FF 2 Rate and Review Thread

[The Storm]

Suprisingly enjoyable and a much easier viewing than the previous Marvel effort this year. I'm not a huge FF so I didn't know what Galactus was supposed to look like but I was impressed with what I saw. Some spoilers included.

It starts off a little shaky, its hard to avoid it. Re-introducing the characters and showing what is different about them etc. I quite enjoy the fact that the FF are constantly in the spotlight, no secret identity it adds pressure to their mission. It opens with Reed & Sue about to tie the knot and freakish weather occurences across the Globe. Dialogue is a little clunky especially during the first half; its a little too squared jawed for me but it did improve. Cringed at Reed's dance sequence but from here on it got better.

Cue the entrance of the Silver Surfer. Like Pirates's Davy Jones he proves how much CGI has advanced and I was blown away by his appearance. Especially when separated from his board, we got to see emotion and he has a touching connection with Sue. We get to see much more of FF as a team something which was lacking from X3. The discussion of family, separation and there were incredibly touching moments between Sue and Johnny. Johnny becomes more of a team player and matures. The banter between him and Ben is still fun to watch and from the trailer we see Johnny's powers go awol which results in several funny tranfers of powers.

On to Doom, I thought he was better this time around but I found his sub plot distracted from the main threat of Galactus slightly. I wasn't sure what he planned to do being as Galactus was planning on destroying Earth. More could of been made between the rivalry between him and Reed but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The scale was definitely increased; more dramatic tension, a greater threat and problems at home. Most of the CGI was top notch. Johnny's flight scenes with the Silver Surfer were a real highlight and the final act was superb IMO. Superior to the first film kept the same elements of comedy and action and raised the stakes with mostly postive results. Negative points would be the cheesy dialogue but not even Pirates or Spidey can hold claim to not containing any. You can see the CGI joins in some places; Reed seemed to suffer mostly and I felt it could have been just a little longer but its truly entertaining and worth a watch. 7.5/10

 

[gambitfire]

I like how the poll seems to increase in numbers from bottom to top.

 

[Ziggy]

Although I saw the film last night at 12:01, I am just getting around to posting my review because I was rather tired from being up for so long yesterday.

Nevertheless, I rated Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as "Above Average". I like the first film for what it is - a fun summer popcorn movie that you don't really have to think about and can just sit back and enjoy. Needless to say, this one was just like that only with better effects, a better story, and more characterization. One thing that I know is garnering a lot of heat is the portrayal of Galactus, but I totally like how they did it in the movie and commend the filmmakers for making such a controversial decision. I really think Galactus would have looked silly on-screen in his regular form.

I also thought the character of Dr. Doom was improved quite a bit. He was a little wimpy in this first film, but I could clearly tell he was undoubtedly evil this time around. All of the characters were excellent, with strong performances all around.

I have to say that this film is to the first film as X2: X-Men United was to the original X-Men. In fact, the whole "teaming up with our enemy" and "government is evil" sort of made me draw comparisons even further - especially when they went to the bunker-like structure or whatever. Still, X2: X-Men United is my favorite comic book film of all time so I didn't mind at all.

Overall, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was an entertaining film that isn't going to win a lot of awards but I think is going to be a big hit with the moviegoing public.

 

[bsquad]

so were those rumors about after credit scenes true? if yes what were they?

 

[Bishop2]

so were those rumors about after credit scenes true? if yes what were they?

Spoiler

There is indeed a scene partway into the credits (not after). It shows that the Surfer is still alive in space, and the board survived the final confrontation as well.

There was a rumor that the Watcher appeared in this scene. That part was a lie. He does not.

 

[bsquad]

cool thanks. did this film have a soundtrack like the first film with actual songs or was it just a score?

 

[Dark Carnage]

I enjoyed it.

Only a couple of gripes.

Mainly, the Surfer destroying Galactus. Not only is there a "How" is that possible, but "Why". Why would Galactus give the Surfer even enough power to be more than an annoyance at best, let alone annihilate him. And why didn't Surfer do it sooner? All he wanted to do was save his planet, he could have taken out Galactus any time he wanted.

