Impressions: "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"
I got a chance to take the kids out to see "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" this weekend. Turns out, it was a good choice!
As I have stated before, in my opinion, the first movie is only OK. I had (and still have) large problems with the Doctor Doom character - his motivation and powers are all wrong to me. (Yes, I know of "Ulitmate Doom"...that sucks too). But, setting aside my comic purist tendencies, the first movie a decent introduction to the Four's powers. It's pretty good with popcorn, too.
The second edition is a better movie. Maybe it's because the origin story is out of the way, or that the writers feel more comfortable with the characters, but The Fantastic Four are really acting like a family. They fight, argue and play jokes on each other. The progression of Johnny Storm is well done. From the previews, I thought the movie would be too 'quippy', but it worked just fine for me.
The Silver Surfer looks fantastic and seems *right*. The portrayal of the Surfer is as good as I could have imagined. And, for a moment, I thought I saw the image of a classic Galactus in space...
On the bad side, Doom still sucks. Harry over at AICN agrees with me on Doom. Harry rants on Julian McMahon's performance; I, on the other hand, think the portrayal of the character misses the mark. Luckily, the film has enough other attractions that overshadow him.
Overall, I recommend "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". It's still light and good with popcorn, but the bothersome features of the first film have been minimized. "FF: ROTSS" was number one at the box office this weekend, so join the crowd and check it out.
