An embarrassment on many levels.

Rating: 2/10 (16 January 2010)

the original Fantastic Four was tired and clichéd, but there was a certain charm to it. Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer doesn't fall too short from the tree, but it doesn't quite live up to the fun of the first one either.
the (thin) storyline follows around the sudden appearance of strange phenomenon around Earth. the Fantastic Four have settled into their lives, and have been comfortably embraced by the citizens into their normal day-to-day lives. the military soon comes calling, and right as Reed Richards and Sue Storm are about to tie the knot at the alter, the Silver Surfer shows up. Johnny Storm has an encounter with him, and it leaves The Human Torch in a bad fix: when he touches another member of the team, the powers are switched. the Four struggle to settle their differences, public and private, as they try to uncover the mystery of this new threat. meanwhile, Victor Von Doom has (rather inexplicably) returned, and sets up his own schemes for the Silver Surfer.
I have to admit, I had low expectations for this movie. I went to see it only so that I could set up an opinion of it that's actually based on how I took the film. I'm sure most comic fanboys won't bother seeing the flick, but will set up their own opinions of it anyway. but I digress. the storyline is very, very, VERY poorly put together. we're talking worse than Ghost Rider here. the special effects are quite good, and they definitely raise the film for me. the visual fun and intense special effects are what makes this movie so damn fun in the first place (as was the case for me with the original). the characters are very badly done here, though. I wasn't too pleased with how they were played out in the first movie, but they're even worse here. Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards serves no real purpose outside of lame dramatic relationship material, and he doesn't even have the gray sideburns that he gained mysteriously in the first movie. I realize that's comic-book-geek-nitpicking, but hey, it's still really stupid. Jessica Alba as Sue Storm once again remains only to flash cleavage (and her naked body in one scene) and wear entirely too much makeup. Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis don't serve up the playful banter as well as in the previous adventure, but their separate performances aren't too bad. Julian McMahon as Von Doom is little more than a throwaway character, but who really shines in this movie is the character of the Silver Surfer, largely thanks to voice-over work of Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus from the Matrix films). however, it turns out the Surfer isn't the real villain here, and fans of the comic will know why. this villain, though, is very poorly conceived. you never really see him for what he really looks like, and the way he is dispatched in Rise Of The Silver Surfer is completely ridiculous. it's flashy and cool-looking, but illogical.
one really nice point about this movie that i'm sure most people won't think of: the score. it's simply wonderfully. it's well written, it follows with the appropriate scope of the film, and it sounds amazing, much better than the "insert music here" soundtrack of the first Fantastic Four. Stan Lee also makes the best cameo here out of all comic-related films (outside of Mallrats, of course).
overall, it's a mediocre flick, one not to think about so much. especially you, comic book fans. if you all think about it, you'll be sorely disappointed with all the writing mistakes that have been made.