Galactus isn't explained, not whether he was once a tiny mortal, or he's always been that way. How long he's been in the Universe. Or if that fact the he's part of Universal law.

Also, during the Forest scene. Johnny touched Reed and absorbed his power. Yet a minute later he's got his own power back without anything mentioned.

Sue's death. You knew should wouldn't die, but I guess the Surfer needed a bit more persuasion.

 

[GoblinScrier]

I don't think "he is nuts" is a good explanation. Doom is nuts for power and his perfection, not for looking awesome with armor.

Is one scar too much to ask for with a 130 mil budget?

Well I think that also, if it was a scene filmed, in the novelization, Doom was looking at his ancestors and they were all decked out in various armors so in the movie context, it would make great sense to have Doom willingly put on the armor versus a scar and besides with the way he was defeated at the end, whose to say there isn't a scarred face underneath?

 

[Bishop2]

I enjoyed it.

Only a couple of gripes.

Mainly, the Surfer destroying Galactus. Not only is there a "How" is that possible, but "Why". Why would Galactus give the Surfer even enough power to be more than an annoyance at best, let alone annihilate him. And why didn't Surfer do it sooner? All he wanted to do was save his planet, he could have taken out Galactus any time he wanted.

I assume that he naturally figured it would kill him in the process. Maybe he wasn't really that suicidal yet. And maybe he didn't really destroy Galactus, just put him off for the time being... so there's a question of whether, if that's the case, it was worth it or not.

Also, during the Forest scene. Johnny touched Reed and absorbed his power. Yet a minute later he's got his own power back without anything mentioned.

In the TV spots, the first version of this scene showed no power transfer between them. I think they added it just to correct the continuity problem. Obviously Reed would notice that there'd be a transfer and probably touched Johnny right away to switch back. They were off-screen for a bit there, so I just filled that little hole myself.

 

[gambitfire]

^same here.

to the minor plot hole i mean.

 

[gambitfire]

That reminds me what's this gripe i've heard some of those... correction those few or 5 negative reviews ( ) state as many plot holes?

I only saw one major one.... Did I miss something?

 

[Dark Carnage]

I assume that he naturally figured it would kill him in the process. Maybe he wasn't really that suicidal yet. And maybe he didn't really destroy Galactus, just put him off for the time being... so there's a question of whether, if that's the case, it was worth it or not.

Whether he did actually destroy Galactus or not (though there appearing to be nothing left suggests he did) I have have an issue with the Surfer even being anywhere near powerful enough to engage Galactus in confrontation.

If Galactus were a human he probably gave the Surfer a nose hair's worth of power. And that little nose hair took him out. I really can't see Galactus giving out enough power to destroy him. It's giving a slave a gun. (Incidentally, I'm not a massive F4 and have no idea on the comic Galactus/Surfer power ratio. So I could be spouting bollocks.)

In the TV spots, the first version of this scene showed no power transfer between them. I think they added it just to correct the continuity problem. Obviously Reed would notice that there'd be a transfer and probably touched Johnny right away to switch back. They were off-screen for a bit there, so I just filled that little hole myself.

I also filled the hole in for myself, but you shouldn't have to. You could say that about Eddie knowing Sandman's reasons for doing what he's doing, but nobody said, "Duh, just fill in the holes yourself." Because though you can do that, it takes away from the movie when you have to go "Wait a second, didn't they just... and shouldn't they..."

I'm trying to argue, just saying that these little things could have easily been taken care of.

 

[CTFFFan]

I loved it. My only complaint is that I would have loved to have seen Galactus instead of the "clouds".

 

[Bishop2]

That reminds me what's this gripe i've heard some of those... correction those few or 5 negative reviews ( ) state as many plot holes?

I only saw one major one.... Did I miss something?

The only major plot hole I'm aware of is the fact that Surfer never explains how he wound up as a herald to a bigass cloud. Which could, hopefully, if we're lucky, be corrected later.

