FANTASTIC FOUR - THE RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

I once had a mate called John who just loved to surf. He'd polish his board. He'd kit himself out. And he'd physically psyche himself up for the task ahead of him. However, there was one fundamental flaw with John's joyous hobby: he was scared of water. In fact, John reminds me of one of the characters seen in this movie Directed by Tim Story; and Starring: Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, and Laurence Fishburne. It was made in 2007, and lasted for 95-minutes.


Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

THE STORY:

Question: What do the following three scenarios have in common? (1) An object of alien origin zooming through the earth's hemisphere, causing a great deal of concern for those people who gaze upon it. (2) Scientist, Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), being approached by General Hager (Andre Braugher) of the US Army, and ordered to secretly build a device to monitor this strange abnormality. And (3) When Reed attempts to get married to his not so invisible girl-pal, Susan Storm (Jessica Alba), their wedding is turned into a shambles because this object makes its presence known nearby.

Answer: Simple, right? It's this poxy alien object. Or as it is more commonly known as -- the Silver Surfer (Laurence Fishburne / Doug Jones) -- a powerful being sent from the stars (Galactus) to scout this planet before its eminent destruction.

Oh! And do you want to know what makes this situation even more bizarre? When Reed and Sues 'brother in arms', Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), chases after 'the Surfer', due to this action, he contracts the ability to swap ability's with his fellow 'Fantastic Four' members too.

Alright, so maybe Johnny's plight does appear somewhat amusing when it rears its ugly head at first -- especially to the ever lovable 'Thing', Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis). However, when things don't really go according to plan when the gang next meet's 'The Surfer' in London, General Hager recruits their old enemy, Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon), to help them fight back against this entity in a more stringent fashion.

Oops! Bad idea. Plus is most probably one of the reasons why what next transpires all kicks off, when the surf is taken away from silver by a loon called Doom. As battle lines are drawn - Sue Storm lies on the lawn - collective powers really do spawn - and death leads to life plus the rising of a new dawn. 

Kind of.

THE REVIEW:

Now I have a problem with 'Fantastic Four - The Rise of the Silver Surfer', which does not have anything to do with this movie at all. No. It's isn't because Jessica Alba doesn't show more flesh in public. And no. It does not have anything to do with Michael Chiklis or Ioan Gruffudd having very unusual surnames either. I just wanted a third installment of this franchise, God damn it!!! Because this adventure was just so bloody good!

Honestly, I thought the first film was a blast (click here for the review), but this one really kicks it right out of the solar system. Here, let me tell you why: (1) Just like the first film, this one has capitalized and enhanced the overall 'jovial family dynamic' to a much greater extent. Truthfully, each and every member of this cast portrayed their roles to the nth degree. Ioan was the cleaver suburban Father figure. Michael just continued his grounded performance from last time round. Chris was just so good that I almost forgot he's also Captain America. And as for Jessica? Tissues please! This foxy Mama really knows no bounds. (2) Now I am a big Silver Surfer fan, so I thought that I would have been very hyper critical if he was not conveyed in the same way he was in the comic books. I was wrong. Granted, I would have preferred it if he was allowed to say more, or even been given some inner monologue or something. But apart from that though. Nish. Great stoic portrayal. (3) If this film did have a flaw to it, it would have to be that it was structured in a very lop-sided fashion. The beginning was very relaxed and slow. The middle section was nice and pithy. But as for the final section - BANG - gone in a blink of an eye. Please note though, this is not necessarily a bad thing in hindsight. This is just a structural abnormality from a pacing point of view. (4) As much as I understood why Galactus was not seen in this movie, I would have liked to have seen him in some sort of solid form. Again, this is only a small gripe though.

Hey, do you know what? How about some filmic facts now, huh? (1) This movie derives from a number of noted comic book sources. Such as the marriage of Reed and Sue (Fantastic Four Annual #3), The Galactus / Silver Surfer introduction (issue #48), Dr Doom stealing the Surfer's power (issues #57-60), and in part, the 'Ultimate Marvel' 'Ultimate Extinction' event. (2) In the comic books, the Silver Surfer still retains his power without his surfboard, and is able to fly and use his powers to a certain degree. (3) Another nod to the original comic book source; was the scene where Stan Lee was not admitted into the weeding of Reed and Sue [just with his collaborator, Jack Kirby, who was deceased at the time this flick was made]. (4) Did you know that Nick Fury was in an early draft of the script? But he was written out of the project later on and then replaced by General Hager. (5) The filmmakers were never really sure if either the Silver Surfer or Galactus were ever going to speak in this film. Although they did audition Gary Sinise, Djimon Hounsou, and Timothy Olyphant for the voice of Silver Surfer. Plus Laurence Fishburne for the voice of Galactus. (6) I am sure that 'Captain Frankie Raye' was meant to represent her superhero counterpart, 'Nova', who was once Johnny Storms 'girlfriend', as well as Silver Surfers successor. (7) The forest scene was shot in the same forest used in the first three X-Men movies [click here for review]. (8) This was the first Marvel movie since 'Howard the Duck' to receive a 'PG' rating from the MPAA. (9) Prints of this picture were delivered to the theaters under the assumed name of 'Broom Field'. (10) This movie raked in $2 million dollars more than its predecessor on its opening weekend [$58 million].

OK, so you if you have taken into consideration what I have just said -- both facts and opinions -- I'm sure you can understand why I'm so deterred that a third part of this franchise wasn't made. It's a good film. The characters are great. The style is wholesome and fun. The special effects were top notch. Plus it even made more money for the studio as well. So why, huh? Why?

Maybe these guys, might know?

No. Don't think so. Bugger.

THE RATING: A