(Long Island, N.Y.) In 2005, the original Fantastic Four was released in theaters and was a major hit with moviegoers. No surprise, as comic book-based movies are all the rage lately and the Fantastic Four are one of Marvel Comics’ most iconic superhero groups. For those of you who never read the comic or saw the original movie, the Fantastic Four are a group of four people who are fantastic. Thus, the Fantastic Four. Not so hard, is it?
Okay, I’ll elaborate. The Fantastic Four are four people who gained superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays during a scientific space mission. After coming to grips with their new abilities and the problems they cause, they end up using them to protect the world from danger. Our jolly team consists of:
- Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd): He’s the team leader, a brilliant yet nerdy scientist, and can make himself all stretchy like carnival taffy.
- Sue Storm, AKA The Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba): The very attractive yet plastic Barbie doll-looking girlfriend of Mr. Fantastic. She can turn invisible and create force fields. She wears glasses when she wants to “look smart.”
- Johnny Storm, AKA The Human Torch (Chris Evans): The cocky, arrogant brother of Sue. His powers enable him to control fire, fly, and spew a never-ending stream of one-liners at anyone within earshot.
- Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing (Michael Chiklis): Yes, it’s Vic Mackey from The Shield playing a lovable orange rock monster from Brooklyn with superhuman strength.
In a departure from the comics, series baddie Victor Von Doom ends up tagging along on the ill-fated space mission as well, similarly gaining superpowers which he ends up using for…(cue manical laughter)…evil!! Of course, this leads him into direct conflict with the our beloved Foursome, who proceed to give him a proper superhero beat-down. Defeated and frozen into a living statue (don’t ask), Dr. Doom is shipped off to his home country of Latveria at the end of the first movie. Why? I’m not quite sure. U.S. jail overcrowding, perhaps? It certainly got Paris Hilton sprung from the joint early.
I found the original Fantastic Four to be pretty entertaining. No, it wasn’t fine cinema or anything, but it was a fun, lighthearted movie. It also remained fairly loyal to the comic it was based on, especially in regards to the characterizations of the team itself. In the comic book they had this sort of dysfunctional family thing going on and their big-screen counterparts pulled this dynamic off very well.
Well, movie studios do love their successful franchises, so naturally we’re now being treated to a sequel, entitled Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer. What’s a Silver Surfer, you may ask? It’s this chrome guy that looks like the T-1000 from Terminator 2 who flies around space on a surfboard. Yeah, a surfboard. I know it sounds silly, but in motion it actually looks pretty cool, so have an open mind, okay? The longer answer is that he is a herald for a planet-eating force of nature known as Galactus. The Surfer scouts space ahead of his master, seeking planets for Galactus to suck the delicious life-energy out of like a giant Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino, leaving them barren, lifeless husks. For the one person out there who hasn’t already guessed, allow me ruin your surprise- yes, Earth is next on the menu.
Meanwhile, Sue is trying to tear the nerdy Reed away from his research long enough to get married. She almost succeeds long enough to seal the deal, but the untimely appearance of the Surfer disrupts the wedding and causes chaos across the globe as he preps our planet for his galactic gourmet of a master to devour. Working with the military in order to stop the Surfer and the Earth’s impending doom, the Four are forced to work with their old enemy, Victor Von Doom, who has somehow been released from his frozen form by a random discharge of the Surfer’s cosmic energies. That’s a convenient plot device, huh?
The Surfer’s powers are vast and the military are ineffective against his might, but Reed manages to concoct a scheme to separate him from his cosmic surfboard, which appears to be the source of his powers. While in the custody of the Army, Sue discovers that the Silver Surfer isn’t the villian he initially appeared to be, and that he chafes in the service of Galactus and his role in the destruction of countless living worlds. Oh, and Sue also discovers that the Surfer’s tummy is an HDTV. That was weird.
Can the Fantastic Four convince the Silver Surfer to help them save the Earth, or will our planet take an exciting tour of Galactus’ digestive tract? And can they trust their shaky alliance with the evil Dr. Doom, or will he stab them in the back all villains tend to do? Don’t ask me, I give away too much info in these reviews as it is. The answers await you at your local movie theater!
Overall, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer was fine- about on par with the original. “Cheesy but fun” is the ideal phrase I’d use to describe it, which my friend Don chimed in with upon leaving the theater once the feature was over. As in the original movie, the Four have good chemistry and the overall lighthearted tone of the movie was a refreshing change of pace from all the dark and gritty comic book adaptations as of late.
The Silver Surfer himself was just okay. Everyone I spoke to before seeing the film was going on and on about how amazing he looked and moved and how Doug Jones (the actor who preformed the Surfer’s movements) is a physical wonder and all that, but I really thought the character needed to be expanded upon. His personality (as voiced by Laurence Fishburne) was actually kind of bland, but Galactus’ herald was exciting in motion- we needed to see more of him in action.
As for Galactus…well, I don’t know. In the comics, as created by the great Jack Kirby, Galactus was a giant wearing intricate purple armor and considered a major force in the Marvel Universe. In this movie, however, he’s…a big cloud. That’s it. However, if you watch closely, there’s a scene when there’s a flash behind the cloud, and you see a purple silhouette shaped exactly like the Kirby version of Galactus. Maybe he was back there after all. Of course, it would have been a 1000x better if he walked out of the stupid cloud and started stomping buildings on Earth, but…
And speaking of villains, my only real complaint about this series so far is how horribly they’ve handled Dr. Doom, one of the most infamous bad guys in all of comics. The fearsome monarch of Latveria has been reduced to a sniveling, annoying shell of his former self. He wasn’t so bad in the first film, but in Rise Of The Silver Surfer I was really hoping that The Thing would just start slapping Doom silly and never stop. Such a shame.
Taken as a whole, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer was pretty good. Action/Adventure fans should enjoy it, as should fans of comic book films (and there seems to be a lot of you out there). It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s appropriately over-the-top without being TOO cheesy (although Mr. Fantastic’s dance number came really close). It’s even okay for kids. Check it out.
