Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
2007 ain't surfing this year for Marvel...
Genre: Action Adventure Directed By: Tim Story Written By/Screenplay: John Turman Mark Frost Starring: Ioan Gruffudd Jessica Alba Chris Evans Michael Chiklis Julian McMahon Kerry Washington Andre Braugher Laurence Fishburne Photography: Color Distributed By: 20th Century Fox Release Date: June 15, 2007 Runtime: 91 minutes Country: United States Germany Prequel: Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (stylized as 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer) is a 2007 superhero film, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Fantastic Four. A sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four, the film is directed by Tim Story.

It's later established that the universe this movie takes place in is Earth-121698.

Plot

Everything seems to be going great for the Fantastic Four. Reed and Sue are finally getting married, and things couldn't seem better. However, when the mysterious Silver Surfer crashes things, they learn that they will have to deal with an old foe, and the powerful planet-eating Galactus.

Bad Qualities

1. Poor writing: Most of the team is portrayed as obnoxious, immature, and idiotic, and the tone is a bit overly cynical and mean-spirited, making it hard to enjoy the film.
2. Much like the first film, it's pretty juvenile and campy.
3. Too many plots going on in a movie that's only 92 minutes long:
   • Reed and Sue's upcoming wedding.
   • Silver Surfer arriving, causing alterations on Earth, and creating craters.
   • The return of Dr. Doom.
   • Galactus getting closer to Earth and preparing to feed on it.
   • The military getting involved and trying to regulate the team.
   • Johnny being able to swap powers with the others.
   • Talks about the team breaking up.
     • Also, the aforementioned wedding subplot is very irrelevant.
4. The CGI used on the Silver Surfer looks very cheap and dated.
5. Frankie Raye doesn't turn into Nova like in the comics.
6. It still takes place heavily on Earth and not in different parts of the universe like in the comics. Luckily, there were some scenes in outer space.
7. The Human Torch and The Thing don't have as big of a role in this film compared to the first one.
8. The film's infamous portrayal of Galactus: In the comics he is a gargantuan god-like being and destroyer of worlds; but here, it's just a big dark cloud.
9. Sue Storm is unlikable because she is more concerned about her wedding than the end of the world.
   • Speaking of her actress, Jessica Alba, she wears a blonde wig instead of having her hair dyed, which was more natural.
10. The military is portrayed as idiots, as they hire Dr. Doom and literally give him the Silver Surfer's board.
11. Laurence Fishburne's voice as the Silver Surfer is really distracting and doesn't work. It would've been better and cooler if Doug Jones did the voice as well as the physical acting like in the trailers.
12. The movie never explains Dr. Doom's evil plan or his motivation. In fact, bringing back Dr. Doom was a very lazy choice for the plot. They should've made Galactus the main villain (and portray him properly).
13. Alicia Masters is still blackwashed.

Good Qualities

1. Some of the special effects are okay.
2. The ending is still pretty good, despite being underwhelming.
3. Good soundtrack by John Ottman.
4. There’s more action than the first film, and it’s pretty awesome. For example:
   • The Human Torch chasing the Silver Surfer was such a cool action scene, as well as the scene where Johnny fights Doom using the four's powers.
5. Michael Chiklis still does a great job as The Thing. His roar to the bear was pretty epic.
6. The Human Torch has a character arc that makes him grow as a character, and he is more likable than in the first film.
7. Stan Lee's cameo is really funny to watch.
8. The scenes where Johnny switches powers with Sue and Ben accidentally are hilarious.
   • The scene where Reed stands up to General Hager telling him to back off is badass.
9. Doctor Doom is seen ruling Latveria like in the comics.
10. Despite the CGI and the voice performance by Laurence Fishburne, Silver Surfer himself is actually a really cool character with a complicated and sympathetic personality.
    • All his fight scenes are cool.
    • The scene where he destroys Galactus is impactful.
    • His friendship with Sue is nice.
      • The scene where he heals her is heartwarming.
    • The post-credits scene where he gets his board back is chilling. Plus, it reveals that he's still alive.
11. As with the first film, it still has a lighthearted and adventurous tone like the comics.
12. Memorable quotes such as, "I hate to wake up one morning and find out she was killed in a rockslide."

Reception

On its opening weekend, the film was the highest-grossing movie at the U.S. box office, reaching approximately $58 million, $2 million more than its predecessor. On its second weekend, the film had a 66% drop and then had a 54% drop in its third weekend. The film grossed $289 million worldwide, including a $131.9 million gross in the United States and Canada and $157 million overseas. The budget was $130 million.

Trivia

• Doug Jones provided the Silver Surfer's voice before he got dubbed over by Laurence Fishburne.
• Jessica Alba had a conflict with director Tim Story and almost quit acting as a result.
• Nick Fury was intended to be in the film but was replaced by General Hager so Fox won't pay extra for Marvel.
• This film and its predecessor have gained a cult following and source of memes for those who grew up in the 2000s and for being more close to the comics than Trank’s reboot. Tim Story, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, and Doug Jones approved of the following. The following also coined #ReleaseTheStoryCut and #RestoreTheStoryverse for restoring Doug Jones' original Silver Surfer voice and a future animated film with the cast returning.

External Links

• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at the Internet Movie Database
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on Rotten Tomatoes

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