Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) 20th Century Fox/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure RT: 92 minutes Rated PG (sequences of action violence, mild language, innuendo) Director: Tim Story Screenplay: Don Payne and Mark Frost Music: John Ottman Cinematography: Larry Blanford Release date: June 15, 2007 (US) Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Doug Jones, Laurence Fishburne, Andre Braugher, Beau Garrett, Vanessa Minnillo, Brian Posehn, Kevin McNulty. Box Office: $131.9M (US)/$289M (World)
Rating: ***
I always assumed the Silver Surfer was a superhero until I saw Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the sequel to the 2005 origin movie about the superpowered family unit. Actually, the Silver Surfer (played by Jones, voiced by Fishburne) serves a massive cloud-like cosmic entity called Galactus, a destroyer of worlds. It feeds on planets to survive. Its latest target is…. you guessed it, Earth!
Pretty awesome concept, right? Ideal for a big budget movie based on a popular comic book, wouldn’t you say? So why does Rise of the Silver Surfer feel so small? At a scant 92 minutes, it almost feels like the bottom half of a double bill. Don’t get me wrong, I like it. The storyline is more substantial, more awesome this time around. Yet it still fits in the same B-level category as Daredevil and Ghost Rider. It doesn’t really matter though because it’s just as much fun as its predecessor.
We catch up with the gang as Dr. Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Gruffudd) is preparing to marry Sue Storm/The Invisible Girl (Alba). It’s the umpteenth attempt at a wedding because their work keeps getting in the way. Reed promises that this won’t be the case this time, even refusing a request from Army General Hager (Braugher, City of Angels) to build a machine that will track the movements of a mysterious silver object in our atmosphere, one that’s causing all sorts of freak occurrences around the world (e.g. power outages, seas freezing over and huge unexplained craters). Of course, he ends up building the machine anyway. Of course, the wedding is interrupted once again.
It’s the Silver Surfer! Who else could it be? Johnny/Human Torch (Evans) flies after him and tries to stop him only to have his DNA’s molecular structure affected by the encounter. He’s now able to switch powers with his teammates through touch. The Silver Surfer isn’t their only problem. It seems that the cosmic energy he radiates has revived their archnemesis Dr. Doom (McMahon). Basically, the safety of the entire planet rests in their hands.
As with any family, tensions arise. This time it’s because Johnny overhears Reed and Sue talking about abandoning their superhero duties in an attempt to live a more normal life. It doesn’t set too well with Ben Grimm/The Thing (Chiklis) either. Things get worse when Johnny nearly causes a catastrophe while they do battle with the Silver Surfer in London.
The tone of Rise of the Silver Surface is decidedly light with funny scenes like Reed busting out his elastic moves in a club at his bachelor party. Johnny and Ben still needle each other. The main cast seems to having fun and there’s no reason why the audience shouldn’t too. The storyline is a bit stronger. The special effects are very good. The sight of the Silver Surfer flying around on his silver surfboard is pretty cool.
Rise of the Silver Surfer is good silly fun, a live-action comic book. I knew not to ask for too much and as such, enjoyed what it had to offer. I just wish the overall effect was bigger. Like I said, it’s a B-movie, but with A-level possibilities.
