rise of the silver surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is the 2007 sequel to Fantastic Four and brings back the same production team and cast to deliver a story involving the Silver Surfer, Galactus, and a little more Dr. Doom. The film features gobs of special effects and CGI, setting up a framework that relies heavily on interstellar science mumbo jumbo to put over the plot. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer gets most of its action from characters shooting balls of fire or energy at one another or from fairly exciting chase scenes, but unfortunately the rest of the film falls rather flat.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer begins by framing a story involving the wedding of Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba). We are told that they have attempted to get married before a few times, but something has always gotten in the way. The sequel is set two years after the first film and the celebrity status of the Fantastic Four could not be higher. The big wedding is the talk of the town and every media outlet is covering it. Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) are essentially the same as when we left them in the first film, as Storm is still a bachelor loving the popularity and Grimm is still dating Alicia Masters (Kerry Washington).

As Reed and Storm prepare for their wedding, a silver object enters the earth’s atmosphere and begins radiating cosmic energy that causes deep craters to occur suddenly throughout the earth. The government approaches Reed for help and, on the big wedding day, a sensor detects the silver phenomenon to be heading towards New York City. The object destroys a bunch of stuff and the Fantastic Four spring into action, saving the day but just barely. Johnny Storm pursues the silver object through the sky in a fun chase sequence and eventually the pieces of the puzzle come together. Dr. Doom gets involved as he wants to get his hands on the Silver Surfer’s surfboard and wield its power and Galactus, the Destroyer of Worlds, wants to eat the earth. All in a day’s work for the Fantastic Four.

Much of the critical knock on the film is similar to what was apparently so abhorrent about the first film: “pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo” according to the New York Times or, as Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune describes, “the target audience appears to be Cartoon Network fans.” Frankly, once again, I find the critique to be a little strange. Of course the target audience is going to be Cartoon Network fans and of course the film is going to contain “pseudo-science.” Just how bland some critics want this project to be is beyond me.

In all reality, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer builds on the first film nicely enough but doesn’t construct enough meat out of the characters to generate much by way of interest. The wedding is a nice touch, but that drops into the background rather quickly as does the interloping plot about the four heroes nearly breaking up. I would have appreciated more attention on the relationships between the four, as I feel the first film did a better job in having the Fantastic Four get acquainted with their powers and so on. A sequel could have handled the tone of superheroes greeting their responsibility with a little more depth, but I’m certainly not going to critique the “science” or the implied target audience for being what it is. It’s a decent family superhero film and there’s not a damn thing wrong with that.

In a day and age when every superhero seems to be darker and more “adult” than previous incarnations (see Spider-Man, Batman), it’s refreshing to see an alternative take on the genre that attempts to inject fun into the films and allow families to experience the films together without concern. Some superheroes lend themselves to darkness better than others, but Fantastic Four has always been a bit more cartoonish and a bit more…bright. In that respect, Tim Story’s direction works effectively and well-enough to deliver the stories to the screen. Dr. Doom is still a credible villain for the film and is placed nicely by Julian McMahon, although I’d like to see a bit more stretching of the character and more “evil deeds” from him in the next film (yes, there’s going to be a next one).

What Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer does right is, in the words of another critic, make an “honest attempt to capture the childhood essence of the fantasy.” If you’re looking for serious science or deadpan serious drama, look the other way. This film won’t deliver that and it won’t alter the fabric of the universe or retool the genre. It will, however, provide a nice alternative to some of the other comic book films and will, once again, give you Jessica Alba in a skintight suit. And the Silver Surfer’s pretty damn sweet. As far as I’m concerned, that’s good enough.

5/10

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