Review of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) by Kai82 — 14 Oct 2021

Like the prequel it is a solid movie but nowhere near the good MCU movies. Also it uses the characters not well. Believe it or not both the Silver Surfer and his boss (don't know if his name counts as spoiler but will avoid it) have a deep and tragic back story in the comics.

They fail to address this here which harms the characters. The boss should be a highlight of the movie and I hope they do it better in the MCU as his appearance is theorized for this phase. The story starts during the weeding ceremony of Susan and Reed Richards when a strange object cause a power blackout.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as around the world strange things happen. The titular Silver Surfer has arrived. So starts the story. I say they deliver an interesting story but fail here too. At least they produce not total garbage.

It is underwhelming if you know the comics and the impact of the Silver Surfer and his boss. There are countless ways to do this better and transfer this to the screen. It is like going to a good steak house and just take a small salad while not being vegan or vegetarian.

The arc with the powers is interesting and well done but meaningless in comparison with the menace. It is like fixing your uniform when you are under heavy enemy attack. It should not be the focus. Also they solve the issue with ease and this cheapens the movie and menace.

When Silver Surfers boss is approaching in the comics all the heroes are panicking and you will see real dread even by hardened characters. He is a force of cosmic nature and the number of people that can go toe to toe with him or surpass him includes only the strongest characters aka reality warpers and the stronger god like beings.

The characters aka actors deliver a good performance in the movie but cant turn the tide. All characters return and I basically copied my comments from the prequel as it is valid here too. Ioan Gruffudd is excellent as Reed Richards and I can see him become as iconic as the MCU counterparts with better scripts.

I am a fan of Jessica Alba since Dark Angel. I like her performance but also think they could use her character better. Sue Storm is an often overlooked powerhouse and this does not change with or without her powers.

Chris Evans as Johnny Storm seems now so out of character since he became the embodiment of Captain America and nailed the role. I say he delivers but was destined to become something far greater. Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm is awesome and I like his character development and struggles.

Julian McMahon again delivers as actor even when they fail to deliver Dr. Doom. Doug Jones and Laurence Fishbourne are similar. Great performance but weak representation of the Silver Surfer from the comics.

I wont and to be fair cant blame the actors. Good performance in a script that needs improvements. The special effects were good back then but there are things that did not win me over. There are things that can be good but not for you like licorice as an easy example.

Overall this is not a bad movie but will be fast forgotten.