Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
The Fantastic Four return to the big screen as a new and all powerful enemy threatens the Earth. The seemingly unstoppable 'Silver Surfer', but all is not what it seems and there are old and new enemies that pose a greater threat than the intrepid superheroes realize.
I really liked the first Fantastic Four, it had great themes of family and heroism in the midst of struggle. Jessica Alba, like always, was miscast, but I liked the rest of the cast in their roles. It wasn’t a perfect movie at all, but was good summer fair and one my son will be familiar with when he can watch it. The follow-up a few years later was just awful. The cast seemed to have lost all the chemistry they had in the first film and now just seemed to be going through the motions. Although the Silver Surfer effects were great, the story surrounding him took a much loved Marvel character and watered him down. Not only that, they took one of the strongest villains in the Marvel rogues gallery and turned into a very scary, extremely menacing…cloud. This killed off this franchise, but I am sure there is a “reboot” in the making.
well... silver surfer was brillaint in the first half of the film when he actualy had his powers, in the rest of the film he sucked, he was useless, he was pointless, galactus was just a big cloud which was soooooo disappointing. dr doom kills susan storm if only it stayed that way but noooo silver surfer had to bring her back because hes a pansy, the thing is just terrible i hate him. doctor doom however is awesome. if it wasnt for him then yes the film would of been doomed.
I've given this movie 2 stars and I'm being nice. Hate to go "fan boy", but with delicate subject matter concerning the nature of the Fantastic Four I must go Fan Boy!! This movie was phenomenal to watch. The effects were top of the line. The Surfer's flying sequences were to be beheld, as well as the Human Torch's scenes (even better looking than the first Fantastic Four). This movie had a very good plot that could have been developed to its maximum potential. Notice I said "could have". But, enough of the niceties, it's time to get for real. Let me preface this by saying that I understand that sometimes what works in novels, cartoons, graphic novels, and other origins do not always work well on the big screen. That being said, this had to be the laziest effort that I have ever seen! This worthless movie didn't even attempt to stick to the graphic novel! OK, I'll list what was accurate.
1. They got the name of their buildings headquarters correct
2. They had "four" members of the Fantastic Four and they got their names and powers correct.
3. The Silver Surfer "looked" like the Silver Surfer
4. Galactus' name is "Galactus"
THAT IS IT!!!!
Were the producers of this film too cheap to throw a few million more bucks at the effects team so that a corporeal formed Galactus could be viewed instead of something that looked like bad weather?
What was up with them insinuating that the Silver Surfer's power cosmic is derived from his board and that the Surfer without his board is harmless? Every molecule of the Surfer's body is rich in the power cosmic. He does not need his board to maintain his near limitless power. They basically reduced the awesome endowment of powers to which Galactus bestowed upon the Silver Surfer down to saying "got the board, got the power". And yes, Dr. Doom has relieved the Surfer of his powers before, but it was more complicated than just hoping on his board and letting it rip. Also, Johnny Storm "never" and I mean never has had the power of all four members. That would be a villain called "The Super Skrull", and he achieved this through scientific means with the assistance of a highly advanced alien civilization, not because he was in direct contact with a cosmic source. This movie took so much license, that I cannot believe that Stan Lee would actually endorse this embarrassing mess.
Would this movie had been any less watchable had they shown Galactus?
Would it had been any less watchable had they maintained the Surfer's true capabilities. By the way, the Surfer has no weaknesses. He can only be overcome by advanced scientific means or a ridiculous amount of power. The Fantastic Four cannot match the Surfer's might; the Surfer could absorb the power of a star and completely obliterate the entire planet if he felt so disposed. But, what the “Four†lacks in power, they more than make up for it by having the greatest mind on the entire planet as their head-honcho: Reed freaking Richards. He has humbled many would be conquerors and powerhouses, with science alone. If this was the screenwriter’s best effort, they should all be fired and blacklisted from the entire film industry! This was nothing but a CGI extravaganza which explained nothing about the majesty that is the Fantastic Four. And lastly, a glimpse of Galactus would have made for an excellent reason for moviegoers to await the next sequel. Marvel, and whomever else was behind this foolishness.....you owe me one. Were it not for the fans of graphic novels, there would be no Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Fantastic Four, X-Men, etc. Every movie that I have listed maintains the integrity of the associated graphic novels save one, the Fantastic Four. Great movies can be made while maintaining the important parts of the origins. Look at the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The screenwriters hardly deviated from Tolkien’s works at all and it is considered by many the greatest trilogy of all time! This should serve as a friendly reminder, that some things don't need to be altered, and some things should be tweaked ever so slightly. The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer however, was a freaking hatchet job!
The original Fantastic Four was a decent hero flick, but I wasn't sure at the time that it deserved a sequel... I was apparently wrong and I'm glad. Rise of the Silver Surfer didn't change drastically from the first, but it was just much better written. The Silver Surfer and Galactus story line best fit this team, it was the perfect story line to showcase the FF.
The action is abundant and fast paced with great effects all throughout the movie. The team uses all their great powers in a variety of sequences, you get to see alot of super powers, fight scenes, and, most important... they didn't drop the ball with the Surfer. Lawrence Fishburne does great voice work on top of a well animated CG Surfer. Comic based films flounder when the effects fizzle, but this whole film is a CG super powered treat.
Aside from all the action, the side stories concerning the teams personal lives are smartly written. This keeps the film from getting dull between all the heroic daring-do.
The dialog is cheesy at times but there are only a few lines that are truly cringe inducing. Most of the corny parts are actually pretty funny.
This has been the best "summer movie" this summer. Everything is just much cooler this time around for the Fantastic Four; and Victor VonDoom is much "more" Dr. Doom-like, and the Surfer is bad ass! The stories good, the effects top tier, and the cast seems more into it this go around, maybe its just the good writing.
The only thing keeping this from being a perfect super hero flick, in the high ranks among X-men 2 and Spiderman 1&2, is a horridly cliche "oh wait.... They're not dead!" moment, but don't worry, you will see it coming a mile away.
If you like comic based action films, you are really going to like FF2, despite how you much you liked or disliked the first movie.
