Okay, I finally got around to seeing this movie. Here goes.
I liked it more than the first movie. It felt like there was... jeeze, a plot, I guess. Doom actually had a plan beyond "I'm watching you through a camera, and now I want to kill Reed." I still felt like he wasn't all that menacing, though. Like... this is Dr. Doom? This is the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe? Thanks, but no thanks. He still kinda sucks. Moving on.
I'm never disappointed by Chris Evans' Human Torch. Keep up the good word, buddy.
With the first Fan4 movie, Jessica was given this great dye job to make her blond. Not this time. No, let's give her a wig. And let's bring attention to that by showing her glued-on hairline several times. Looks aside, Jessica still isn't capable of convincing me she's this mature womanly figure and Reed's peer. In real life, Jessica is the same age as Chris, and that's exactly how it feels in the movie. Like she's as much as an adult-kid as he is, only she can maintain a relationship with a man who almost comes off as her father.
Ioan Gruffudd. First, I'd like to thank Behindthename.com and the BBC's website for showing me how truly awkward Welsh names are, and that, for whatever reason, two D's together make a "th" sound. Now I can finally pronounce his name. That aside, Ioan still makes for a good Reed. I was happy with that scene where Reed grew a pair, and stood up to the general. He doesn't have the natural leadership of comic-Reed, but you can see that spark all over Ioan's portrayal in some scenes.
The Thing. Still good. Still rockin' it.
Overall, the "spirit" of the Fantastic Four was dead on. Like the first movie, you can tell the director loves the Fan4. However, also like the first movie, this movies finds its faults in its pacing, villain, and main plot points. Everything was there, but it all felt so weak. It's not a bad movie, per se, but it's not a strong one. It was watchable, and even fun at times, but still kinda disappointing.
Overall, I guess I kinda liked it. Much better than the first movie. My biggest disappointment was toward the end when I felt myself asking "where's Galactus, and why is the Earth being eaten by a miniature nebula?"