Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007) Synopsis:
Marvel’s first family of superheroes, The Fantastic Four, meets their greatest challenge yet in FANTASTIC FOUR AND THE SILVER SURFER as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost.
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007) Movie Review:
With a livelier script and stronger production values, this sequel far outdoes the 2004 original. Funnier comedy, more interesting characters and much slicker effects work make it a terrific guilty pleasure.
The Fantastic Four are having trouble balancing their professional and personal lives. Reed and Sue (Gruffudd and Alba) can't get married without being interrupted by a crisis. Johnny (Evans) can't settle down with a girl, not that he's trying. And Ben (Chiklis) is made of stone, although his girlfriend (Washington) doesn't seem to mind. Now the world is about to be devoured by an evil force heralded by a glistening silver guy on a surf board (Jones, with Fishburne's voice). And they may need to team up with nemesis Victor Von Doom (McMahon) to save the planet.
The filmmakers strike a humorous tone early on, combining a colourful comic book design with goofy comedy to get us chuckling. Jokes about invasive paparazzi and corporate sponsorship abound, even as both are the franchise's bread and butter. And the wink-nudge innuendo will keep kids feeling like they're watching something vaguely grown up, even though any TV sitcom takes things far further than this tame movie. Meanwhile, we know the wackiness will soon be interrupted by something nefarious and earth-threatening.
And it's pretty impressive. After a slightly awkward plot set-up, things kick into gear, combining thrilling action with genuinely clever gags (the power-swapping is ingenious). It's great to see a full-on London effects sequence, as well as subtle references to, of all things, rendition and human rights issues. Yes, it's still simplistic, with the requisite boneheaded military idiot (Braugher) and some extremely random scenes, but it's also thoroughly cool--especially the foursome's new vehicle and the surfer himself. There's also an intriguingly serious final twist. Ish.
Clearly, Stan Lee and Marvel have an obsession with embarrassing disco dancing this year (see also Spider-man 3). But it helps that the cast are having a lot more fun this time. They're engagingly relaxed and allowed to deepen the characters and play around with the iconography. Honestly, this is how the first film should have been, and it bodes well for more to come.
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Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007) review written by: Rich Cline
7th October, 2008 
