Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
October 28th 2007 22:34
Category: Movies
Director: Tim Story.
Produced by: Bernd Eichinger, Avi Arad, & Ralph Winter.
Story by: John Turman & Mark Frost.
Screenplay by: Don Payne & Mark Frost.
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd (Mr Fantastic/Reed Richards), Jessica Alba (Invisible Woman/Susan Storm), Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm/The Thing), Julian McMahon (Victor Von Doom/Dr Doom), Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher & Laurence Fishburne.
Produced: 2007 Twentieth Century Fox.
Running Time: 88 minutes approx. Rating: PG.
I watched the first Fantastic Four movie in the cinema and though I felt the actors cast in the roles of the Fantastic 4 worked well and fitted the characters nicely the conflict with their archrival Dr Doom just didn’t do anything for me, purely because I felt that Julian McMahon didn’t make a convincing Dr Doom. So naturally when I finally got a hold of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, I have to say I approached it with some degree of trepidation, especially when I found out that Dr Doom would also be in it. Fortunately for me my misgivings were dispelled as the movie unfolded.
The movie opens with the scene of the destruction of an unknown and distant world from which streaks a glowing comet or fragment. This glowing ember soars through the depths of interstellar space until at last it reaches the Earth and from there it begins to cause all kinds of unknown and unusual phenomena. Naturally Reed Richards, super genius and soon to be married man is flummoxed by what is going on even though he is meant to be concentrating on his upcoming marriage to Susan Storm. In fact he himself comments that he finds it unusual as to why everyone else in the world is so focused on their marriage rather than the unusual events taking place at various spot around the globe; from coastal Japan to Giza in Egypt to Los Angeles on the United States west coast
Naturally elements in the US government are concerned about these incidents and they attempt to enlist Richards in helping them determine what on earth is going on. After turning the US military down in front of his soon to be wife Reed can’t help himself and starts tinkering on a tracking device that will allow the military to monitor whatever it is that is causing these unusual events. From this point on things don’t just start going pear shaped for Reed and his dream of marital bliss, they start going downhill for the world in general. The mysterious object that has been the source of the unusual events takes out Reed’s transmitter right at the point as Reed and Susan are getting married, it then has a clash with the Human Torch letting him drop from low earth orbit back to the ground in some remote Middle Eastern locale.
Of course Reed and the US military are not the only ones interested in this enigmatic silver alien who zips around the world causing all manner of natural catastrophes. Dr Doom, the nemesis of the Fantastic Four has his own interest in this entity and eventually tracks him down to a glacier in Greenland. Julian McMahon is a lot more convincing in this movie as the master villain and super genius who in the FF milieu has long been a rival to Mr Fantastic. But I suspect that the reason why he fits so well into his role in this movie than in the first is the story behind it all; it is a classic Fantastic Four style plot; the world about to be destroyed by some kind of major galactic menace and their old archenemy trying to make some mileage out of it all. So McMahon’s portrayal of the evil genius is on the mark in this film, his character is a suave, driven figure that is more like the Dr Doom of the comics than his smarmy ladies man in the first movie.
Here in this film, as the title suggests, we are introduced to another iconic comic book character; the Silver Surfer who is a natural character to have in a Fantastic Four movie as his exploits often crossed over with theirs through his career. Of course in this encounter the Surfer is not his own man, he is an agent for something far larger than himself which has particular designs on the earth. The character is voiced by Laurence Fishburne who gives the Surfer an otherworldly quality, emphasising the characters off world background, yet hinting at depths that are not seen. As is obligatory with any superhero film there are scenes involving various special effects particularly focused on the various powers of the team and the new character as well as the obligatory carnage that is required for a scenario involving the end of the world.
The FF also get in some globe trotting in this movie, the action takes place in various locales outside of their home base in the Baxter Building in downtown Manhattan. The action ranges from London to the Black Forest then Siberia and eventually ending up in a downtown region of a busy Asian city. We also get to catch a brief glimpse of Hassenstadt, the capital of Dr Doom’s birthplace of Latveria, a stereotypical brooding eastern European land complete with Gothic style castle in which Dr Doom makes his abode. All in all Rise of the Silver Surfer is definitely good value, also keep your eye out for Stan Lee’s cameo, very amusing.
Produced by: Bernd Eichinger, Avi Arad, & Ralph Winter.
Story by: John Turman & Mark Frost.
Screenplay by: Don Payne & Mark Frost.
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd (Mr Fantastic/Reed Richards), Jessica Alba (Invisible Woman/Susan Storm), Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm/The Thing), Julian McMahon (Victor Von Doom/Dr Doom), Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher & Laurence Fishburne.
Produced: 2007 Twentieth Century Fox.
Running Time: 88 minutes approx. Rating: PG.
I watched the first Fantastic Four movie in the cinema and though I felt the actors cast in the roles of the Fantastic 4 worked well and fitted the characters nicely the conflict with their archrival Dr Doom just didn’t do anything for me, purely because I felt that Julian McMahon didn’t make a convincing Dr Doom. So naturally when I finally got a hold of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, I have to say I approached it with some degree of trepidation, especially when I found out that Dr Doom would also be in it. Fortunately for me my misgivings were dispelled as the movie unfolded.
Of course Reed and the US military are not the only ones interested in this enigmatic silver alien who zips around the world causing all manner of natural catastrophes. Dr Doom, the nemesis of the Fantastic Four has his own interest in this entity and eventually tracks him down to a glacier in Greenland. Julian McMahon is a lot more convincing in this movie as the master villain and super genius who in the FF milieu has long been a rival to Mr Fantastic. But I suspect that the reason why he fits so well into his role in this movie than in the first is the story behind it all; it is a classic Fantastic Four style plot; the world about to be destroyed by some kind of major galactic menace and their old archenemy trying to make some mileage out of it all. So McMahon’s portrayal of the evil genius is on the mark in this film, his character is a suave, driven figure that is more like the Dr Doom of the comics than his smarmy ladies man in the first movie.
Here in this film, as the title suggests, we are introduced to another iconic comic book character; the Silver Surfer who is a natural character to have in a Fantastic Four movie as his exploits often crossed over with theirs through his career. Of course in this encounter the Surfer is not his own man, he is an agent for something far larger than himself which has particular designs on the earth. The character is voiced by Laurence Fishburne who gives the Surfer an otherworldly quality, emphasising the characters off world background, yet hinting at depths that are not seen. As is obligatory with any superhero film there are scenes involving various special effects particularly focused on the various powers of the team and the new character as well as the obligatory carnage that is required for a scenario involving the end of the world.
The FF also get in some globe trotting in this movie, the action takes place in various locales outside of their home base in the Baxter Building in downtown Manhattan. The action ranges from London to the Black Forest then Siberia and eventually ending up in a downtown region of a busy Asian city. We also get to catch a brief glimpse of Hassenstadt, the capital of Dr Doom’s birthplace of Latveria, a stereotypical brooding eastern European land complete with Gothic style castle in which Dr Doom makes his abode. All in all Rise of the Silver Surfer is definitely good value, also keep your eye out for Stan Lee’s cameo, very amusing.
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