 

[Ruined Angel]

I just saw it. I'm happy with it over all. Much better paced than the first, great action.

My only real complaint is Jessica Alba's hair. She did not look good and it was actually distracting.

 

[BH/HHH]

I loved it, was everything I wanted. Light hearted, bit cheesy, cool and fun. Its so refreshing to see Superhero movies like this, they are just fun. Was better than the boring Spiderman 3 IMO. Loved the FF themselves, Dr Doom and of course the Silver Surfer, can't wait for the Silver Surfer movie.

 

[bosef982]

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Review​

"Well, with the flames...you know, flamer. I just thought you wanted to..."​

T he Fantastic Four have been through a lot the past three years, much like their fans. In 2004, Fox hired mediocre director Tim Story to direct a script riddled with the pen marks of too many screenwriters. Jessica Alba was shoehorned into the role of Susan Storm due to her demographic popularity and Michael Chiklis sweated in a foamy, idiotic-looking "Thing" suit. Add to this a lackluster and cheesy Doctor Doom, nearly unrecognizable from his comic book version, and the 2005 Fantastic Four was quite a snore, rife with poor special FX, one-note performances, and a non-existent plot.

Following the cirtical, and well-deserved, panning of Fantastic Four, Fox pressed on. In the better, superior-directed world of Nolan, Singer, and Raimi, Fox decided to continue in the mediocre vein of X3 and place Story at the fore. Silver Surfer was announced as the villian du jour, followed up by Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. Again, Story returned to direct, telling the story of Marvel's First Family's encounter with the chrome surfer, Norinn Radd in a short 82 minutes. What was the result?




A pretty damn good movie that's actually quite enjoyable!

FF:ROTS has a bumpy start, with a fade in on a planet being destroyed by some off-screen, but smoke-tendricaled force. From here on, it's a stuttering progression through the narrative moments of the film, as Story establishes the current celebrity of the Fantastic Four, the strange phenomenons happening across the planet, and the inter-family rivalries pulling at the F4. It's all routine, but ably acted out by Reed, Ben, Johnny....and yes, even Susan. It is during this time that most of the film's humor takes place. Evans and Chiklis have the clear advantage in both acting and material here. Ioan simply just doesn't get much to work with, and when he does get it, he makes it work as best he can. Alba is weak at moments, but at other times, she's rather on point. Sadly, it's Doom that brings this film's acting rating down...but we'll get to that later.

On the humor, critics have said that the humor in the film was juvenile. Not so. It's simply simple. There are clearly some adult jokes in the film, with the Human Torch teasing the Thing on how he and Alicia have sex and remarking, "I'd hate to wake up and find out she was kiled in a rock slide." It works, and for the most part, earns all the laughs.

Now onto the Silver Surfer. He's a strong point for the movie, but not THE strong point. He's certainly a beautiful character to behold and his climax in the film is quite beautiful when scored with John Ottman's moving themes. While the FX surrounding the Surfer are stunning, the rest of the FX in the film are hit and miss. Mr. Fantastic still looks...off and represent the weakest FX of the films. The Invisible Women and the Thing were fine. Johnny looked great at some moments, horrible at others. There were some fairly obivous, and inexplicably unneccessary, blue screen shots (note the final scene). However, overall, it works and wasn't too distracting.

The plot is straightforward and sharp. While not requiring an IQ to decipher and understand, the movie knows when it's hitting its moments and does so in a fashion that allows all age groups to come and appreciate what its doing. Johnny Storm has an especially expanded role in this film.

