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Movie Forums :: Reviews :: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer |
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Posted on 6/15/07
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
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The Marvel universe is an awfully complicated place. Heroes and villains are constantly appearing, having arrived from another planet, or universe, or even another timeline. They die and are often resurrected, sometimes elegantly, and sometimes hamfistedly. The resulting chronology for some of Marvel's stories became so convoluted that they created a second, alternate timeline called "Ultimate Marvel", which effectively rebooted their creations (though without abolishing the old ones).
In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Marvel takes one of the first steps in this cyclical process by introducing a new character into the second installment of their Fantastic Four franchise. This character, of course, is the Silver Surfer, an alien being of seemingly limitless power and mysterious motives.
As the film opens, his presence at various locations across the Earth is triggering bizarre environmental events. The Fantastic Four themselves are preoccupied with various frivolities, such as endorsement deals and the impending marriage of Reed Richards and Susan Storm (AKA Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Girl).
The first half of the film is very well-constructed, as it creates a strong contrast between the gravity of the impending threat which the Surfer represents, and the often petty concerns of the Four. But even as they begin to discover what it is they're up against, the wisecracks and carefree attitudes continue largely unabated. Unlike the X-Men films, the Fantastic Four films make no attempt at realism or social relevance. As a result, the films are fun and entertaining, but largely robbed of genuine tension.
This is unfortunate, as the Silver Surfer is among the more creative and somber characters in the Marvel universe, and feels out of place in this more playful franchise. He is as stoic as a statue, and often comes off as the straight man to the Fantastic Four's more comic leads. The only flaw in his realization is the decision to cast Laurence Fishburne as the voice of the Surfer. Fresh off his prologue in TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hollywood has apparently decided that Fishburne has supplanted James Earl Jones as the guy to call when you need distinguished, authoritative voice work.
The film gets bogged down in the second half as an old foil from the first film becomes embroiled in the conflict with the Surfer. It then devolves into a number of cliches. I don't know how many times moviegoers have been treated to the stereotypical trigger-happy caricature of the American military, but it's employed once again here in a manner that's even less believable than usual.
There's also a development regarding the exchange of powers between our heroes that comes off as gimmicky, but is utilized to great effect for both comedy and action sequences. Potentially asburd in most other superhero films, it feels right at home in this more carefree, pseudo-scientific environment.
In the end, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a comic book adaptation that is proud of its origins, and would rather entertain the audience than try to make them believe anything on screen could actually happen. The degree to which you are willing to suspend your disbelief will be the degree to which you enjoy the movie.
It is unfortunate that such a deathly serious character as the Silver Surfer was not introduced to moviegoers in a more similarly serious film, but he steals the show whenever he's on screen here, and at least makes Rise of the Silver Surfer a more interesting film than its predecessor.
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