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Watched Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer a few weeks back. Been a little too busy to share my thoughts. Anyway, here they are.

Sypnosis
Sue Storm (Jessica Alba aka Invisible Woman) and Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd aka Mr. Fantastic) are planning their marriage, for the fourth time. However, the arrival of the Silver Surfer (acted by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne) jeopardises their plans and threatens the fate of the world. For in his wake comes Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds.

The Fantastic Four are also facing some internal turmoil. Sue Richards feels that the team is getting in the way of Reeds and her happiness. Her brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans aka Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis aka The Thing) feel slighted that they have not been included when making a decision on the fate of the team.

Meanwhile, the army enlists the aid of both Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon aka Dr. Doom) to help stop the threat and capture the Silver Surfer. Against their will, the Fantastic Four are forced into an alliance with Dr. Doom whom they defeated in the previous movie. Their worse fears are realised when Dr. Doom double crosses the Fantastic Four.

The fate of the world hangs in the balance as the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Doom, and Galactus battle it out in a grand finale.

My Say

The look and feel of Silver Surfer while on his board reminds me of the T-1000 terminator from Terminator 2 - Judgment Day. Way back then, the liquid metal cyborg was the result of state of the art CGI. I was expecting something more from Fantastic Four. Maybe I’m just unappreciative of the work that went into producing the effects. The Silver Surfer without his board looks like a well built guy painted silver and covered in ash.

The movie also introduces the Fantasticar, the vehicle most commonly used by the team throughout the comic series. While I’m not exactly a great fan of the team or that particular vehicle’s design, it was a cool addition to the movie. The argument on who was driving was funny. I suppose the in most superhero flicks, it’s always the toys that catches the boys’ attention.

Jessica Alba as a blond is just so wrong! I mean she’s hot as ever but the colour just doesn’t suit her tanned skin. It makes her look awkward. In the first one when Sue Storm was still coming to terms with her powers, she stripped on a bridge while invisible in order to get through the crowd to Ben Grimm (The Thing). Unfortunately (for her but fortunate for us), she lost control and wound up in her undies in plain sight. Well, look out for another embarrassing Invisible Woman moment in the course of F4 Rise of the Silver Surfer. I figured we wouldn’t get lucky again but I guess I was wrong.

There’s plenty of action to keep viewers interested. My favourite parts include the final battle between Dr. Doom on Silver Surfer’s board and the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Invisible Torch Thing was quite funny. But considering that Johnny Storm couldn’t control the other member’s powers when he had them, it makes you wonder how he could keep all four of their powers under tabs long enough to give Victor Von Doom a good trashing.

I love the parts where Johnny comes into contact with the Silver Surfer and loses control of his powers, temporarily exchanging powers with the other members that he touches. The scenes where he loses control are really entertaining. Keep an eye out on what happens when he swaps powers with the Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, and particularly with Invisible Woman.

Amidst everything, Stan “The Man” Lee himself makes a cameo appearance. I suppose that’s enough to put a smile on the faces of his many fans. The movie itself keeps to the Fantastic Four storyline from the original comic series (including that cameo scene).

Overall, the movie is somewhat superficial. There’s no character depth. There’s no urgency about the end of the world. Strip away the corny jokes and the action sequences and you’re left with nothing. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was only decent if you think of it as nothing more than an action flick. But let’s just admit it. We’re all watching the movie for Jessica Alba and perhaps a little of Silver Surfer. I know I was. In that aspect, the movie was a little disappointing. Watch it if there’s nothing better screening.