Oddly enough Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is one of the better comic book movies of the year. That doesn’t make it good by any stretch; it just means that in somehow shooting lower it fails less. There’s a good lesson for all you kids to live by. Quit trying so hard and maybe don’t have your hero sing anything and you’ll be just dandy.
The tale is as old as time itself. You’ve got a guy comprised completely of rock with a blind girlfriend. You’ve got a girl who can turn invisible and throw up force fields, all while dreaming of a stable home life. You’ve got your typical super genius fella who can stretch like crazy. And then of course your human flying torch. Throw in a surfing alien metal guy who sets up planets for destruction and one evil guy with a descriptive last name and you’re set. So yep, pretty much the same deal as the last time Fantastic Four rolled around (except for the surfer chap, he’s all new).
On the bright side F4:RotSS does have some beautiful effects. When Johnny Storm is in the same frame as the Silver Surfer you truly realize just how far CGI has come. It looks flat out real and it’s hard not to be impressed. This one also has what I’d call the most powerful character ever in the form of the Silver Surfer. The guy is just menacing and seemingly unstoppable. I’d like to see him take on Superman; I think that would be a close matchup. I know Surfer would look cooler no matter what — and I didn’t find anything to complain about with regards to Fishburne voicing him. F4:RotSS also has a few chuckles to go along with the effects. Some are on purpose, some are at how silly some of the lines are, but I’m counting them as all the same because it seems as though no one involved takes this franchise too seriously (which is a good thing… I think).
What’s not so solid is the overall logic. There are plot holes and rough edits throughout. Things are put together and figured out in seconds while other issues fester on, only there is really no difference between any of the problems. I’m fine with suspending disbelief on the strengths of the four, and I do, the issue I have is when things just get downright logically silly without anyone even bothering to act like realism matters. If you’re going to have such pretty effects where everything looks right don’t you owe the same allegiance to the script? Just give everyone authentic reactions and motivations and I won’t harp on this anymore, promise.
Final verdict: If you liked the first one you’re on safe ground here. If you hated Spider-Man 3 for the cheese factor (the singing and dancing) you may like this better because it’s less actively annoying. If you want a blockbuster this is the only one opening this weekend so feel free to go for it. You won’t feel like you completely wasted your money, you just won’t be rushing out to recommend this either. If you want something to love or something to rave about then this isn’t your bag. But if you’re only looking for a movie that keeps you visually stimulated for 90 minutes so you can enjoy the A.C. and comfy chair I’d say you’ve found your escape for the weekend.
