From the era of cheesy Marvel superheroes films, Fantastic 4 doesn't exactly stand out as being one of the best. Some extremely poor special effects (particularly at the space station docking scene). Some bad acting from Jessica Alba and Chris Evans. And some cheesy dialogue. This is the Fantastic 4.

When Dr Reed believes he may have discovered a breakthrough in the evolutionary process of life by an unidentifiable space cloud, he makes a deal with billionaire Victor Von Doom to use his space station to research the effects the cloud has on plant life. However, the cloud hits the station earlier than predicted, leaving Reed, Victor's girlfriend Susan (who was Reed's ex), Jonny (Susan's brother) and Ben with extraordinary powers. However, problems arise when they realise that Ben's power's are irreversible and Reed (or Mr Fantastic) vows to spend the rest of his life finding a way to restore Ben's old self.

Meanwhile, Victor Von Doom, who unbeknown to the four superheroes also contracted special abilities, loses everything because of the failure of the mission. He blames Reed and goes in search of revenge.

Were it not a superhero film, where one expects cheesy dialogue, this would be an out and out failure. It's saving grace is in some good performances from Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon. Whilst Chris Evans' character is loveable and has some funny moments, he doesn't really shine as the Human Torch.

The film also seems to lack depth - at times you feel like it's gone from A to C and entirely missed out B. The film could easily have been made into two if they had added more depth to the story.

All in all, a poor film, which sees improvement in the sequel. If you like superhero movies, then it is worth watching for that.