Quick review: Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer

I think this is the first time in a while that I’ve actually seen a movie ON a weekend when it opened! Well the timing was right, and I got there with plenty of time to spare, so I managed to get some good seats to see “Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer”.

As an old school comic book fan, I have to say I was impressed with the story and the special effects. The Fantastic Four have always been something of a dysfunctional family of sorts to begin with, so it’s really no stretch to see it manifest itself on the big screen. Mr. Fantastic over-thinks and multitasks too much, Sue Storm flakes out, Johnny Storm gets too reckless with everything, and the Thing… well he grumbles. Then add a celebrity-style wedding and it is the media that becomes the real Bridezilla in this story. (Oh, and FF co-creator Stan Lee does make an appearance in this movie too… and for once he shows up AS himself.)

Obviously the big story here is the Silver Surfer. He ruins the big media circus that was supposed to be the “wedding of the century” by causing weird astronomical events all around the world. He also scrambles Johnny’s molecules so he changes powers with anyone else on the team just by touching them. Watching Sue catch fire and float around naked is done just for laughs and not for ogling (unlike the previous FF movie). The Thing fares much better in his exchange as we get to see Michael Chiklis’ real mug for a minute as Johnny “Things” out. (Hey, how come Johnny got EARS and Ben Grimm didn’t?) His new power-swapping trick plays an important role near the end of the movie, though, so it’s not just done for comic relief.

Of course as comic book fans know, the Surfer is really just an errand boy for the REALLY big guy, Galactus. And the big question was how the film would show the all-powerful “Devourer of Worlds”. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed when Galactus made his/its appearance. I know it’s not easy to stay true to the comics, especially when you’re dealing with one that is forty years old and has been remade at least twice, but I did expect something more ominous and intelligent than what was seen. How the REALLY big crisis is handled is also unrealistic even for comic book standards, if not anti-climactic.

Some of the scenes do appear to be a bit long, even when they are needed for the storyline, but overall it’s a good movie to see.