The Fantastic Four is all about teamwork and family, when you boil it down. Or at least it should be. Both the original movie and the current sequel, unfortunately, can’t seem to get that right. In the first movie, it was an extremely important part of the story so when it was done poorly it sank the movie. In Rise of the Silver Surfer, they are supposed to be good at working as a team already (for the most part) so when the teamwork aspect doesn’t work well it hurts, but it’s not a mortal wound to the film – the story just doesn’t emphasize it.
The helicopter crash was the one time in the movie when it could be argued they worked as a team. For the rest of the film they each take turns having moments to shine, but there is no true teamwork. At least in the final fight of the first film, they worked together to beat Dr. Doom.
Despite that major failing, this was a vast improvement over the first outing (though sadly that’s not difficult). The effects were top notch, the “villain” was sufficiently challenging on multiple levels, and the story was at least somewhat compelling. The Silver Surfer was incredibly well realized, visually, and Laurence Fishburne was a great choice for his voice. He was also a compelling and mysterious character. The Stan Lee cameo was appropriate and funny. There were some good moments between Johnny and Ben (The Human Torch and The Thing).
In the talk on the ride home with my wife, I think we hit upon the true failing of this series: no one involved in the making of the Fantastic Four movies really seems to “get it.” With Superman Returns, Brian Singer is out there talking about why he wants to make the movie; with Spiderman, Sam Raimi is out there talking about why Spiderman is a compelling character; with Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan is out there talking about what makes Batman interesting. With the Fantastic Four, we get nothing. It’s strictly a money-maker. The story comes a far second to the spectacle. There really is nothing driving the characters. That’s a shame, because these are good characters that deserve some attention, and these films are sadly unrealized.
Geez… even the “Wonder Pets” do teamwork better than this.
Three stars.
[tags]Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Jessica Alba, Stan Lee, teamwork[/tags]
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