Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

There's a lot to like about this sequel to 2005's Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four is about a family. They're also a team. This was one of the points of the first movie that I thought came out rather well. They bicker and fight amongst themselves. There's inner conflict within the team. But none of them is as powerful as all of them, and when the chips are down, they can count on each other.

The story of the Silver Surfer is one of redemption. This is one of the greatest comic book stories ever told and I'm really pleased that it didn't get lost in the movie adaptation. When we're first introduced to the Surfer his job description is not very nice. He basically leads Galactus to inhabited worlds so that G can eat them. When we find out why, the inner turmoil humanizes this most alien of characters. Don't be surprised to see the Surfer brought back in his own film series, much the same way he has been in numerous comics over the years.

Reed steps up as the leader of the group. 'Nuff said.

Doom is more villainous. He actually does evil things in this installment. If he's back in the third film (and he should be), we'll see if he can be the equal of Magneto, as he is in the comics. Despite this, the series needs to introduce more bad guys. Much of the success of the Spider-man and X-Men trilogies was due to the variety and depth of the villains.

There was one down side to this film that totally shocked me. The make-up artists on the film somehow managed to make Jessica Alba look freaky, and not in a good way. I'm not one of those fanboys who, following the first film, complained that she wasn't blonde-haired and blue-eyed enough. Apparently, though, enough did. The fake contact lenses and blonde wig she's wearing in the sequel make her look like she just came from the taxidermist. Jessica Alba doesn't need this! She's arguably the hottest woman alive. (While I'm on that subject I just want to inject the random observation that women seem to have better taste in women than men do.) I sincerely hope they let Jessica revert back to the more natural look she had in the first film.

Overall, I give this film 3 out of 4 stars. This is one of those rare cases when a sequel outshines the original.