Here's a thought. If the Silver Surfer can take out Galactus all by his lonesome, how come he didn't do it a few sentient planets earlier and spare billions of lives and remove the potential threat to his planet? This movie insults the intelligence and is silly. Jessica Alba looks like a freak with the blonde hair and blue contacts. The general guy is an idiot to keep the FF 4 under lock and key while allowing Dr. Doom a free rein (more or less). Don't waste your time unless you are a comicbook fanboy and have to go to such movies on principle.… Expand

Although i would say this was the better of the two Fantastic 4 movies, it would be much like saying, " Of the two times i have been stung in the face, this was definitely the most pleasureabe" or maybe, "That was the best head-butt to the crotch my nephew has ever given me." If this movie was just advertised as your run-of-the mill popcorn flick, it may have been tolerable. But if you�39;re gonna call yourself a 'Marvel' movie and include the likes of The Silver Surfer and especially Galactus, you'd better do it right. First of all, the first quarter of the movie was still just talking. I mean, the 4 already have their powers and the beginning is still devoted to nothingness. When the story (and i use that term loosely) finally gets going, the movie really starts to disappoint. Apparently, the Fantastic 4 aren't nearly as interesting with their original powers so they trade around a little bit. At the end of course this all works out beautifully when the Human Torch (who is made out to be an unbelievably massive tool; 'Flame on' is an understatement) takes everyones powers (including the Thing, who just kinda turns back to a human, ridiculous) and saves the world from planet-eating Galactus (Who is now a cloud? There's gotta be a law against completely and utterly mutilating characters! Such a disappointment.). In fact, the only thing that doesn't make me reach for mouthwash and ginger ale is the Silver Surfer. The effects on him were well done, honestly better than I expected. My suggestion: if you're gonna cast Jessica Alba in a role for your move, consider maybe a role where she doesn't have to do that, that thing that actors and actresses are supposed to do. What's that called again?… Expand

FF2: Rise of the Silver Surfer has a weak point in its plot every second with a touch of dullness, and standards. But these special/visual effects we were given are amazing, I was astonished by them. And if you put your full thought into it, it is entertaining, and creative throughout.

JUST got back from the midnight showing. Now, I'm biased because the FF are my favorite superheroes, period. But even I have to admit the first one was pretty hum drum. I went into this with a mixture of dread and hope. I have to say, I really, really liked it. To me, this was a proper Fantastic Four movie. About 20 times better than Spider-man 3 for sure. The Silver Surfer, the Fantasticar, Doctor Doom... everything felt so right. It's not nearly as brainless as some critics make it out be. There's genuine warmth between the characters, and there is some growth. In the FF's world, there's no cloud of death hanging over them ala Spider-man that drives their sense of responsibility. Their scientists who go on fun adventures, enjoying their powers and trying not to kill eachother when their familial bonds get to be too much. Their not being hunted and spurned by a world who hates them ala X-men. There's not a lot of pathos, so maybe that makes them seem shallow. But it's not that simple. There are a lot of inter-relationship issues that stem from being a family. It's this, set against the backdrop of all these crazy adventures, that makes the team what they are. The first movie felt sort of forced in places, and didn't have nearly the scale an FF movie should. This movie was much better. I'd like to see more exploring, more strange worlds, etc in a future movie, but this was a step in the right direction. It had more of a global feel. Also, Julian McMahon totally redeemed himself as Doom. He was really cool. If anything, I want to see more adventures of this team now. It was very short. A perfectly paced 90 minutes (which was refreshing after the over-long, sometimes boring Spider-man.) Oh, and the thing that most people are in a tizzy about? Didn't bother me a bit.… Expand

I enjoyed this movie, purely for the genius of Jessica Alba in a lycra cat-suit. However, the rest was another forgettable comic book flick for me.

This is a great movie. Its not a masterpiece but its great fun and enjoyable to watch. The Film improves greatly on the first Fantastic four.

This movie sucks. The dialog is cheesy, the acting sucks, and the title makes no sense. The silver surfer didn't "rise" from anywhere, he came from space. And at the end he destroyed Galactis, which he could have done all along when he was destroying those countless other planets. It wasn't as bad as the first, the special effects were cool, but don't see this movie. At the end they hinted at a sequel, i hope they can bring this series back.… Expand

Very good, the best superhero film ever since X2.

Sure it's a comic book summer escape, with some unintentionally stupid stuff, but there's more than enough intentionally stupid -- and fun -- stuff. Overall, it's fast, it's funny (very funny), it's a wonderful world traveler's travelogue (if not a galactic traveler's travelogue), and best of all, it introduces the Silver Surfer, one of the cosmically grooviest of the Marvel comics superheroes ever -- and that's great!… Expand

A little better than the first. Clunky at times(in ways you expect)but if you're a fan of comic book adaptations, this is worth seeing at some point. I had fun.

