Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer – Is This Better Than The Previous One?

Same reason why I have to catch Ocean 13 asap, I found myself inside Orchard Cinelesiure the second time in the same week. And what’s up with Cinelesiure? It is perpetually crowded with youngsters dressed in hip outfit. Is this the school holiday period? Check this out. We spotted Singapore Idol contestants Joakim and Paul Twohill both dressed in black sitting outside the cafe at level 4. Paul Twohill still has the same hairstyle.

Why do I watch Fantastic Four? Democracy. We all take turn to pick our favorite movies. Why does Cynthia pick Fantastic Four? When I asked her that question, she gave me that look as in … “Duh? Why do you need to ask? Isn’t that obvious?” Me being who I am, just kept asking. Turns out that she is a fan of the comic book (oh no … another thing in common with Benny, my sister’s boyfriend) and she finds the dude (Chris Evans) who can turn into a fireball at will cool and adorable. Fine. With that, I have secured my license to drool over Jessica Alba for the entire 92 minutes of the movie in whichever angle I want.

Many deem the first installment a total failure. Majority of the reviews on average rated it as below average. Some people I talked to find the first installment entertaining especially those who walked in with no or low expectation. So, why do movie goers still have such a high level of anticipation for “Rise Of The Silver Surfer” (source: a number of blog sites I visit as well as from friends around me)?

That I have no clue. I personally am not a fan of Fantastic Four. Taking the team of four apart, they do not have strong individual identity nor can be a standalone hero. Yet as a team, they are not as diverse as X-Men nor as colorful as Hellboy and his fellow agents. I think I shall stop here or else Cynthia won’t iron my casual clothing anymore.

“Rise Of The Silver Surfer” is no doubt better than the previous installment. On top of the same old problem they have to fight, now they are faced with a problem as big as galactic annihilation. Something out there is destroying planets. Can Fantastic Four stop it in time? This storyline itself has handed Fantastic Four the wow factor that the only sci-fi movie that comes close is perhaps “The Fifth Element”. Actually I am jealous. Why doesn’t Spiderman fight something of that galactic level? Why don’t the X-Men be united – heroes and villains and humans – and fight something of that galactic level? Supported by the nicely done computer generated graphics and the sound effects (love some of the soundtracks), the film does give the movie goers the feeling of watching something epic taking them to the four corners of the world. The film also devotes time to develop the characters, which is what I enjoy watching.

So is “Rise Of The Silver Surfer” a must-watch? I think the flaws in this movie may unfortunately limit it to “for fans only”. Jessica Alba (as Sue Storm) kind of looks awful in this movie. What’s up with her makeup? I begin to doubt if she can act at all. Talking about acting, Ioan Gruffudd’s (as Reed Richards) acting is not impressive. One scene seeing him dances is, to me, purely unwatchable. I still prefer him acting in the Medieval setting like his role as Lancelot in King Arthur. And I can’t feel the chemistry between these two who are supposed to get married. I can’t comment on Michael Chiklis (as Ben Grimm) because most of the time he is a rock. Chris Evans’s (Johnny Storm) acting is okay and to the least, I do feel the brother-sister love between him and Jessica at the crucial parts of the show.

So, what’s my final say? A movie with enough to entertain if you can overlook some of the flaws.