Based on the classic Marvel Comics superhero team, "Fantastic Four" is the story of four friends blasted with cosmic radiation and subsequently gifted with amazing super powers. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffodd) can stretch like taffy, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) turns invisible, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) can catch himself on fire, and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) becomes a massively strong monster made out of what appears to be solid rock. For the first three their powers are a blessing, for the hideously disfigured Ben it is more of a curse.

Also caught in the aforementioned blast of cosmic rays is Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon), a wealthy industrialist with ties to a country named Latveria. As the Four realize their powers, they instinctively use them for good; it just seems like the sort of thing they ought to do. Doom feels differently, and as he morphs into a metal armored freak with the power to shoot out bolts of electricity, Vic works to destroy the newly formed Fantastic Four.

There's a thick layer of innocence to "Fantastic Four", a movie without anti-heroes or guilt-ridden teenagers. Perhaps that explains the critical lashing it's receiving elsewhere, since in the past decade or so we've become a society obsessed with flawed, disturbed characters. If the equally naive "Superman" were released today, would it receive a similarly cold reception? Director Tim Story's fun, well-meaning "Fantastic Four" doesn't deserve it. The film is undeniably flawed, some of the effects aren't perfect and in more than a few places it plays like it was chopped to bits in editing. Jessica Alba still cannot act and Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards is one of the most bland characters ever squeezed into spandex. But the chemistry between "Human Torch" Johnny Storm and "The Thing" Ben Grimm is electric, as is Michael Chiklis take on the tortured blue-eyed stalwart. Most of all the movie is light and fun, something we've lost from the superhero genre since it was tackle d by Tim Burton's "Batman" back in 1989. Unlike the latest dire Batman entry "Batman Begins" this is first and foremost a bright family film, and a good one. There's room for both types of superhero in American cinema.