Jessica Alba looks ridiculous with bleach blond hair and blue contacts! It's a very distracting look (in a bad way). The surfer is cool, but not enough to save this movie.

Comic bookery at it's lamest. It didn't feel like a superhero movie, it was more like Star Wars meets a really bad episode of Star Trek. A lot like that, in fact. Darth Sidious, a speeder bike chase, and a nonsensical tachyon pulse were all in the movie for godsake. All the banter and interaction of the characters is intact. Susan Storm winds up naked in the middle of a crowd yet again. There are some kickass super power scenes. All that jazz. In fact, that was the redeeming part of the movie, IMO. Individual bits of the film made it enjoyable to watch, even though as a whole, it was a stupid, cliche, derivative bad sci-fi movie. It's worth watching if you're into stupid fun movies, but don't just check your brain at the door, leave it at home, in a safe buried in the backyard.… Expand

horrible, bad acting, little action, bad jokes, the surfer was wasted, really sick of this franchise teasing me with trying to be quality superhero entertainment.

I was surprised at how good this movie was, especially the finale, which was a feast of special effect and never let up on the action. The movie also had plenty of humorous elements to go along with the action. FF4 is so much better than the first, thats why I'm giving it a 10.

Worst superhero movie... possibly ever. Tim Story should not be allowed near a camera, script, or anything else related to movie-making as he surely would destroy billions and billions more brain cells the world over. He has lowered himself to uwe boll status and further soiled the ff franchise.

I think its a good movie. Its slow at points put the action is pretty good. It still bring comedy with the action which is always nice and the movie also sports one of the hottest woman in the world. Jessica Alba!!

I dunno what the problem is with critics these days... they don't seem to rate a movie on what it is.. they want another Schindlers list or something equally as deep. News flash!, comic books aren't meant to be deep (Well most of them), they are meant to be action a bit of comedy and stick to the storyline of the comic book that made them so damn.. well.. fantastic. I really liked some of the stuff they did the merging of powers was cool and i never really had a bored moment in it. However i do have three very big problems with this film 1) Silver Surfer never says.. TO ME MY BOARD!, even though they give him the perfect chance to do it. 2) Galactus is a giant smoke screen and the little we do see of his face is fire? What the hell, I love silver surfer but the possibility of seeing Galactus was what drew me to this movie.. I didn't see him once.. i saw a shadow of his head on Jupiter :S that was about it... very disappointing. 3) Silver Surfer who Galactus gave a tiny bit of his power was able to kill galactus... and yet seemingly survive at the end.... ok cmon now your stretching things.. Galactus would have laughed, with that awesome voice of his, at the pure audacity of such an attempt.. Silver Surfer is meant to beg for Galactuses mercy and then be trapped to earth forever for his treachery... Why Stan lee allowed someone to change this we will never know i guess. Ok other then that i was entertained but severely disappointed at the changes in storyline.… Expand

A horrible storyline. And action.

Simply alright. Certainly nothing to write home about and I wont be buying the dvd any time soon, but entertaining nonetheless.

Silver Surfer, cool. Fact that the 4 have their powers to start this time and still spend the first quarter of the movie talking, not cool. They should have taken a clue from X-men 2. Oh yeah and the ending was short and stupid. I could elaborate but I'll keep it simple and name the biggest mistake/flaw : Galactus isn't a F%#@ing cloud!!!!

While the second film in the franchise does improve by leaps and bounds of it's predecessor, this film still fails to reach it's potential due to poor directing, bland acting by half of the cast and an overall dull script. As a longtime fan of the Fantastic Four it pains me to see the potential for good movie disperse as quickly as this film puts you to sleep.

After a terrible first film, a disgrace that not only goes against comic book history, but a movie that manages to be much worse than the movie that begun this series.

