Why is there so much hatred for this version of the "Fantastic Four"? I watched it and failed to see why all the venom exists. Wait, no. I watched it TWICE and still don't understand. I think this a prime example of the echo chamber that is the Internet.

I liked this origin story and the relationship between a young Reed and little Ben. The second act of the movie lacks a big action scene, instead it's replaced by the event in which the characters are transformed into their altered states. The aftermath of that transformation is truly horrifying for all of them. I was actually moved by the terror that each of them must have felt. How do you sedate a man on fire? Or a woman who sees herself fade in and out of existence? Um...or a guy who finds he's made of stone? And it gets worse...the military wants to weaponize them. Not exactly caring nurturers.

The run time of the movie is short so there's not a ton of time to learn about the characters. The truncated duration also makes a long, drawn out final action set-piece impossible. Then again, everyone bitches if a movie is over two hours long. "It's too long!" "It's too short!" Geez. Filmmakers, pick your poison. We've got TV series that drag on and on and on for multiple seasons. Viewers end up knowing the characters better than they know their own family. I'm quite certain that most people can't handle a short story, movie-style anymore. If they don't know what a character's favorite food is or the color of their underwear, they can't relate. Seriously, how much more do you need to know about the characters of "The Walking Dead"?!?

This is a rather dark edition of the Fantastic Four. I don't think it holds true to the initial creation of the superhero team. Dr. Doom is a different version of the team's primary archenemy, too. But since when has an alternate interpretation of something been forbidden?

It's too bad the effects aren't uniformly better. Some of the scenes look a little short detail-wise and for every crappy shot of The Human Torch, there's a well done sequence of The Thing.

No, I don't think this is a terrific superhero movie, but it's not one of the worst. It doesn't deserve all of the hate.