A film review by Sean O’Connell – Copyright © 2007 filmcritic.com
The NBA hands out a Most Improved Player Award at the end of each season. Hollywood does not have an equivalent distinction, though Fantastic Four director Tim Story would be a worthy candidate for this year’s prize if it did.
Story’s name was attached to the original Four film in 2005, but that discombobulated blockbuster based on the classic Marvel Comic books felt like meddling producers suggested the film to pieces before the finished product reached theaters. Critics and comic fans responded in kind with opinions that were not so kind, but Four turned a large enough profit to secure a punched ticket to sequel land for Story and his cast.
Retaining the creative team was the right move on 20th Century Fox’s part. Story’s second chance trumps his first effort, as everything about this superhero sequel surpasses the original by a long shot. The special effects — spotty in the earlier film — take huge leaps forward. Mr. Fantastic’s flexible skin is far more convincing this time around, and the Thing suit Michael Chiklis wears somehow looks more natural. Even jokes that fell flat in the movie’s marketing campaign (like the Human Torch’s “I just bought this tux” line) are swapped out for funnier alternates in the finished movie.
The Thing? The Human Torch? I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s primarily because screenwriters Don Payne and Mark Frost waste no time on backstories at the onset of Rise of the Silver Surfer. The sequel hits the ground sprinting and crams a lot of story into its trim 90-minute run time. For the benefit of potential newbies, let’s fill in some gaps.
Read Sean’s full Review at FilmCritic.com.
Surfer was totally Radd! Rest of the movie had just enough cheese to be a good popcorn film.
Better than the first one, but then again what wasn’t better than the first F4? (Besides Uwe Boll movies.) If you are twelve you will like it. If you go in with no expectations you might get 1:45 of mindless fun.
However, if you are hoping for more complex characters and a smarter story line you will wasting your time and money. Also, I don’t think the CGI in Silver Surfer compares well with those seen in Spiderman 3. The effects were good but not great.
Oh yea, Jessica Alba as a blonde? It was a stupid look for her in the first movie, somehow it looks even worse in this one.
I thought the first movie was bad but this sequel is actually worse – unbelievably dire.
I’m going to bypass spoiler alert because quite frankly there’s nothing to spoil.
First 45 minutes is quite possibly the worst movie experience I have ever encountered with that stupid invisible women worrying more about her wedding day rather than the world threat that’s going on in the background – that’s right – the wedding is the central storyline for the first 45 minutes? – WTF?
It’s at this point you wonder if the movie will pick up…………..and it doesn’t
The film is made in the internet equivalent of capital letters and its simplistic morality stands out on the big screen more so than on the small page.