Surf's Up!
Written: Jun 19 '07
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: The Silver Surfer. Tasteful use of CGI.
Cons: Little explanation of critical story elements.
The Bottom Line: Die-hards will be on the fence. Its not as good as it could have been.
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| jay1051971's Full Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer |
The “Comic Book Movie” trend continues. This time, we have a sequel to the 2005 film on one of the first superhero teams, the Fantastic Four. In this new film, the lives of our heroes are followed, with an introduction to a classic character in the Marvel universe, as well as a revisitation by an old nemesis.
Cast:
Ioan Gruffudd - Reed Richards
Jessica Alba - Sue Storm
Chris Evans - Johnny Storm
Michael Chiklis - Ben Grimm
Julian McMahon - Victor Von Doom
Kerry Washington - Alicia Masters
Andre Braugher - General Hager
Laurence Fishburne - The Silver Surfer (voice)
Doug Jones - The Silver Surfer
Beau Garrett - Captain Raye
Brian Posehn - Wedding Minister
Director: Tim Story
Plot:
The Silver Surfer, the Herald of Galactus, visits earth to see if the planet is fit for his master’s consumption. Galactus is a very powerful celestial entity who needs to consume the energies of entire planets in order to survive, and as luck would have it, Earth fits the bill. As the Surfer examines the planet and its resources, he attracts the attention of the Fantastic Four, who figure out that the Surfer’s arrival spells doom for the planet.
In attempting to figure out how to deal with the Silver Surfer, Dr. Victor von Doom, who seemingly was killed in the first Fanastic Four movie, shows up having been recruited by the military to assist in stopping the menace presented by the Surfer. Doom has likewise been tracking the Surfer and his activities, and begins to work with Reed Richards on a way to separate the Surfer from the source of his power, his board. Of course, the scheming Dr. Doom is doing so for nefarious purposes.
The Fantastic Four and the military set up a trap, but before they can get it completely set up, the Sue Storm is confronted by the Surfer. They have an exchange in which Storm asks him why he has come to destroy them. While they are talking, the military attacks the Surfer, distracting him long enough for Storm to complete setting up her part of the trap, which then immobilizes the Surfer and allows him to be captured.
The Surfer is taken to a secret military compound to be tortured for information about his activities. The Fantastic Four are sequestered away, while Doom is allowed access to the Surfer’s board, and, not surprisingly, steals it. Sue Storm takes advantage of her invisibility to get access to the Surfer to continue their discussion. It is at this point, the Surfer reveals to her the nature of Galactus. The Fantastic Four work to rescue the Surfer, so that he can help them get back the board and figure out a way to lead Galactus away from Earth. However, Doom has stolen the board, so they must locate him, and defeat him to affect their plan.
The movie climaxes with a Fantastic Four vs. Dr. Doom battle, in which Doom is once again vanquished, but not before Galactus arrives and begins the process of consuming Earth. The Surfer regains his board, inspired by the heroism of the Fantastic Four, betrays Galactus and fights him off, saving Earth in the process.
Thoughts:
I was really psyched to see this movie because when I was younger, I collected comic books, and the Silver Surfer was my all-time favorite comic books hero. I still have a hundred-some-odd comics packed away featuring the adventures of this cosmic hero. So when the Fantastic Four sequel was going to feature the story of the Surfer, I got pretty excited to see how it would play out on the silver screen. (No pun, intended!)
First of all, the CGI was fairly decent. I hate movies that have extended displays of CGI that are not only gratuitous, but poorly done. In this film, I thought the CGI was done with only minimal imperfections. The CGI did not get in the way of the enjoyment of the various scenes in which it was used. Usually, that is the best thing that can be said of such things.
As far as the story goes, there were numerous things I thought were subpar. For one, just like in the first movie, there was too much emphasis on the character development aspects, and not enough on the drama of the plot. I didn’t keep time, but I would guess that it took until about the midway point of the film before anything really started happening. Until that point, the film spent time elaborating on how stressful it was for Richards and Storm to plan and execute their wedding. Johnny Storm’s skirt chasing and Ben Grimm and Alicia Master’s relationship was also thrown in to complete the feminization of this film. The most ridiculous part of the film was when, after having been talked into going out to a nightclub for a bachelor party by Johnny, Reed Richards hits the dance floor with some really hot women, and the scene turns into an absurd re-enactment of “Saturday Night Fever”. My biggest complaint about the first movie was the casting, and this just reconfirmed my initial diagnosis. Richards never struck me as being a wild nightclubbing type.
Another aspect of the film that was wanting pertained to how Richards made the discoveries that he did as to the Surfer’s purpose. Almost no effort was made to explain the Power Cosmic that the Surfer possessed, nor how Richards was able to detect the Surfer’s recent activities. All that was offered was that Richards, somehow, determined that the Surfer visited a number of planets which then became lifeless chunks of rock shortly thereafter. Well, my thought was, if Richards could monitor those planets in fine enough detail to know that they sustained life, and then died, then couldn’t he have detected Galactus’ activity during those same stretches?
I also thought that, ironically, while too much attention was on the characters of the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer was given no opportunity for further exposure. There was little drama in the Surfer beyond the claims made by other characters. I would have liked to see more interaction with the Surfer, to illuminate what kind of being he was. As it happened, when the Surfer made the decision to betray Galactus and defend earth, it wasn’t clear why he did such a thing. Those of use who know the comic story understand what went on, but for those who are watching the story for the first time, the Surfer is an enigma. Perhaps that was the goal of the directors.
I was also pretty disappointed that we didn't get to see Galactus in full view. There was a shadow of his head as it moved across Saturn, and then his face could almost be made out in the flames of his ship as the Surfer sought to confront his master. Were the directors teasing us?
Overall:
Die-hard comic fans will be on the fence with this movie. Certainly, there is enough to criticize simply on the merits of the filmography without having to break the story down to a measure of its “purity” and integrity to the original storyline. While I wasn’t blown away, I wasn’t thoroughly turned off either. If they make a third movie, I will most likely see if, but my patience will be running thin by then. More action, more drama, less character development, less fluff. I would recommend this fil, but I am only going to give it three and one-third stars.
Related Reviews:
Fantastic Four
Ioan Gruffudd in King Arthur
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Die-hard Fans Only
Viewing Method: Studio Screening/Premiere
Film Completeness: A few glitches, but mostly complete.
Worst Part of this Film: Pacing
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Epinions.com ID:
jay1051971
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Member: Jason
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Reviews written: 343
Trusted by: 216 members
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