In keeping with the theme of reviewing the big comic book movies this summer, I decided to sit down and share my thoughts on Fantastic Four 2. The first Fantastic Four film came out back in 2005 from director Tim Story (Barbershop, Taxi). For Marvel it was the next big comic book movie project, following Spider-Man and X-Men. The moviewas received with mixed reviews from both the critics and the fanboys. The important part was that the movie made enough money to make a sequel that would not be so slowed down with origin scenes. From the very start Tim Story was adamant on introducing the Silver Surfer if he got the chance to direct the sequel. Two years later during the summer of 2007, Tim Story got his wish with "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer".
The sequel reunites the original cast with Ioan Gufford (King Arthur) as Reed Richards, Jessica Alba (Sin City, Honey) as Sue Storm, Chris Evans (TMNT, Cellular) as Johnny Storm, Micheal Chiklis ("The Shield") as Ben Grimm, and Julian Mcmahon (Nip/Tuck, Premonition) as Victor Von Doom. Joining the cast as the Silver Surfer was the dynamic duo of Doug Jones (Hellboy) and Lawrence Fishburne (Pee-Wee's Playhouse). I continue to feel that the Fantastic Four themselves are cast really well. Chris Evans continues to steal scene as Johnny. Ioan Gufford will officially be known as Mister Fantastic to me. Just like Hugh Jackman will always be Wolverine. Not just because I think he does a good job but also because every movie that I have seen with Ioan Gufford either has the word "Fantastic" or "Four" in it. In the first film I really liked Julian Mcmahon as Dr.Doom but for some reason this time around I wasn't really feeling it. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that while he was all dressed up as Dr.Doom we all know and love, his voice was weak and annoying. They needed to do a Darth Vader deal with him and give him James Earl Jones voice. Going back to positive casting, Silver Surfer was perfect. Not enough people give Doug Jones the credit he is due for being Silver Surfer. The way the Surfer moved was poetic and perfect in every way. The voice casting of Lawrence Fishburne fit the character nicely. To think the voice was almost going to be Chris Tucker but he was busy with Rush Hour 3. That was a joke.
From seeing the commercials and hearing the buzz on the internet, we've got a clear understanding of the story. Reed and Sue are trying to get married, Silver Surfer shows up, and Galactus is on "it's" way. So let me jump right in to the things I liked about the film then follow it up with a few gripes. Like I said before I really do like the cast. I feel there's a real chemistry between the actors and when watching the movie I buy the idea of them being a family. Any scene that had the Silver Surfer was a delight to see. Watching him fight off the army and save the day at the end, get me excited about the upcoming Silver Surfer movie. Like the previous film the movie has some laughs in it as "Marvel's First Family", bickers and fights as they save the day. The Fantasticar was great to see and I'm glad that Dodge made it. So then there's Galactus. I have seen a lot of movies based on comic books. Some good, and some bad. Some stayed very true to the comic, while others only offered a few moments for the fanboys. Regardless of the movie, the directors and producers ALWAYS take liberties with the original material and change stuff. Let's think back to some of the other comic book movies for a moment shall we. Organic web shooters, Joker kills Batman's parents, Banner injected with Hulk, son of Superman, black Harvey Dent, nipples on bat suit, and Dark Phoenix. Major changes have been going on for a long time, some good, some not so good. Galactus going from a very large man wearing purple to a cosmic storm that kills planets, not a complete downgrade. Sure it would have been great to see a giant hand reaching out to Surfer at the end, but considering the budget (Fox is cheap) I thought Galactus was handled well.
Thinking back I was actually more disappointed with the evolution of Dr.Doom than the representation of Galactus in the film. In the first film I had no problem with Doom. He started off as the vain and egotistical Victor Von Doom, and by the end of the movie he was Dr.Doom. When the movie starts off we get Doom back in Latveria with his face looking like ground beef. This lasted a whole five minutes. For reasons never explained, Dr.Doom gets his face and body remade after his encounter with Silver Surfer. What the hell was that all about?! They needed to keep Doom looking and sounding like Doom, not Julian Mcmahon! We got more cheated on Doom then we did with Galactus. My guess is that Julian Mcmahon has many things in common with the character of Victor Von Doom, mainly vanity. Although I thought the Fantasticar and Silver Surfer were really cool, I wish I could save that about all the special effects. A couple scenes just didn't look right to me. For example Reed Richards busting a move was great in theory but looked like cheesy special effects.
Overall I enjoyed "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". The story was not deep my any means or too dark that you wouldn't want your kids to see it. In that aspect it really stayed true to the comic it is based on. One thing that I think people forget is that the Fantastic Four comic book has always been a kid friendly book with a lot of laughs. They're known as Marvel's First Family for a reason. I hope Fox coughs up the dough for a third film as I feel the next move for this franchise would see Namor lead the attack of Alantis. Even the ending with Doom sinking in the ocean was a bit of a tease for the introduction of Prince Namor. The only big thing I would change in a third film would probably be the director. Tim Story is a Fantastic Four fan at heart and it's not that he's done a horrible job, but a director with more experience could take the franchise to a higher level and possibly be the first Marvel film to break the "Trilogy Curse".
The next and final geek review I have coming will be for Transformers. Until recently I have been on the fence about seeing this movie. I wasn't a huge Transformers fan growing up. Only recently did I watch the first animated movie. I guess the trailers did their job though cause I am now willing to pay out the cash to watch these robots in disgiuse blow things up the only way Micheal Bay knows how. Until then though.......
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