Ok, now let’s look at the 2007 sequel to the Fantastic Four movie, “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.” This series’ greatest strength is its greatest weakness. Stan Lee and his Marvel Comics creative teams must have understood that not every superhero needed to be or even should be stressed outsider, for instance, like Batman or, more and more, Superman and Spider-Man. The “Fantastic Four” was designed with a family-friendly comfort at its heart, to appeal to a calmer, less testosterone level of comfort. Result, we have these four nerds who happen to have different but admiring capabilities who act as a family unit.
As the movie starts, in fact, the big thing on Sue Storm’s beautiful mind is her marriage to group Reed Richards, a gentle high level scientist with the ability to stretch a point as well a limp to any inconsistent level needed, giving him the name of Mr. Fantastic (which also speaks to his main role). Johnny Storm who, as the Human Torch, can light himself up and burn up the skies, and Benn Grimm, who Jules Brenner describes as “the physical heavy of the bunch with the armor plating of an armadillo,” are doing their absolute best to be supportive of the upcoming wedding and their main roles in it.
Something isn’t right on planet Earth. Brenner said that, “There's something destructive occurring in different quadrants of the earth's surface -- an incoming comet stirring up a wake of damaging storms that make Katrina look like a minor shower.”
Reed’s distraction and scientific work on the phenomena is all too apparent to Sue, or the Invisible Woman, who all too girly, sees it as yet another doubt about Reed’s true desire. However, if the environmental incident isn’t destructive enough to get her on a superhero wavelength, the appearance of gruff, demanding General Hager, played by Andre Baugher, demanding scientist Reed’s full attention to a threat of global proportions gets it.
Brenner said, “Still, as Reed sets up sensors to locate the source of the meteorological anomalies, the big, fab, celebrity wedding on the roof of a posh hotel goes forward.” The day is sunny and fab with bright buildings and blue sky. The bride is complete eye candy, the groom handsome and snappy as a store mannequin. This looks like the marriage is going to be with perfect harmony.
It turns out that Reed’s sensors senses the person behind his doorstep which, at the moment, is the wedding gathering. Brenner said, “Pulsing with energy, this magnetronic freak who has no use for gravity, puts Reed's sensors out in an instant (apparently not liking the limelight either) and just about ruins the wedding.” What is this metallic person flying through space? Johnny lights up and flies after to the scary thug to find out what and who the stranger being so arrogant with our world is.
No match for the superior power of the impostor, he manages to face it, and it turns out to be a unpredictable mold of a man, small, perfectly muscled and statuesque (Doug Jones), whose few works are spoken in, as Brenner describes, “a sad, basso profundo voice” (Laurence Fishburne, who you might remember as Cowboy Curtis from "Pee-Wee's Playhouse") – an amazing new image in the pantheon of super-villains. What he’s doing here is preparing Earth for total energy change to Galactus, his home world, something it depends on for survival and which guarantees the host planet complete annihilation.
After Johnny makes the mysterious figure “Silver Surfer,” the team learns what great power is all about and, just when they figure out that the surfer itself derives power from the surfer board on which it rides, General Hager raises the stakes by bringing in a new expert. Turns out to be the viciously evil Victor Von Doom, the team’s more earthbound enemy whom they thought they had left for dead in a glacier. Doom confesses his purpose to help contain his threat but what he’s really after is the power of the board and he’s more than willing to trade the planet for it, even if it means a short term rent on the property.
Everything makes for a engaging story with a group of iconic figures developed for the comic pages and showing some personality behind the established stereotypes. Brenner said, “Least interesting and little more than a stock character is Chiklis' fourth banana role who is used mostly to bolster a few corny jokes.”
Chris Evans character is better defined than in the original. Ion Gruffudd seems to take the dominant role of the smartest with a bit more authority in this encounter. Jessica Alba can’t be better photographed for the prize of her beauty. Director of Photography Larry Blanford gives her every advantage, little of which seems needed with such natural gifts. Julian McMahon shows some greatness in the way he takes over the screen with such evil of soul.
Brenner mentioned that, “The Silver Surfer is a smashing competitor for sci-fi superhumanity's most dynamic concepts and writer Don Payne and Mark Frost make much out of it with a story on a sweeping interplanetary scale that generates the best shots the Fantastic Four can come up with.” This may amount to a rich payoff from that demographic that will connect with it either because of the intelligent factor or even with it. Director Tim Story keeps it moving and consistent.
Brenner ended his review by saying, “If it seems that I got more out of the adventure than many of my critical colleagues, it's because I did.” You might call it all nonsense, but it’s a great amount of nonsense with enough logical believability in the main look to keep the entertainment people laughing.
Overall, like the first one, this is a real entertainment for the whole family to sit around and watch. If you enjoyed the first one, definitely watch this one and give it a chance.
Now I have to find a day that I can go to the theater to watch the remake and see what I thought about it. That will come next week so stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment