hit-and-miss sequel

Rating: 5/10 (16 June 2007)

I have to admit to being one of only a tiny handful of people who DIDN'T think "The Fantastic Four" was a terrible movie. Frankly, even though I could tell that it wasn't a particularly GOOD movie, still I rather enjoyed its breezy unpretentiousness and lighthearted refusal to take itself too seriously. However, I'm not really sure that this material was exactly crying out for further amplification, and, indeed, the inevitable sequel, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," is an only sporadically engaging entry in the ever-expanding and now preposterously overcrowded field of comic book superhero movies.
Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben return as the chemically-altered crime fighters, who in between battling evildoers and dodging celebrity-hunting paparazzi, are bent on living as normal a life as their phenomenal superpowers and the demands of their adoring, star struck public will allow. Achieving such normalcy is easier said than done, however, for on the day when Reed and Sue are finally about to officially tie the knot and utter their "I do's," in on a celestial surfboard rides a silver-clad gentleman from the farthest reaches of outer space determined to wreak havoc on the planet.
The film may not have much going for it in the plot department, but that Silver Surfer is sure one gnarly dude, and the filmmakers have done a truly "fantastic" job bringing him to life on screen. It's enough to make one wish they would change the quartet to a quintet for the next inevitable go-round. Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba as Reed and Sue are once again reduced to playing "straight men" to Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis' Johnny and Ben, who, in true second-banana fashion, walk off with all the good lines in the film. The humor is mainly of the schoolyard-banter variety, but there are a few zippy zingers sprinkled in amongst the predictable cluster of clunkers. The same cannot be said for the "serious" dialogue, however, which often drips with maudlin sentimentality and homiletic self-importance.
Director Tim Story has filmed the flying scenes for maximum speed and effectiveness, and the locales have, for the most part, been well-chosen and well-photographed. The special effects are seamless and even awe-inspiring on occasion, although the shots of Reed expanding his rubberized limbs to enormous lengths do look a bit fake at times.
If nothing else, it's at least a lot shorter than "Spider-Man 3" (barely over ninety minutes). Surely, that must count for something.