Now, before I got to action, I'd like to talk about Doom. Doom flows from the previous film, this is both a good and bad thing. For the most part, Doom is not the best-fleshed out character and Julian's. acting chops are....I don't know where whenever he's playing Doom. It's a true disappointment. He is still more human than over-the-top (probably because Julian can't pull the former off properly) and his motivations are rather superficial, if at least explained. Perhaps this is where he bears the most resembelance to his comic counterpart: he simply wants power. However, the Doom of the movie's climax is actually quite a site to behold and participates in the film's rather exciting, if poorly paced, climax. The pursusal of doom is actually quite cool, if a tad out there. Cosmic Doom was not nearly as cheesy as I thought he'd be, and actually quite intimidating. Now, Doom still persists with his annoying "Let's take a spin" one-liners. However, it's not enough to harm the film and I was left curious to where we'd see him next after feeling that he finally could be a credible threat to the Fantastic Four.

As I said above, the action in the film was quite keen, if cut a little short. In fact, its probably not characterization that suffered as much as the action sequences due to the short time of the film. They work, are fun to watch, but really don't seem to have that dance-like, rhythmic quality that say, the Logan and Lady Deathstryke fight had in X-Men 2. On that note, its enough to say that when you can hear it (bad audio mix), Ottman's score is qutie nice to the fim, and symbolizes the slightly more mature take on these heroes.

However, as I said, not all is right. FX are shoddy at times and the dialogue at moments is a bit cringe-worthy, but nothing as bad as Batman asking Gordon if "You can drive stick" or explaining Ra's Al Ghul's plan after coincidentally landing the Batmobile next to Gordon on The Narrows. There are a couple talking to one's self moments that seem forced, and Doom's dialogue is all but throwaway for the most part...which is a true pity. However, most of the time the dialogue does what it needs to do and moves the plot forward. It's just an overall pity that Doom is reduced to about four or five meaningful lines of speech.

Finally, Galactus. It worked. That's all I can say. In terms of process, they are actually quite loyal to the comics. And with a film that is rather loyal to the lore of the comics in many ways, I can forgive this rather ambigously large alteration. Now, what exactly is Galactus? To say he's a cloud isn't enough....he's much more than than and its left pretty vague as to what exactly that may be -- and this works, really. Nevertheless, the finale wasn't so much anti-climatic as it was sputtering. Things happen, things get worse, and then Surfer does something, and then saves the day. Actually, Reed actually has some good acting and emotional moments during the climax, especially when he tells the Surfer that "he should go," remaining focused on the world despite having just suffered a great tragedy. Once the Surfer goes, it's a nice visual arrangement and the Surfer's sacrifice is a beautiful peace of work, along with Johnny's quick assist in helping him take the Devourer of Worlds out. The ending, for me, had an interesting moment. Right after Galactus has been defeated, Johnny lands and the team do something that no other superhero team can do....they hug, as a family hugs, and seem just so happy that each other are okay. It's a unexpected and touching moment and I really enjoyed it.

Overall, this film makes the first Fantastic Four film a bore to watch. It's better plotted, scripted, and handled in nearly every department. However, Story still seems only able to manufacture a film, and not neccessarily create a tone and world that we feel. His films lack atmosphere. At times, it feels like you're watching his senior thesis film, where his flaws and potentials are blatantly clear. However, the solid performances of the Fantastic Four really do help make the film stick with the audience -- you do care about these people. Even Susan is redeemed after whining about her celebrity once she tries to offer consolance to the Surfer. In fact, of all the characters, it was the Surfer who's motivations are the most ambigous, especially his agreement at the end to stop Galactus (although it makes sense if you want to slice it a certain way).

Is this movie deserving of a 26% on RT? Certianly not. However, if appreciated on its own merits and grounds, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a fun film that, not unlike a one night stand, may not be the most memorable thing, but is sure to give you a great ride that gets you and leaves you wanting perhaps a bit more.

 

[Carlo Comicus]

I saw the movie tonight. It's good, but non great. It's funny, but too much funny. The second part of the movie is better, the first is a bit boring. SS it's a great character, a great emotional character, and Doomis again the worst villain of the Marvel Movies. It's a villain without a evil plan, you have the cosmic power...ok, and then?
Anyway, agood popcorn movie, not a masterpiece. Much better the first movie, but not completely.

