The fantastic foursome return to the big screen to battle evil in three different forms. The return of their arch-nemesis Dr. Doom, a planet devouring cloud named Galactus, and a mysterious silver alien that cruises around on a surfboard.
Trying to avoid the massive lines that were sure to pack movie theaters on Friday, I decided to take in a late showing of Fantastic 4: Rise of The Silver Surfer last night. My plan was foiled when at 10pm I was greeted with a line of over 200 people. Instead of getting annoyed, I instead took this as a sign of good things....maybe these people heard the movie was good, or maybe they’ve already seen it and liked it so much they had to come back for a second helping.
Needless to say, I went into the theater with high hopes.
One-and-a-half hours (not counting previews) later I walked out of the theater, those high hopes now replaced with a feeling of utter disappointment.
Fantastic 4: Rise of The Silver Surfer isn’t a bad movie, it just doesn’t make any sense. Even when you try to suspend all disbelief (which you are commonly asked to do in these types of movies) it feels as if the makers of this film are asking too much of you. In the team’s first encounter with the Surfer, which interrupts Reed and Sue’s wedding in New York, Reed orders Johnny to give chase. During the chase the Surfer and Torch pass right by the Washington Monument. Now, I’ve been out of school for awhile, but from what I can remember isn’t the Washington Monument in Washinton D.C? That means they would’ve had to have traveled approx 200 miles in a matter of seconds. Now I can see the Surfer doing this, but I wasn’t aware the Torch could fly that fast.
This is just one example of how the film fails to explain certain events. In another critical scene we are taken to Doom’s castle in Latveria, where we see Doom, still entombed in the case that he was shipped over in. The case begins to shake, and Doom awakens. That’s it. No explanation of how he managed to shake off the fact that his metallic body was super cooled at the end of the first one. He just wakes up.
Now don’t get me wrong, the movie isn’t without it’s strong points. Personally, I think Michael Chiklis is easily the best part of these movies. His performance as Ben Grimm a.k.a The Thing is among the best in comic genre films. People often say things like Patrick Stewart was born to play Professor X, or Christopher Reeve was born to play Superman, and they’re exactly right. However Chiklis should be added to that list as the actor that was born to play The Thing. His performance in the first film, and in the sequel are what made them enjoyable for me. Chris Evans puts on another solid performance as Johnny Storm a.k.a The Human Torch, and despite being a bit annoying thru most of the film, we do get to see a different side of Johnny, both emotionally and power wise. Jessica Alba plays it fairly safe as Sue Storm a.k.a The Invisible Woman, although she is a lot more confident in both who she is as a woman, and as a super hero in this movie. Men will be pleased to know that Alba has NEVER looked better than she does in this movie. I lost count at how many times I tapped my friend on the arm and said "damn, look at her!" Ioan Gruffudd plays Reed Richards a.k.a Mr. Fantastic almost exactly as he did in the first film. Gruffudd isn’t bad as Mr. Fantastic, but he also doesn’t really strike me as the perfect actor for the part either. For those wondering, yes Julian McMahon DOES return to play Dr. Doom. Now I like McMahon. I think he’s brilliant as Dr. Christian Troy on nip/tuck, however Dr. Doom he is not. It’s not that he plays the part wrong, it’s just that he was cast wrong. Doom is from Latveria, and in all previous incarnations he’s had a somewhat Count Dracula accent, accept for in the films....that bothers me. Doom does sport some new, cool armor, but overall he’s pretty forgettable.
The rest of the cast does a decent job, and Stan “The Man” Lee’s cameo will actually make you laugh out loud.
Ok, now on to the part everyone wants to know about. How is the Silver Surfer in the movie? Does he look good? How does he sound? Does he look cheesy at all? Well, let me put your questions to rest by saying this. Aside from The Thing, and Alba’s good looks, the Silver Surfer REALLY helped me stick around for this movie. About halfway thru I found myself getting incredibly bored. It wasn’t until we actually got to interact with the Surfer that my interest slowly began to build back up. Looks wise, they’ve nailed him. I mean it’s pretty hard to mess up a silver guy that’s essentially nude and rides on a silver surfboard right? His look was spot on, and the people at the WETA FX shop should be commended for the amount of detail they put into creating him. When the Surfer is separated from his board (sorry to ruin it) his skin turns into an almost tarnished metal look that left me wondering if he was still a CGI model, or a practical effect. Either way it was nicely done. His movements are that of a surfer in the way he twists and turns his body to maneuver his board. Again, the attention to detail is amazing.
So now that you know how he looks and acts, the big question is....how does he sound? It’s no secret that when it came to casting the voice of the Surfer director Tim Story called upon Laurence Fishburne. Initially I was excited because Fishburne has one of those voices that can be suited for anything, or anyone. Except for the Silver Surfer. Again, this isn’t the case of the actor being at fault. Fishburne basically uses his normal voice just at a lower register. It’s just that his voice does not fit the Surfer at all. When I used to read Silver Surfer comics as a kid I always imagined his voice to be very soft (like Fishburne), however not as deep, and with a bit of an “alien tone” to it. Much like how I want to look at my heroes and say “now THAT’S Superman!” I want to be able to hear them and say “that’s exactly how I imagined it.” This was just not one of those times as it was clearly Laurence Fishburne. Oh well, he doesn’t have that many lines in the movie so it’s ok.
Overall, Fantastic 4: Rise of The Silver Surfer is a step-up from it’s predecessor mainly due to the fact that it introduces a popular Marvel character to the big screen. However as a movie, it’s really kind of boring, and there are some MAJOR plot holes to deal with. The FX are good for the most part (except when Reed is dancing...it looks REALLY bad), it has humor in all the right spots, and the acting is decent. If I were comparing it to another comic related film I’d have to say it stacks up nicely next to Daredevil in that it had it’s moments, but I don’t think I’ll be in any rush to see it again.
Parents will like this movie because it’s a movie made for the whole family. Kids will love it because of all the cool super powers on screen, however hardcore geeks will be sorely disappointed.
Oh, and if you were wondering about Galactus being a cloud. Yes he is, but I think I understand what they were going for. Why show him now with an imminent Silver Surfer movie on the horizon? Plus they tease you enough to keep you going.