Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (The Power Cosmic Edition, Two-Disc Set)

Reviewed by:
Gene Newman

The first Fantastic 4 was possibly the biggest superhero disaster this side of Van Helsing or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The acting was horrible, the effects were cheap, and the story was absolute ass. The only time it was tolerable was when it focused on fire, namely the cocky Human Torch and Jessica Alba's hotness. Thanks to all the money it made, the gang is back, now more famous than ever; and Sue Storm (Alba) is set to marry the most boring and disturbing leading man alive, Mr. Fantastic. (We'll never find that stretching thing cool.) It all goes awry when the Silver Surfer, a superpowerful Terminator 2–like villain starts preparing the earth for destruction. His powers are cool, but a nude shiny guy on a surfboard isn't the most intimidating bad guy we've ever seen. Dr. Doom also gets in on the action, reminding us how horribly miscast he was in the first film. All bitching aside, this is better than the original, if only for the effects and attitude (the second disc of semi-interesting extras didn't hurt either). Overall, this is still mainly a kid's movie, with goofy jokes—come on, Thing, man up already!—and obvious lessons. But at least they tried this time around.

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