 

[BH/HHH]

I assume that he naturally figured it would kill him in the process. Maybe he wasn't really that suicidal yet. And maybe he didn't really destroy Galactus, just put him off for the time being... so there's a question of whether, if that's the case, it was worth it or not.



In the TV spots, the first version of this scene showed no power transfer between them. I think they added it just to correct the continuity problem. Obviously Reed would notice that there'd be a transfer and probably touched Johnny right away to switch back. They were off-screen for a bit there, so I just filled that little hole myself.

agreed

 

[chesslover]

8/10

 

[Vartha]

I just got back from seeing FF2 and I was blown away!
There were a mix of kids and adults, both theaters were packed!
The ONLY thing I was not happy with, was not seeing the Big G. Yes I too saw parts of what seemed to be a ship very briefly, so I at least hope that TAA II will be in the Surfer film.
The FX were outstanding, from Surfer to Sue's powers. Ben looked even better than the 1st film, the mouth seemed to be alittle more fluid I think.
Reed was showing more leadership this time around, the scene where Reed shows Ben the pictures the General brought in, showed that Ben wasn't just a pilot, he does know his science.
I think if Frankie becomes Johnny's girl, it may proove to anchor Johnny down alittle. I think Frankie may be a nice adition in future films.
Loved the part where Johnny absorbs the other's power and becomes Super Skrull like! MAN it was cool.
There were MANY funny parts which was good, I'm glad they didn't cut the humor too much.
All and all my one and only gripe as a fan is not enough of Galactus (huminoid or ship) was shown, but, as a first timer seeing Galactus, I think the threat of Galactus was shown very well.

On our way out I heard a kid say "Wow what happened to the Surfer, is he dead?" just then Surfer pops up on the screen and surfs away, I said to them "There's going to be a Silver Surfer movie coming out, he'll be around." Both kids said COOL! so already Surfer seems to be a hit with kids.

 

[Bishop2]

How in the heck did this movie get a PG, by the way? The death of Ned in the first film was supposedly the only reason it got a PG-13... but I thought the General's death was much more brutal in this one...

 

[Vartha]

Yeah that was surprising, I was surprised with some of the language myself.

 

[Cyrusbales]

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, is the sequel to The Fantastic Four, which in itself was a rather poor movie, however with the logic of things only getting better after notoriously dubious origin movies for comic book films, there was still a decent standard this film was expected to achieve. The trailers being a hugely impressive insight, this film seemed like it could be a great improvement on it's predeccessor.

Several years after the first film, the world has come to love the Fantastic Four, making them celebrities, however their crime fighting lives get in the way of normal lives and relationships. A mysterious set of occurance and the appearance of the "Silver Surfer" are the start of a chain of events seemingly leading upto the end of the world, which of course, they must stop.

Performances here are desperately poor all round, not a single believable role, Julian McMahon playing Victor Von Doom is the the finest of the lot, although even that is struggling to achieve mediocrity. The characters themselves are poorly written, even with such expansive source material, the dialogue is an attrocious mess of cliche's and predictable stereotypes, lightened up a little by mild humour, it generally remains a horrid script.

The actual narrative is uninspiring and whilst the overall plot is a worthwhile idea, each step along the way feels lifeless and pointless, building to the rushed ending that jars with everything in the rest of the movie.

Direction is also cliche, taking up standard angles and movements along with the stereotypical "evil villain grasping power" moments. Here, director Tim Story is merely using the tool of cinematography as a simple storytelling device, and using it badly at that.

Marvel comic books that have been adapted into films are more than inconsistant in quality, yet this offering manages to out-do the others in it's lack of any quality. Not even the action sequences generate much of a reaction, a truly dull and worthless film on the whole. One to avoid, especially for fans of the comic books.

 

[Mister Sinister]

Saw it today, loved it to bits, Galactus, while probably would have benefited from a physical form, was visually stunning, the Surfer was genuinely sympathetic and the Four, Doom and Alicia were developed superbly from the first film. Looking forward to part 3 (if it's happening).