Surfing on to the silver screen

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2007)

The latest installment of comic book super heroes to jump from ink to the big screen is another big budget action fest. This time out, we find the Fantastic 4 fighting an alien invader, the Silver Surfer. The special effects are no less then great. The story is better then I would have expected from this popcorn film. While it is no citizen Kane, it did do its job; it held my interest and entertained me for 90 plus minutes. I'm not a super big fan on the comic book; I did read it from time to time as a teenager. I can't say if they are being true to the original or not. But if Stan Lee is willing to put his stamp of approval on it, that is good enough for me. Plus I'm not one of those super nerds that has never seen a woman naked so it was OK. Well, here it is; the bad news. The main down fall is the acting. While not all the performances came up short, Michael Chiklis is great as the thing as is most of the cast. The weak link in the acting chain is Ms. Jessica Alba. Like the rest of the red blooded American male population, I think she is super hot. That said; I have to say she can't act her way out of a bad soap opera. I think in whatever movie she is in next; she should play a mute in a bikini. She is great to look at, but once she opens her mouth to say any thing it obliterates the illusion. All said; I have to give this film two thumbs up. It was what a pop corn movie should be, entertaining. If you want to lose your self for a little while this is the movie to do it with. I hope the next installment is as action packed, and maybe they'll write fewer lines for Ms. Alba to stumble over.