[***SPOILERS***] As difficult as it was, I decided to view 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' as a film, not as a chance for redeeming a franchise. I thought this method might take away any fan boy predilections I had, in anticipation of this second installment to 'The Fantastic Four' universe. So, for a moment let's forget that the first film was without artistic merit. Let's forget that the story about a family of superheroes is arguably the most adored of all comic book properties. 'Rise of the Silver Surfer', opens with a planet light-years away, being obliterated. After the opening credits, we are on Earth getting ready for Sue Storm and Reed Richards to tie the knot. During the preparation, the scientist instead of concentrating on the details of his impending nuptials is busy studying a cosmic anomaly. We soon find out that this cosmic energy is in fact an alien on a surfboard zooming down to Earth to prepare it for destruction. These two story lines are the principle actions guiding the story. There are two other subplots. One is in regards to Dr. Doom being 'resurrected,' while the other involves Johnny Storm's selfish nature endangering his family. Four plots that should make an epic film span a terribly short running time of 1 hour and 30 minutes. Did it work? Did they abandon the goofy nature of the first film and reinvigorate the franchise with an epic story about the fate of the entire planet. No on both counts. The humor is entirely aimed at children (which goes along with its PG rating.) 'Thing' is played for laughs without any degree of intensity. Johnny Storm's crisis of conscience robs all of the charisma established in the first (even if it wasn't much.) Sue Storm is more of a nag than an asset to the team. In addition, there is nothing to signify Reed Richards as the leader to a powerful team of superheroes. He comes off as a self-esteem deprived, blow hard jackass. There isn't one iota of chemistry between any of the characters. The wretched family dynamics are trumped only by Dr. Doom, who can only be described as the worst villain to ever grace the screen. Julian McMahon's portrayal of Victor Von Doom seems barely suited for a Sci-Fi cable channel movie, let alone a mega-budget studio film (not that they always choose the best talent, but come on!). For a story such as this, the amount of claustrophobia throughout, borders on pure agony. It lacks anything even resembling 'scope of vision.' The only audience 'Rise of the Silver Surfer' is suited for is children between the ages of 5 & 10. Anyone over that age looking for an entertaining piece of escapism will run into a wall of condescension. Now, let's look at it with comic-book eyes. As most may know, The Silver Surfer works for a planet-devouring villain, Galactus. The Surfer scouts out planets, using his board as a cosmic beacon for Galactus to follow. There is no definition, no rules; they just make them up as they go along. There is no Watcher, so we are told about Galactus through an unbearably cheesy heart-to-heart with Sue and The Surfer. There isn't a shred of genuine impending doom because they never establish what Galactus really is (in the press kit, under character description, it should just read-big damn tornado). The director Tim Story and his band of screenwriters have once again broken the hearts of FF fans all over. They have no respect. They have no understanding on what makes the 'Fantastic Four' story work, or any story for that matter. I gave Tim Story a break the first time around, but not this time. He should'V looked back at the first one, compared it to the comic book films that work and just said, "Damn! I gotta sit this one out before I do it all over again!" However, he didn't do that. He looked at the numbers from the first one and assumed that money always equals success. Now as for the screenwriters; give them a Cartoon Network show and let them have at it. If they have any talent, it could be realized there. However, FF2 wasn't a total failure. The Surfer is phenomenal (with the exception being Lawrence Fishburne's distracting voice). His entire body seemed to be in constant motion. I was mesmerized for every moment he was on screen. The special effects team did an outstanding job. However, what is perplexing about the look of the Surfer is what it did to the other special effects. Reed's ability to stretch looked even more unnatural than in the first. Sue's shield, Johnny's fire, everything else was sidelined. It was as if the team only concentrated on The Surfer. I have been teetering on the edge of spoiling the end. I won't, but damn I want to. Any self-respecting Silver Surfer fan would scream! It is horrible. It makes no sense and it will enrage fans even more than Alba being cast as Sue Storm. I will only say this-Hollywood Cop Out. No doubt, this movie will make money. I was shocked by the public's positive reaction to the first film. Audiences will be so dazzled by the effects that they will forget that they are watching a terrible movie. I knew in my heart it would happen, but I had hoped our optimistic nature would pay off. I was wrong. I won't make that mistake again, no matter what the 'Fantastic Four' future may hold. 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' is a disrespectful, sleight of hand circus show devoid of any elements that make a movie a movie.… Expand

Hey, turn your brain off and you'll enjoy it.

Simple fun movie.

Acting highlights: Thing has weight, Torch has a little fire, and the Surfer is the best of the bunch. Unfortunately, he's CG. Dr. Doom is there, but I'm not sure why. The sure-fire gimmick that will pack the target audience of young males into the theatre: the story revolves around a wedding!

Really an 8.5 vote, but I don't mind boosting the score. The reason for this high score is: In comparison to all the other blockbusters this summer (Shrek 3, Spiderman 3, Oceans 13, Pirates 3), this is the best entertainment so far. And the trailers for this movie leave so much out that you are genuinely engaged in the movie.

Surely, much better then the first one by far. Silver Surfer is a cool and mysterious character...they did a good job with him. I still dislike how they depict Doom. I like that they follow up on him, but to make him a full story line...wasn't neccessary at this point. We could have seen Galactus instead. The film is very funny and entertaining. It's evident there will be a Silver Surfer movie...… Expand

Not in the same league as X-Men or Spider-Man, but a quality comic movie nonetheless.

