mailman Willy Lumpkin). Those who don’t know the history should still have fun, even if no new ground has been broken.

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