The greatest comic book hero of all time finally gets to the big screen - in a BIG way

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2007)

The second installment of the Fantastic Four series finds the Four at odds with each other - dealing with celebrity status is not as easy as it may seem - and dealing with both an old threat (Dr. Doom) and two fresh ones - The world-devouring Galactus and his Herald, Norrin Radd - The Silver Surfer
Fans of the Silver Surfer, which was introduced by Marvel in the early 1960's, will find his big-screen look to be extremely well done. For many, the Silver Surfer is the top-dog in the comic book universe - Marvel or otherwise - and his big-screen debut has been anxiously anticipated by fans the world over. The CGI work is perfectly executed by Weta (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) and his character is true to the comic.
There are, however, aspects which are not true to the comic - I will not name them here; the detail required to explain would constitute a spoiler - and so as it is with most comic book films, it will be up to the individual reader/viewer to decide how all that matters to them.
The film picks up right where FF #1 left off which is good; only a short amount of time has passed. The thing that make the Fantastic Four unique is that they are out in the open - no secret identities. That makes them targets by the supervillan criminal element as well as devoted fans and paparazzi. It's refreshing, but they may have gone a bit overboard here. Still, it had to be explored because these are not aliens but humans with superpowers and ultimately, they must live their lives the same as the rest of us. Hopefully in the next film, they can concentrate on the superhero aspects only.
This film was way too short. They could have added another 30 minutes or more quite easily. If there is one basic negative it is that so much more could have been done and that several scenes were rushed.
The story is solid, the effects are excellent, the characters are people we care about. And the Surfer is perfect. Kudos to the producers for tapping Laurence Fishburne for the voice. Absolutely Perfect.