Well, I did take the family out to see it today and I think the general consensus was that we liked the movie. The story is a little rushed which doesn't help it much, other than to make it weaker than it was. A lot of stuff crammed into a couple of hours IMHO. The characterization was much better in this movie too. Johnny Storm was a real blast and Chris Evans has him down pat. Chiklis does another bang up job with Ben Grimm, but I really wish they'd let the big guy cut loose some. The Thing was always my fave character in the whole dadgum Marvel Universe anyway. Alba does an OK job as Sue Storm, but just not right for the part. Gruffudd is OK as Reed Richards, some good parts...but another misplaced actor I think. Doom sucks. The Silver Surfer rocks. Honestly, It didn't really bother me that Galactus was portrayed as a great galactic cloud. He could still be wearing the purple/red uni and the tuning fork helmet somewhere in that mess. It's all right gang, trust me. Great work on this one guys and kudos to the film makers here. As for the bad... As I said before, Alba still not right for the part. Honestly, she's just not Sue Storm. The fake blonde hair and blue contacts are an insult to our intelligence (and we're talking a comic based movie here folks). Simply put, she's just not right for the part. Don't ask me who should've been the Invisible Woman, I don't know (Elisha Cuthbert?), but not Jessica Alba. The film makers just don't get Doctor Doom at all. Just don't get it. Doom is much more over the top, more megalomaniacal, more egotistical, much more larger than life. Just not to be in this series of films. Quick problems that I have: Torch should be blonder. Thing should be BIGGER. Reed should be older and more conservative and square. Sue should be someone else. Other than that, I liked it better than the first one and give it a good review. Better than Shrek 3.… Expand

I have given this a 0 for anyone aged 10 and above because if you are, you will find this absolutely terrible, like my two mates and I did last night. Terrible dialogue, awful jokes and awful CGI. Thank goodness The Dark Knight is being made by the Brits with a British cast. You automatically know it will be 10 times better than this rubbish.

I really don't know what people look for anymore in a superhero special effects movie. This movie blew me away, despite the presence of a lot of weaknesses. The entire presence of the Silver Surfer, and the effects around him, brought this movie to an entirely different level. There have been no good space movies in recent memory, and this was as close as we've gotten. And to be honest, this was really a movie about the Surfer, and the FF were secondary players -- which is as it should be, given that the FF is weakly done here. That said, they did a very good job, not a great job. I will definitely be seeing this movie again on the big screen, and buying the DVD when it comes out. How some critics seem to not comprehend the ending is utterly beyond me, it's so simple it's child's play.… Expand

This was the best movie I've seen this year the only thing that might beat it this summer is transformers. I don't know why it got such low rating to be honest, I really enjoyed everything about it but the visuals is whats really amazing if you liked the first fantastic four than your going to love this one!

Where's the 6.5 vote? I'm a comic book fan, not freak, and this movie is disappointing. Silver Surfer deserved more than this. Dr Doom isn't really necessary and the ending is..as someone else said here, insulting. CGI is just ok. They made it a silly-funny movie and they should know by now that we don't want that! Just look at Batman Begins. So you don't need to see it at the movies, trust me.… Expand

Has a few laughs, but I was disappointed with the portrayal of Galactus. The Thing was watered down too much. Jessica is damn good looking, but won't have to worry about giving an awards acceptance speech.

So you want to be a superhero, not these. Too cheesy to be funny, too dumb to be smart. I don't think the actors are to blame. They do the best they can with really bad material. Hollywood needs some writers, now.

Utter defecation. This should be considered an overextended version of Fantastic Four. The movie's pace was too slow, the acting was hideous, the jokes were humor-less and the only good thing about the film, the Silver Surfer, was under-utilized. It seems as if the entire production budget was dedicated to the few minutes that the Silver Surfer appeared in the film. The action sequences were slightly better than the original, but overall, this film was a huge disaster. The hype was not met in any way, shape or form. My only hope is that the franchise is discontinued heretofore.… Expand

Rarely can I watch a film and say I was completely unmoved. Normally you would say you enjoyed it, liked it, disliked it, empathized with the characters in some way, but here there was nothing. My only emotion is a tinge of disappointment that a promising franchise, with a great chance to introduce a spectacular character in the Silver Surfer managed to cough up such a lame effort for the sequel. Lackluster action, tired dialogue, downright awful jokes, nonsensical plot and even managing to make Jessica Alba look rough with that ridiculous blond wig.… Expand

I really expected to be blown away..instead i kept fidgeting and trying messing around with my cell-phone! This movie was so boring, i regretted it. Absolutely nothing was happening. Even the visual effects were nothing to write about..the characters were shallow..dialogue was bogus..things happened just so things could happen! i felt cheated and a lesser person at the end of it all!

