Random Reactions to Fantastic Four 2 (Spoiler Warning)

So, I FINALLY got to see the Fantastic Four movie. I haven't seen Transformers yet. To be honest, I was never that fond of the toys/cartoon. Also I adored Soundwave, who I somehow thought was a crossdressing woman. He had voice modulation and tapes that he carried inside him. I was weird. Sue me.

Anyway, honestly, I liked the movie. It was a cheesy popcorn flick, much like the first.

The character portrayals were improved I thought. Ioan Gruffudd in particular really seemed to finally relax and settle into his character. Admittedly, Reed's stiffness worked in the last movie I thought, given all the sudden changes and forced cohabitation. But the Reed in the second movie has clearly settled into his role as leader and it suits him.

I'd heard a lot of criticism of Sue Storm in this movie, but I actually sympathized with her a lot. She DID whine about a normal life, but she was also constantly frustrated about her wedding being put on hold, her husband-to-be paying more attention to freak weather than their ceremony, and stuck in embarrassing positions sans clothing.

It should also be noted, that she was only upset about Reed's preoccupation until the actual wedding day, where people almost died and they finally got to see the Surfer. Before that there really wasn't anything to say this wasn't a freak weather pattern.

She did want both her and Reed to leave. But it was also clearly specified as "After the current crisis." It was natural. Besides, her character growth worked for me. At the end, through the events of the final fight, she remembers why being normal is overrated and heroism is necessary.

I also didn't mind that Johnny was the primary fighter against Doom, without the other three. It was important for his character to reclaim that confidence. Their teamwork was reflected in the other characters trusting their powers to Johnny, trusting him to succeed in spite of his previous screw-ups.

The Surfer was just eye candy. But very nice eye-candy indeed. And thank god, not as emo as his comic version, yay!

I wish Alicia had more to do, but I liked her moments with Johnny, Sue and Ben. She feels like she's important to the team. Ben also didn't have much to do really, but he did well with what he had.

In fact, I liked the familial moments in general. All of the emotional interactions felt right to me. I didn't feel like there were huge chunks missing from character development (though I want to see an extended cut when one comes out), it flowed nicely to me. Ben and Reed, Johnny and Reed, Johnny and Sue, Reed and Sue, all those moments worked. I bought them as a family.

I think it's interesting that this movie, like Spiderman 3, essentially had three antagonists. Heck, four, if you count the general (though that's a stretc.) The Surfer might have worked for Galactus but the rest weren't on the same team or anything. I think they did really well in managing them though, better than Spiderman 3. Of course, it helped with more heroes. But still.

I hope there's a third movie. I do. I know third movies tend to suck with comics. But I figure...the first two Spiderman movies were amazingly emotional, the X-Men movies were astoundingly well-crafted, the Superman movies were amazing spectacles, the Batman movies were dark and atmospheric... and in each case the third movie pretty much ended up a cheesy, flashy, plothole ridden mess.

But since Fantastic Four's two movies are ALREADY cheesy, flashy, plothole-ridden messes, it can only be true to type! :-)