'Fantastic Four' Settles for OK

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Byline: MATT SOERGEL

Fantastic Four is a big, square slice of cheese, slightly moldy around the edges.

Still, it has some appeal, if only for its idiosyncracies: At a time when most comic-book movies want to push the angst and the darkness, it's a jokey, retro romp with mundane special effects that wouldn't have been out of place in the corny '70s.

Fans of the Marvel comic have been waiting a long time for this; they'll be rewarded with a few inside jokes and a cameo by Stan Lee, but aren't likely to find that worth the wait.

The story's a familiar one, following astronauts who are caught in a solar storm that messes with their DNA.

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