Fantastic Four 2 is entertaining enough. Nothing really special about it. Alright for an hour and a half in a cinema, but there are problems when it can't even hold your interest for that long. Decent acting and good special effects as always. Jessica Alba is stunning but miscast.

Definitely a rental, not worth paying to see in the theater.

Doesn't anyone ever actually read comic books and then review the movie? I understand that movie reviewers aren't like the common citizens, were comic books are a part of the childhood experience. But the least they could do is admit this in their reviews!?! I'm getting so tired of this commonplace... Anyway, Fantastic Four: RotSS is about as close as anyone can get to interpreting this classic comic book, without becoming a "fanboys only" snooze fest. It becomes less about the technicalities and more about the relationships famous Super Hero's have with each other, and the unique optimism Fantastic Four has always had. People want Fantastic Four to be the next X-men movie and fail to see that if they were actually given that, they really wouldn't want it.… Expand

I found The Rise of Silver Surfer or FF2 utterly disappointing. The script was not well conceived and written. Tim Story's directing was bad. There needed to be some shared vision and research between the two that was based in fact, because the movie totally distorted who Silver Surfer is. Also Silver Surfer seemingly was barely in the movie. Also the majority of the time he wasn9;t rising but falling and weak. Silver Surfer, the one from the original comic book series from 1968 was much more powerful, pensive and deep than the one portrayed in the movie. Andre Braugher- consistently great actor was even bad in his role-which extends to the entire cast. Had the movie been as good as the tralier-I would have given this movie at least a 5. I will say the look of the Silver Surfer is the only true success and his movements and such due to advances in computer technology. If there ever is an origin of the silver surfer movie made- keep Story and the script writer and or man who wrote the screenplay-far away from it. An SS origin film should be directed by Brian Singer who did a couple of the X-Men Films or Brett Ratner or the director of the latest Spiderman film and the coinciding screenplay writers with those well don Marvel franchise movies.… Expand

I thought it was good fun. Extremely silly but you have to expect that from a comic book adaptation.

