Come on there has got to be more with the Fantastic Four
Written: Jun 18 '07 (Updated Jun 18 '07)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Wonderful special effects, new character (The Silver Surfer).
Cons: The curse of the sequels, slow pacing, Alba's poor acting.
The Bottom Line: Recommend to comic book fan's at the matinee price only.
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| cntaur5's Full Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer |
The four comic book heroes the Fantastic Four take the big screen again with a cosmic opening that begins in space. The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) revolves around Mr. Fantastic a.k.a Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) plans to marry the love Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) as a cataclysmic cosmic force approaches the earth. As things progress and the wedding is set in motion the remainder of the super hero team Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) are faced with several dilemmas as Reed and Sue plan their Hollywood nuptials. Director Tim Story and screenwriters Don Payne and Mark Frost super-powered beings must keep their wits if they plan on defeating the looming destruction that unfolds in this story. Tossing in all the cartoonish normalcy they can, the Fantastic Four agrees to work with the government to track the alien being, the Silver Surfer. Reed and Sue must choose between their team, saving the planet, unraveling the mystery of the Silver Surfer with the marriage option still on the table.
Just as the comic book characters had to work together and at times unit their powers the group must find common ground if they plan on saving the earth. Though willful and strong like the original sequel, in this second edition the group’s old enemy Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) resurfaces to provide yet another twist in this contemporary action flick. A tribute to everything viewers like about these characters, this Fantastic Four is supported by a guest cameo appearance from their original creator Stan Lee.
Though often formulaic with mildly slow pacing, the cinematography and special effects is spectacular. If you have watched the first movie, the leading cast and characters are no real surprise. Acting and character development is decent unfortunately Jessica Alba appears unfocused and her make-up is poor. The most interesting character is the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), who travels through the universe as the courier for a planet-eating troublemaker.
Director Story struggles keeping this in the PG action realm. Despite the studio being filled with kiddies there are a few scenes that were probably PG-13 especially the scene where Sue the Invisible Woman materializes on the ground in her birthday suit. Additionally there is one character that is incinerated by Victor Von Doom with half of an ashy corpse visible. Some characters drink alcohol with mild sexual references and some rough language are used. Overall, children 10 years and up should be able to handle this film.
If you are into Marvel Comics and enjoyed the first Fantastic Four 2005, then there are several aspects about this film you will enjoy. However if you can’t get past the dull opening, slow pacing, predictable plot and Alba’s poor acting my recommendation is to wait for the DVD. It's too late for me; I’ve shelled out the full ticket price. I can’t say I was totally disappointed perhaps my expectations were higher than they should have been. Bottom line, it not a bad sequel as far as these types of movies go, but there is nothing jaw dropping about this one. The Fantastic Four has long been a favorite amongst comic book collectors. We all knew this movie was coming, it’s been on American Idol, My Space and a thousand other media outlet, so to see Marvel Comics finally get its time on the big screen is fantastic (no pun intended). I just wish it was worthy of the hype. In the end I'll probably pay the big bucks again if they plan on releasing a Fantastic Four III hopefully this was Director Story's final try at it.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Die-hard Fans Only
Viewing Method: Sneak Preview at My Local Theater
Film Completeness: A few glitches, but mostly complete.
Worst Part of this Film: Pacing
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