Overall Rating
  Awesome: 2.13%
Worth A Look: 20.21%
Average: 27.66%
Pretty Bad: 17.02%
Total Crap: 32.98%
9 reviews, 40 user ratings
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| Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer |
by William Goss
"Quadratic Formula"
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It comes across as more than a little portentous that the actual on-screen title for 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' omits that initial adjective, as if to say, “Lower thy standards, all ye who enter this auditorium.”A quick refresher course: an encounter with cosmic radiation transformed cocky Johnny Storm (Craig Evans) into the Human Torch, cranky Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) into the rock-hard Thing, nerdy Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) into the flexible Mr. Fantastic, and Johnny’s sister, Sue (Jessica Alba), into the Invisible Woman, while colleague-turned-foe Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) went the way of the preening megalomaniac, as is so often the case.
In this outing, the team finds Reed and Sue’s much-publicized and oft-delayed wedding ceremony interrupted by one Silver Surfer (Laurence Fishburne audibly, Doug Jones actually), whose arrival has a nasty tendency to precede that of the planet-devouring Galactus. Much globe-trotting ensues as the Four play catch up with the space case, while the Army enlists the help of Dr. Von Doom when unsatisfied with the results of Reed’s “track it, don’t attack it” methods. In the midst of it all, Johnny accidentally adapts the powers of his peers by mere touch, a gimmick that only fuels the series’ more juvenile tendencies, a goofy sense of humor that ends up undermining some otherwise potent moments sprinkled throughout.
The Surfer himself certainly fits the fantastic bill, even if his behemoth of a boss fails to impress to an equal degree, an interstellar menace worthy more of a Dirt Devil than a Silver Surfer. For every nifty dispatch, there seems to be a tacky dance sequence or painful cameo or cringe-worthy product placement to counter it. (By the way, did Alba use her powers to sneak in and help herself to the same freakishly blue contacts that Maria Bello used in World Trade Center? I suspect that by this point, fanboys would forgive them if she just went without.)
Given a brisk ninety-minute running time, only after a relatively leaden start does the action start to build towards something resembling excitement and actual stakes, despite an underwhelming climax. Still, boredom is harder to forgive than stupidity, and for all of the nifty computer-generated shenanigans, both manage to come in spades. Without any real investment (or patience) for the fate of either the world or the team, matters end up every bit as shrug-worthy as its predecessor, and we settle for it just as director Tim Story and company seem content to.It’s hard to know what’s worse: that the 'Fantastic Four' franchise has so willingly settled into a rut of mediocrity, or that – for its considerably more modest expectations and compromised condition – it relatively delivers what its superhero brethren of late has failed to, superheroes sans soap opera. The line between mere diversion and entertainment proper, however, remains firmly intact, and as a “ka-ching!” coda sweeps across the screen, its message is more foreboding than any line to cross the Surfer’s lips: Go somewhere else for fantastic. We’re all sold out here.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=15530&reviewer=409
originally posted: 06/16/07 00:45:26
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Marvel Characters: For more in the Marvel Characters series, click here.
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USA
15-Jun-2007 (PG)
DVD: 02-Oct-2007
UK
15-Jun-2007 (PG)
Australia
21-Jun-2007 (PG)
![[trailer]](/images/icon/trailericon.gif) Trailer
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