Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
It appears clear from watching the second (and probably last) chapter of this superhero saga, that director Tim Story has learned from his previous mistakes. Unlike the bloated original, this sequel clocks in at an efficient 91 minutes, with much of the flab and excess material that weighed down the originalâs origin story trimmed from the running time. Indeed, the pacing of the film is pretty impressive, since obviously the material isnât very deep like say, Batman or Superman. The cast also seems more settled and comfortable in their roles, and the overall chemistry (especially between Gruffold and Alba) is much more assured. Actually, Gruffold comes off much better here than in the first, not making Mr. Fantastic so stiff and seeming to have a little more fun with the role; Alba (despite a horrid looking wig) continues to remain one of the most watchable performers on the planet, and brings serious charisma to the part of Sue Storm; Evans still has his overly cocky moments, but seeing him get humbled (particularly by the Surfer) helps keep his character a little more grounded; Chiklis seems relieved to not have to carry the acting load this time, and plays the Thing as the cool indestructible badass heâs always been in the comics, ably supported by Washington as his blind girlfriend; McMahon continues to have his good and bad moments as Doom, though having the Surfer cure his deformities so he can walk around without makeup again seems a bit much. The newer characters donât fare so well: Andre Braugherâs general comes off as a complete idiot, especially the way he belittles the heroes but actually TRUSTS Dr. Doom(!?), and watching him get his is one of the biggest sighs of relief in recent years; Beau Garrettâs sexy Major (who in the comics goes on to become the superheroine Nova) is underwritten and poorly developed, even as the script teases a possible romance between her and the Torch. As for the Surfer himself, Doug Jones certainly looks great, but having Fishburne providing the characterâs voice seemed a bit of overkill, when Jones has already proven himself in the Hellboy movies. As for Galactus, it seems like they did the best they could there, but at least he wasnât a corny robot-like character. The story surrounding the Surfer is more focused and compelling than the first film (despite the clichĂ© of having a character die and be resurrected), the FX look great, and itâs nice that they didnât sell out the Doom character despite the âold enemy teams up with heroesâ scenario. In the end, proof that not all superhero movies have to be lengthy epics, and hopefully a Part 3 will materialize sometime down the roadâŠ
8/10