Tops The Original

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2007)

"The Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer" (**** out of ****) qualifies as fabulous, often funny, family-friendly fare. Not only does the second installment in the far-fetched, formula-driven, Marvel Comics fantasy franchise provide a refresher course for those who've forgotten the first film, but this Twentieth Century Fox release also introduces a new character. This time around Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Michael Childis) tangle with a villain that dwarfs even the maniacally evil Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) and find themselves struggling to save the Earth from an apocalypse like nothing that they faced in the original. The computer-generated special effects are first-rate, unlike those in "Spider-Man 3," but the CGI as well as the apocalyptic plot never overshadow the characters and the tensions that their comic camaraderie conjures up. Invisible Girl Sue Storm still scolds rubbery Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards about his nerdy obsession for all things scientific, while incendiary Johnny Storm cannot rib the granite-hard Ben Grimm enough about his stony countenance. Director Tim Story, who helmed the breezy lightweight original, knows one thing that other summer movie directors could learn. Namely, too much of a good thing is not always a good thing. Clocking in at a short and snappy 89 minutes, the new "Fantastic Four" adventure allows you barely enough time to drain a barrel-sized soft drink before you have to drain something else.
"The Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer" opens ominously enough as an unknown power plows its way inexorably through the galaxy and destroys one planet after another to assuage its awesome appetite for energy. While this mystifying might is wending its way toward Earth, everybody on the planet is counting down the hours to the most anticipated marriage in history between Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Eventually, the strange force from another galaxy enters Earth's atmosphere. This inexplicable anomaly shocks Japanese sailors in Suruga Bay, Japan, when it solidifies the waters that they fish in and then surprises tourists in Giza, Egypt, when it sprinkles snow flakes on the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. Flashing like a white-hot meteor over Los Angeles, it plunges the City of Angels into a startling black-out. The Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon interpret this meteorological mayhem as a military threat, and they dispatch blunt General Hager (Andre Braugher of TV's "Homicide") to solicit the help of Reed Richards. The Pentagon wants to know where this force will strike next. Reed agrees on the sly to create a sensor that will detect it while he prepares for his upcoming marriage to Sue.
Sue and Reed are poised in front of the preacher when the bizarre comet strikes New York City, turns their lavish Manhattan wedding into chaos, and melts down Reed's sensor apparatus without warning. Reluctantly, Johnny Storm incinerates his wedding tuxedo to pursue the object. No sooner has Johnny launched himself into flight like a fireball than the intruder assumes the form of a chrome-plated Ken doll riding a metallic surf board. This extraterrestrial literally takes Johnny by surprise and seizes him by the throat in a death grip and then escorts him into outer space. The Human Torch cries uncle, and his opponent allows him to plunge back to Earth. This encounter affects Johnny adversely because he can no longer confine his power to himself. He touches The Thing at one point, and The Thing turns into The Human Torch. Vice-versa, Johnny transforms hilariously into the Thing. Later, Johnny touches Sue, and she bursts into flames while he vanishes. Unbeknownst to our heroes, the Silver Surfer took a short-cut earlier over Latveria, where Victor Von Doom had been exiled for the duration at the end of the first film, and thawed out the evildoer. Initially, nothing that the Fantastic Four does thwarts the Silver Surfer, so General Hager invites Victor, much to the chagrin of our heroes, to help out. Victor reveals that the source of the enigmatic Surfer's power lies in his surfboard. Reed concocts a pulse gadget that our heroes to hope to separate the Surfer (a CGI effect with the husky voice of "Matrix" star Laurence Fishburne) from his surf board. Meanwhile, despite his willingness to help his former foes, Victor has something else up his sleeve that augurs ill for everybody.
Indeed, the formulaic Don Payne & Mark Frost screenplay is pure "Fantastic Four" with the usual time out allotted for our ensemble's amusing antics with each other as well as some new gadgets. Reed Richards' elastic gyration on the dance floor with a couple of babes on either arm during his stag party generates a side-splitting sight gag. Only one character of importance perishes in this sequel but his demise is rather grisly considering the PG-rating. Nevertheless, director Tim Story never lets the action take a breather and keeps things bang-slamming ahead to an explosive finale. Reportedly, the two "Fantastic Four" movies have remained largely faithful to its Stan Lee and Jack Kirby origins more than any other series, and durable Stan makes another cameo as himself. Predictably, this enjoyable entry winds up with a happy ending that leaves things open for another sequel.