* star (out of four) (WARNING: The following review is basically one, big ***SPOILER****. If you intend to see this film, and nothing I can say will change your mind, I highly advise that you stop reading now, as I basically plan to give away the entire plot of the movie. If, however, you do not plan to see this film and/or would like to hear a compelling, articulate and, dare I say, extremely humorous take on why you should not, please read on. Batten down the hatches, folks, we got "Aeon Flux" coming here.) It is human to make mistakes. Admitting them and doing your best to atone for them is what helps us to rise above our frailties and become a better person. As a critic, then, I must admit that I enjoyed the first "Fantastic Four" movie the first time I saw it. Yes, I said it, and I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not sure what came over me. At the time, I guess it seemed like a nice dose of dumb summer fun, and on that level I liked it. I would ascribe this reaction to something in my popcorn except I didn't have any. Further viewings, alas, made plain my mistake for the dreadful error in judgment that it was. Shallow as the kiddie end of the pool, with characters as thin as a strand of cotton candy, the first "Fantastic Four" movie simply cannot hold weight when compared with other examples of its genre: "Spider-Man." "X-Men." "Batman Begins." "Superman." There is more sophistication and story in any installment of "Batman: The Animated Series" than the original "Fantastic Four" film could ever hope to attain, with the possible exception of the "Critters" episode of "Batman." But I confess to holding out hope for the sequel, subtitled "Rise of the Silver Surfer." That first trailer looked REALLY cool. Comprised entirely of a chase scene between the Surfer (Doug Jones) and the Human Torch (Chris Evans), it had a sense of awe and wonder that was entirely lacking from the first film. Perhaps, even though the same director and writer and cast were being reunited for this sequel, they found some of the magic they were missing the first time around and had crafted something better, something deeper, something grand. Then, in the same scene in the movie, the Torch catches up to the Surfer and says, "Can we talk?" And the hope gets flushed down the toilet. Trust me folks, all the grand possibilities in the world mean nothing when confronted by the overwhelming power of the cr*ppy dialogue in this movie. Not to mention the plot. And characters. And...but, wait, let us take this in order, shall we? The film begins with a shot of a planet being destroyed, followed by credits that fly toward us in space, and if we had tried any harder to make it plain that we were ripping off the Superman title sequence, we'd have actually included the "S" logo. A silver streak flies from the destruction towards Earth, bringing about odd climate changes and water that freezes in place and electricity going out. A news anchor makes it abundantly clear that this is NOT the result of global warming, and since she is a Fox News broadcaster, you can practically hear the glee in her voice. But, of course, the BIG story they report is the impending wedding of Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), as the nuptials of the heroes have become a world-class media circus. Even though weird events are paralyzing and threatening people all over the globe, Reed makes it clear to Sue that the wedding is the most important thing to him. Reed: "I'm not letting anything get in the way of that, not even the mysterious transformation of matter at the sub-atomic level." Gets you right there, don't it? Then some military guys show up at the Four's headquarters, accompanied by suitable rum-tummy-tum music, led by General Hager (Andre Braugher), who will certainly go down as one of the least competent military characters ever in motion picture history. He wants the Four to figure out just what the heck is going on with this silver flash, but first they have to fetch Reed from a bachelor party thrown by Johnny and the Thing (Michael Chiklis), in a scene which demonstrates two things: One, that apparently Mr. Fantastic's civilian clothing is as elastic as he is (in which case I wanna meet his tailor), and two, that among Sue's superpowers is the ability to switch between jealous and understanding at lightning speed. Anyway, Reed is asked to build some kind of tracking device to follow the mysterious figure all over the globe, where, for no apparent reason, it is leaving these huge craters which tunnel down a really long way. Reed says no, because he's getting married, and by gum, his wedding is more important than the world ending. General Hager: (scornfully) "I expected more from you, Richards." Well, I expected more from you, too, Andre, and it looks like we're both gonna be disappointed. But, oh, never mind, Reed builds the tracking device anyway, without Sue's permission, somehow keeping the giant metal gizmo in plain view in his lab without letting Sue know that he's building it. Wedding day arrives (with suitable jitters from the bride and groom, and a nice cameo by Stan Lee included), but it gets ruined when the Surfer shows up and Johnny has to chase after...but, you've seen the trailer, so you know this. After saving all the wedding guests, Sue slumps down on the stairs in despair, because never mind that a mysterious force is somehow ripping apart the fabric of our civilization and threatening life on Earth as we know it, SHE WANTED TO GET MARRIED, DAMMIT. Anyway, Johnny survives his encounter with the Surfer, and it turns out that somehow this has left him with the ability to swap powers with his teammates. This leads to a series of "fun" scenes where the characters suddenly find themselves doing each other's shtick, but this is about as significant as if the Ninja Turtles swapped weapons. Meantime, the evil Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon) somehow gets freed by the Surfer's power, and, wearing a hood and looking remarkably like the Emperor from "Star Wars," he goes to meet the Surfer by heading for one of the craters. Okay, so, no one else thought of that? Doom's been on the case five minutes and he knows right where to go. Meantime, the Four are busy building tracking devices and swapping powers. Point for Doom. Meantime, Reed does some research by punching a few buttons on a computer and determines that every planet the Surfer has ever gone to has been destroyed within eight days (um, is that Earth days or Other-Planet days?). He shows the destruction of each using an extremely high-powered microscope that can give amazingly detailed views of the planets in question, as well as, apparently, the ability to see back in time when the destruction happened. Yeah, f*ck you, Hubble, you been FACED by a gizmo the Fantastic Four apparently have just lying around their workshop. This telescope can also determine that all the life on these other planets was destroyed, as well. So, not only does Reed have a time-traveling super microscope, but he's proven that there is life on other planets. Shouldn't he have, like, 40 Nobel Prizes by this point? But the military, unimpressed by their amazing gizmos and superpowers, can only see failure in how the Four have handled the situation, so they do the logical thing: Recruit Dr. Doom. Yes, the super villain who tried to destroy the Four and half of New York in the last film, and who by this point has magically stopped needing an elaborate makeup job. Doom and the Four agree to work together to stop the threat. Johnny: "Think Reed's right about this end-of-the-world stuff?" Thing: "He's never been wrong about this kind of thing before." So we decide that the Surfer's board is the source of all his power, and if you separate him from the board, he is then, uh, powerless. They prove this by using some other gizmo they invent (which General Hager scoffs at when he's told it will take three hours to complete) to dislodge the Surfer from the board, but not until after the Surfer dodges a whole missile array, and not until after he's had a heart-to-heart with Sue, who suddenly finds him sympathetic. Well, can you blame her? The Surfer speaks in the voice of Lawrence Fishburne. How can anyone who sounds like Lawrence Fishburne be evil, I ask you? Well, okay, Ike Turner. Anyway, the military captures the Surfer, and come to the only logical conclusion one can come to when you've captured an other-worldly creature that has amazing powers and knowledge of the cosmos at his command: TORTURE HIM MERCILESSLY. Well, this is a Fox film, maybe Jack Bauer is rubbing off on the rest of the company. Sue sneaks in to hear some more of that sweet, sweet Fishburne voice, and is told that the Surfer is merely the harbinger - the REAL planet-destroying bad-*ss, Galactus, is on his way. The Surfer just does his bidding because he doesn't want his own planet to get destroyed, too. Why a planet-eating entity needs a guy on a surfboard to wreak havoc ahead of him is left unexplained. I guess those huge craters make the planet more devour-able, or easier to grab, like bowling ball holes. Meantime, even though Doom really didn't DO anything, per se, General Hager keeps his end of the bargain by allowing Doom to test the Surfer's board. Yes, we're LETTING THE SUPERVILLAIN IN THE SAME ROOM WITH THE SINGLE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN THE UNIVERSE. In the grand annals of dumb ideas, this has to rank in the top five or so. And, hey, go figure, within a minute Doom has taken control of the board and killed Hager. The Four spring the Surfer and chase after Doom in the new Fantasticar, which, for no explicable reason outside of product placement dollars, has a Dodge logo on the front. Johnny: "Hemi?" Reed: "Of course." Me: (incredulous laughter) The final battle takes the heroes to a street in Japan, which looks uncannily like a studio backlot, where Sue gets mortally wounded when she tries to save the Surfer, and then Johnny somehow takes the powers of ALL FOUR members of the group at once to stop Doom. How we got from "Power Swapping" to "I Can Hold All of Your Powers at Once" is a mystery that's best left unsolved, methinks. The Four successfully get the Surfer back on his board, and after magically healing Sue (Post-Resurrection Dialogue - Sue: "Hi." Reed: "Hi." Sue: "What'd I miss?"), the Surfer, who has learned the value of life or something, heads off to stop Galactus, who looks uncannily in form and action like a giant anus made out of clouds. The Surfer blows himself up to kill Galactus and end the threat to both Earth and his own world. Apparently it had never occurred to the Surfer that if he'd done that, say, 10 planets ago, it would have accomplished the same thing. Reed and Sue then successfully complete their marriage and head off to save Venice from sinking into the sea, but not before stopping to make the "4" logo in the clouds with their wicked cool Fantasticar, which I actually think got destroyed during the final battle just a scene ago, but we're just picking nits now, aren't we? A quick glance at the movie listings reveal that the following films are still playing in theatres this weekend: "Spider-Man 3." "Waitress." "Ocean's 13." "Knocked Up." "28 Weeks Later." Heck, some are still showing "Bridge to Terabithia" and "300," if you missed those. There are plenty of good films to see. You have a lot of options. If, however, after reading this far and digesting all my best efforts to dissuade you from doing so, you still feel the need to see "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," that is, of course, entirely your choice. Leaves more good movies for the rest of us.… Expand

