4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Director:

Tim Story

Writers (WGA):

Don Payne (screenplay) and
Mark Frost (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Rise

Plot:

The Fantastic Four learn that they aren't the only super-powered beings in the universe when they square off against the powerful Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus.

Plot Keywords:

Second Part | Missile | London Eye | Invisibility | Silver Surfer

Awards:

2 wins & 13 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Aug. 1	10:00 AM	MAX
Fri. Aug. 1	10:00 PM	MAX

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd	...	Mr. Fantastic / Reed Richards
Jessica Alba	...	Invisible Woman / Susan Storm
Chris Evans	...	Human Torch / Johnny Storm
Michael Chiklis	...	The Thing / Ben Grimm
Julian McMahon	...	Dr. Doom / Victor Von Doom
Kerry Washington	...	Alicia Masters
Andre Braugher	...	General Hager
Laurence Fishburne	...	The Silver Surfer (voice)
Doug Jones	...	The Silver Surfer
Beau Garrett	...	Captain Frankie Raye
Brian Posehn	...	Wedding Minister
Zach Grenier	...	Mr. Sherman / Rafke
Dawn Chubai	...	Anchorwoman
Chris Gailus	...	Anchorman
Kevin McNulty	...	Baxter Building Doorman

Also Known As:

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Germany) (USA) (promotional title)
Fantastic Four 2 (USA) (working title)
Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer (USA) (working title)
Fantastic Four: The Next Chapter (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sequences of action violence, some mild language and innuendo.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA | Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | South Korea:12 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:6 | Sweden:7 | Malaysia:U | Brazil:10 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Norway:7 | Australia:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:PG | Denmark:11 | USA:PG (certificate #43383) | Hong Kong:IIA | France:U

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox

Trivia:

When The Torch falls into the sand in the Middle East and rolls over to his back, in close up shots you can see the "4" logo in the sand next to his head.

Goofs:

Factual errors: While Johnny's being examined after interchanging powers with Susan, we can see two incorrectly positioned radiographs on the wall: a posteroanterior chest view that's flipped horizontally, and a simple abdominal one that's flipped vertically.

Quotes:

Johnny Storm: Semper Fi!
Army Security Guard: Uh, that's the Marine Corps. We are the Army.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Allemaal film: Verander de wereld (#1.4)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

2 Step

The surfer deserves better

In all its silliness and tongue-in-cheek disposition, the first "Fantastic Four" movie wasn't really a landmark as far as comic book films go. But it wasn't so bad either; it's just that after Marvel Comics' recent domination of the film genre, it's natural for one to expect that each of its characters having a shot at the big screen would present something legitimately entertaining to the audience. Something the first installment failed and the second struggled to achieve.

In "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," the four superheroes are back once again to help everyone solve their gamut of problems. Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd) is about to wed Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba). However, an unknown cosmic entity is causing a screw-up in earth's natural phenomena, prompting the couple to postpone the wedding, and work with Johnny Storm aka Human Torch (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm aka The thing (Michael Chiklis) to find out the cause of the mysterious occurrence. They soon come face to face with the Silver Surfer (Doug Jones, voiced by Laurence Fishburne) and realize that the world's survival is hanging on the balance. In addition to this, Victor Von Doom aka Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon) returns and is intent on destroying the Fantastic Four.

Granted, "Rise of the Silver Surfer" has a greater scale than its predecessor. But for all this, it's still very... middling. The title and the trailers suggest something of a grand battle between the eponymous characters but aside from the chase sequence involving the Human Torch and the Silver Surfer (which, by the way, has been shown numerous times in the teaser trailer), nothing much exciting still happens. Not even the team's rescue attempt in London. The quality of the special effects are inconsistent and all the visual polish expectedly goes to the Silver Surfer. (And while I personally don't think it's an issue, I imagine how some fans of the comic book might sneer at how the characters of Silver Surfer and Galactus were handled.) Instead, director Tim Story and screenwriters Don Payne and Mark Frost opt to flesh out the characters more but the end result feels less natural and more repetitive. Gruffudd does an okay job with Mr. Fantastic but there's really no feeling of chemistry between him and Alba, who manages to adequately portray a tough yet vulnerable character. In contrast, Evans and Chiklis continue to generate an easy rapport between them and the two get majority of the film's most amusing moments.

"Rise of the Silver Surfer" barely does what it sets out to do. It fares a little better than its predecessor with a more serviceable story and a little more enjoyable action sequences. But taken on its own terms, the film doesn't present anything to its characters that has been done much better with other characters of their ilk. The movie is entertaining to some extent but in the end, it doesn't really rise to something special.