Surf’s Up!

Movie Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
½


Much more interesting and entertaining that the first installment of the Fantastic Four franchise, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is quite the gem in a sea of sequels this summer. The brilliance of this flick is the intriguing choice to dig into the annals of the Marvel Universe and pluck from it one of the coolest characters and tell his story (in conjunction with The Four, of course). Vocally portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, the Silver Surfer glides onto the big screen with a graceful menace that grabs you early on. I will say, that it was very hard for me NOT to think of The Matrix whenever he spoke (luckily, his lines were sparse).

As for the plot devices and crappy pacing - most of this can be overlooked if you remind yourself that this movie was made to be enjoyed by kids and adults.

What are these plot devices, you ask? Reed Richards and Sue Storm (Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba), a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman, keep planning their wedding and it seems to have been postponed a few times. I'm not sure how important this really is when you have to save the world for a living, but I guess the writers are trying to give some character and back story to The Four. Oh, did I mention that Victor Von Doom (the always yummy Julian McMahon) is alive and well and causing havoc once again?

I think my favorite unnecessary plot device ties to Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) a.k.a. The Human Torch. After a run-in with the Silver Surfer, anyone he touches ends up switching powers with him. It allows for some funny moments and adds to the depth (I use this word loosely) to the character.

The main conflict in this movie is truly this: Is the Silver Surfer a villain or a hero? This ties very closely to his introduction into the comic book and is a decent homage to comic fans.

So why is this sequel better than the original movie? This movie is a much more ambitious than the first Fantastic Four, which gives it much more to sustain itself with for 2 hours. The characters are still weak, but the actors appear more at home in their roles the second time around. There is also far more action and less campiness in this movie. Dr. Doom is a much better character in this movie, but he still isn't quite the force to be reckoned with from the comic books. And finally, the special effects are much more robust and breath-taking (check out the Fantastic Four's new ride!)

Overall, I think the movie companies need to take a meeting. Don't skimp on the funding, but don't throw money at a picture just to try and over sell it. You can make a decent comic book movie as long as you stick to storylines that the fans know well enough to enjoy, but not so well that they get pissed off when you don it wrong. Give us action, fun, a little comedy and some backbone in our heroes and we will come to the box office every time!

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Release date: 12:00 AM