I took my brother to see this film since I worked at this movie theater. We both hated it! Worst comic book film ever!!!

Despite having a few problems, it was an enjoyable movie & was better than the first. They improved upon the Thing's costume & the Silver Surfer was great to look at. My biggest beef with the film is that they excluded Galactus. They turned him from a Demi-God into a storm cloud. Very disappointing, indeed. If you liked the first, then you shouldn't have a problem enjoying the second.

If you love the Silver Sufrer, you will love this movie! At the end, I wanted more--more damn, you.

It's nice for once to see a comic book movie series that isn't dour or dark and gloomy. Which isn't to say that the Fantastic Four movies are perfect, but as the characters hail from the 60's and the Jack Kirby era of comics it certainly is a nice change from the "me-too" variety of comic book movies that have hit theaters recently. Whereas Spiderman's movies have largely been about a geeky kid uncomfortably fitting into his new found abilities and how they affect the lives of those he cares about or the X-Men series being about a group of mutants up against real life issues like bigotry and discrimination, Fantastic Four's two films have been all about traditional values such as family togetherness and teamwork, as was the intention when the "first family" of comics were first introduced way back when. The things that many may have found hard to swallow are largely present in this saccharine sequel, but isn't that what summer movies are about? Not everyone can easily take their kids to these films, so Tim Story and the rest of his fantastic cast and crew saw to it that the FF films were a nice change of pace. At first I had some hesitance of whether or not a FF sequel could work, but the comic book series that the movies are based on are some of the most enriched, mythical, sotried and revered in all the Marvel Comic's canon so it made perfect sense to explore what outrageous things the series could offer. As a fanboy, I was for the most part pleasantly surprised. Speaking of surprises, it may seem a surprise to those who disliked the film but it actually has a heart and is not as level headed as one may think. For instance, Michael Chiklis' portrayal of the Thing is *gasp* more human this time, doing away with the wooden static acting in the first film it's evident that he's more comfortable with the character and is having fun with it. Prosthetics may have been the reason why he seemed so sluggish in the first film and it's nice to see him finally doing something with it. Chris Evans as usual chews the scenery with his dead on work as the Human Torch, while Jessica Alba is definately more easy on the eyes and the ears as the sultry intelligent and dignified Sue Storm. (Though her new blue eyes did take some getting used to) The same can't be said of Ioan Gruffold as Mr. Fantastic, as the titular leader of the group, I never found myself buying him as the character as he's too bland and not involving enough to lead the group this time around he seems more shuffled this time around and Julian McMahon's Dr. Doom is comletely wasted here. Out of curiousity maybe he is being set up to have more of a role in the third film? One can only hope. In this one his character is superflurous and out of place. As for the Silver Surfer? The jury's still out on this one folks, and he may be the weakest character in the movie. While his stuntwork (courtesy of the genius Doug Jones) is of the "wow" variety, the CG of the character leaves a lot to be desired. There were times when I felt I was watching a pre-vis character instead of a finished product. Also it does'nt help when you realize there's nothing new to add to the shimmering stell like mirror being that hasnt been done better in films like T2 and the Abyss. Of course I've never been a fan of the herald story or Galactus as they are far too hokey to believe (let alone be a huge component in this live action version of the story), but it's there so I guess you have to take the good with the bad. As for the hubbub surrounding the new look of Galactus, I am actually happy and pleased with it. As has historically been the case with the character, he is always viewed as what the beholder views him to be, whether he be a man, vegetable, animal (or in this case alarge ominous cloud of cosmic dust), I never felt that it was out of place in the film, only that he was there to exist and devour our world as we know it and not wearing a dumb looking purple helmet while doing it. All in all a good effort from all involved, this sequel is better than the first Fantastic Four movie but not by much which is to say it's certainly worthwhile to see it now rather than later. Just go in with an open mind and don't get bothered too much by the goofiness or PG rating. This is a comic book movie after all.… Expand

