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'Fantastic Four' brings the comic to action-packed life

The task facing the cast of "Fantastic Four" may be even more daunting than the one that confronted the original comic book superheroes: The latter had only to decide between saving the world and saving themselves from a lifetime as mutants. The former must figure out how to save this venerable Marvel comic from evolving into just another cartoon caricature.

Hordes of superheroes accepted such a challenge with varying degrees of success: Spider-Man. Batman. Superman. The X-Men. The Phantom. Daredevil. Hellboy. The Hulk.

Twentieth Century Fox 'Fantastic Four' B The verdict: If it's not fully fantastic, it's at least very good fun. Director: Tim Story Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Julian McMahon Run time: 123 minutes Release date: July 8, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Fantastic Four"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

While "Fantastic Four" doesn't rise to the level of the "Spider-Man" franchise, it doesn't collapse under its own weight like "The Hulk" either. If it's not fully fantastic, it's at least very good fun.

When I was a kid, the Marvel comic foursome enjoyed their heyday. But to truly test today's big-screen version, you need a 12-year-old. My son Jonathan played that role.

Jonathan: "Fantastic Four" rocks. (Actually, I guess The Thing rocks the most, but I'm getting ahead of myself.) Here's the basic story:

When a team of scientists goes into orbit to study a space cloud, they get caught up in a cosmic storm. The cloud gives each character special abilities:

Reed Richards, who becomes known as "Mr. Fantastic," is able to stretch his body to any shape. His best friend, Ben Grimm, grows into a stone monster called "The Thing" with amazing strength. Richard's girlfriend, Susan Storm, becomes the "Invisible Woman" and can use a force field to make other things invisible, too. Her little brother, Johnny Storm, is the "Human Torch," who can shoot fire from his fingers and can even use his flames to fly.

What this "Fantastic Four" doesn't know is that the rich guy who paid to send them into space to begin with, Victor Von Doom, was affected by the space cloud, too. Dr. Doom gets a weird combination of metal and electric powers that makes him almost invincible. He makes a very nasty bad guy.

Some of the superhero scenes are awesome, especially the scene on the bridge where they first use their powers as a team.

Tom: As long as the characters are in their superhero suits, "Fantastic Four" is a good action movie, complete with plenty of one-liners and all the comic banter you expect from this genre.

The sassy Human Torch (Chris Evans) does a good job of keeping the movie moving. When his teammates lament mutant life, Torch retorts: "Accept it — or better yet, enjoy it." Evans plays it for maximum enjoyment, and when the Torch has fun, the whole theater has fun.

Sadly, the four aren't always in those superhero suits. In street clothes, the characters are as flat as the page of a comic book, with dialogue often desert-dry. This is especially true at the start; if you're delayed at the concession stand, entering a little late might actually enhance your experience.

And if you arrive late, you won't miss much in the pallid love triangle of Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Susan Storm (Jessica Alba) and Victor von Doom (Julian McMahon). Not even the Torch could spark a flame with these three.

Jonathan: But this isn't a love story, it's a superhero movie. It has a lot of action. You'll like the heroes. And the electric bad guy is cool.

The make-up they use for The Thing is great and the actor who plays him (Michael Chiklis) makes you really care about him. He also throws in some unexpected things that make you laugh, like when he tries to punch the numbers on a telephone with his huge rock fingers.

We stuck around for the credits and saw at least 12 special effects companies listed. Most of them must have been pretty good. Some of the graphics are cheesey, especially when they're out in space at the beginning. But there's also some mind-bending visual stuff, like when a truck runs straight into The Thing at high speed. That really rocks.

One other thing we saw in the credits might be worth looking out for. Stan Lee, who created the Marvel comic when my dad was a kid, plays the part of the mailman, Willie Lumpkin. I wish I had known that at first. Anybody who could come up with these characters deserves to get a part in the movie.