It was fantastic for me.

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2007)

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is surprisingly good. It is not great but I would have to say it is probably the most entertaining of the big summer blockbusters of 2007 that I have seen so far. It a time filled with overlong, overwrought and overstuffed action movies is a breath of fresh air. It is fun, quick paced and has a breezy 90 minute running time. It is true to the spirit of the original Fantastic Four comics, from what I have read of them- it doesn't take itself at all seriously, it is fast paced and is a platform for whatever crazy and wacky ideas the writers could come up with for the superheroes and the uses of their powers. The movie is very jokey but a lot of it actually funny, even the slapstick kind of stuff involving the Four swapping powers. I even got a chuckle out of some of Johnny Storm's smarmy one liners and the interactions between him and Ben Grimm are generally pretty entertaining. Everyone fits there roles quite well and seem to be having a good time. The acting isn't great but everyone brings what is required to their roles. Even Jessica Alba doesn't suck to badly- they easily could have gone down the whole angry wife/fiancé route with Sue Storm and Reed Richards but they don't go overboard on the melodrama. The characterisation is fairly lightly etched but at the right level for this kind of movie. Each of the characters has a personality but the makers don't try to turn it into a character piece and get bogged down with it. The Silver Surfer comes across a but of a selfish dick though- he was perfectly willing to help Galactus destroy those other planets draws the line when a woman on one particular planet reminds him of his own girlfriend? The action stuff if pretty good as well.
The sequence with the Human torch chasing the Silver Surfer, as seen in the preview, is great and the battle sequence at the end involving two souped up multi-powered individuals is great fun. Even Galactus looks pretty cool, although is there was one element that could have had a bit more screen time it was the presence of Galactus, who's arrival and dispatch is a bit too quick. There is a lot material in this movie and at times in does seem a little rushed, hurrying from one plot point to the next but on the whole the movies swift pace is an asset. A slower pace is the kiss of death for silly, fantastical movies like this. There are some plot concerns, such as the fact that Galactus is willing to give a minion of who's loyalty he cannot be assured the capacity to destroy him but I was well inclined enough toward the movie to let it slide. It isn't a deep or a powerful movie but it is what is set outs to be, and what I wish more summer blockbusters would aim for, a fun movie with no delusions of grandeur.