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Truly a piffle, a tchotchke of a movie. But Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is fun, really fun, made more so by the fact that no one involved in the production took themselves too seriously. The four superheroes, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Thing and Johnny Flame, are enjoying life and the first two are trying, for the fourth or fifth time, to pull off one of the celebrity weddings of the decade. Standing in their way is the arrival of the Silver Surfer, preparing other worlds for destruction so that his master will spare the Surfer’s home.
The US military wants the Four’s help but General Hager (Andre Braugher) and Reed Richards have an unpleasant history, leading the general to bring in the unexpectedly still alive Victor von Doom for added expertise. Despite strong warnings, Hager trusts von Doom to keep his word and this almost leads to planetary catastrophe (and does lead to Hager’ being murdered by him) even though they’ve captured the Silver Surfer.
Director Tim Story and writers Don Payne and Mark Frost throw in pop culture jokes, plenty of explosions and fight scenes and, most importantly, keep the movie moving, not getting bogged down in having one character explain something to another to make sure the audience understands. Straight out, simple fun.
recommended
