Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Hello, everyone, and welcome to this first ever edition of TV Party. This column will be focusing on comics-related television series and DVD releases, looking at current releases, as well as the occasional "dip" into the past.
For our first column, we will be reviewing one the big summer movies from this past year...a movie which was adapted from a classic comic story, and which featured a classic end-of-the-world scenario.
I'm talking, of course, about Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which recently came out on DVD.
This is not a straight-from-the-pages-of-the-comic adaptation; it's more of a smart encapsulation of what made that comic great in the 1960s. Although I was not a big fan of the first Fantastic Four film (it seemed a little bumpy at times), I really grooved to this movie. Oh, sure, the critics may not have appreciated it (and it does have its faults), it's a pretty good movie for a Saturday night. At just over 90 minutes, it's short, action-filled, and refreshingly brief comic book movie.
The film opens with some unusual phenomena happening around the planet - snow in Egypt, cats and dogs living together, things like that. When we come upon our intrepid band, things are a little shaky, as they attempt to balance their ubiquitous celebrity with the impending nuptuals of Reed and Sue Richards. As the wedding finally arrives, it is interrupted by the presence of a "Silver Surfer" - a herald for a vast, cosmic entity that feasts on entire planets. It is up to the Four - with a little help from Dr. Doom - to stop the entity called "Galactus" from succeeding.
For the most part, the film succeeds gloriously - the special effects are excellent, the acting (with two exceptions) is top notch, and the story plays out in the usual manner. Many people have complained that we do not "see" Galactus except as a giant cloud - watch carefully, and you'll see two visual "clues" about Galactus. (Plus, having a giant come out with a big helmet may have seemed, well, campy - a giant, spooky cloud moving through space suggests something extremely malevolent.) Since Tim Story has publicly stated that he wanted to let another director "show" Galactus in a Silver Surfer film...hey, it's his call, and it's a pretty good one.
Most of the acting in this movie (with some notable exceptions) is pretty solid. Iaon Gruffold does a pretty good job at portraying Reed Richards - whereas he seemed a little too young in the first movie, this movie shows him giving the nerd and the leader equal time, so much so that the lack of gray at the temples is not missed. The Surfer's characterization (done through motion capture and some sublime voice work by Laurence Fishburne) is worthy of a special Academy Award. Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans do an excellent double-team as the Thing and Human Torch - Evans' Johnny Storm is at the heart of the story (the B-plot involves Johnny "growing up), and Evans knocks it out of the ball park. And Chiklis...ok, you know him as Vic Mackey on The Shield. But this is a man who has played John Belushi, The Commish...and Curly Howard. If that doesn't yell "range", I don't know what does.
However, there are two very weak performances. in the movie. The first is the inclusion of Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom - yes, I know at one point in the comics he actually did steal the Surfer's board, but quite frankly, he seems shoehorned in. There's enough conflict - with the military, with the impending arrival of Galactus - that the inclusion of Doom seems woefully out of place. Plus, McMahon gets some campy lines that would make William Dozier blush. It may reflect the plot from a later Galactus encounter in the comics, but in this film, it seems shoehorned in. Plus, Andre Braugher does enough as the obligatory military-minded general to provide some decent conflict.
But the worst piece of acting - Jessica Alba as Sue Storm. Her performance comes across as slightly wooden, with only three modes of expression: pouting, serious, and studious (or "serious + glasses"). Ironically, certain scenes were shot in order to give her more screen time...but Ms. Alba youngish-looks, plus slightly stiff acting, make the movie a little bit bumpy. (In a key pre-wedding scene, I had to remind myself that Johnny is Sue's younger, not older, brother). To be honest, this is not the Sue Storm from the comics - the fact that in the film, Reed brags that he's engaged to the "hottest babe on the planet" diminishes both characters. Of all the performances in this movie, Ms. Alba's is the most "comic-booky" and unrealistic. Although recasting seems harsh, it would be good to have full-blooded performances from all four leads.
However, faults aside - I can sincerely recommend renting Rise of the Silver Surfer. Definitely one of the best comic-related movies of 2007...and worth watching.
Questions? Comments? Then please feel free to e-mail me at blogthispal@gmail.com. I'm always open to hear what you have to say, and more importantly, to help make this column be a resource for you.
Read more! For more of Gordon's writings, insights, and
general information, please visit his blog at blogthispal.blogspot.com!