This isn't the blockbuster that we are used to from recent comic book titles made into movies, or that most of us probably expected out of the first one, but it's pretty entertaining. It's slightly campy, funny, and an overall fun movie. So far neither of the FF movies have seem fully realized, but this movie at least shows progress in the series. Better pacing, better acting, characters a bit more fleshed out without wasted time on meaningless dialog. Not the best movie you are likely to see this year, but worth watching on a day where you have time to kill and just want to go to the theater and enjoy a fun movie.… Expand

The Silver Surfer trailer looked promising. Many took the gamble and payed money in hopes of seeing a decent summer movie. In the end, Silver Surfer comes up lame. The characters act more like Hollywood jocks than the down to earth superheroes that we embrace. Mr. Fantastic is an over the top scientist who magically builds various devices to defeat the Silver Surfer. Johnny Storm is the wisecracking pretty boy whose antics fail to amuse. Sue Storm is the generic blond and the painfully bland wife of Mr. Fantastic. The Thing stands around taking shots left and right and seems to not really care how unpopular he is. It's hard to say whether anyone in this movie can act because the dialog is dull and emotionless. The Silver Surfer is the best character in the movie because he has the fewest lines. The special effects make his relentless destruction of the planet enjoyable to watch. However as the movie progresses, the Surfer begins to reveal an emotional side, which feels uncharacteristic for a powerful, muscular villain who can travel through buildings and destroy entire planets effortlessly. Finally there are two positives to the movie: 1. Silver Surfer is considerably shorter than the third installments of Pirates and Spider-man. 2. The special effects are enjoyable and not overwhelmed with too many things happening at once. The bottom-line: Silver Surfer is a generic superhero movie that fails to be aggressive or bold.… Expand

Completely timid, some good visuals. Now, if your at all privy to or a fan of comics understand that silver surfer has about a good a chance of taking on galactus as you do destroying the earth with your fists. If you are going to introduce a character PLEASE make him himself. Alternate ending one, heres an idea on how they could have ended the film. After surfer tries pleading with galactus to spare earth he agrees after Alicia (Ben Grimm's gf) offers her services to him as a knew herald- you could even call her nova (though nova has a completely different origin). You can bargain w/Galactus, you can't kill him. 2/10.… Expand

Perfect way to pick up after the first movie, at least ten times better than the first movie. The action was amazing along with some great humor and dialogue in it, this is by far one of the best superhero movies ever made.

Big improvement on the first movie. The main characters were slightly watered down, but otherwise fairly accurate. Comic-book-to-real-life adaptations do lose something translation, so in that context this movie does very well in creating a world that is a mix of "normal" and "Marvel Universe". This movie has some of the best CGI ever done

What can I say except I knew exactly what I was getting into. I expected the visuals to be fantastic, the story ok, the music loud with no real emotional foundation, and the acting just barely enough to get by. Well Fantastic Four delivered on all four accounts. It really gave me the impression that it stayed pretty true to the comic book. I don't know how many people read Fantastic four, well I wouldn't say it is known for its incredible depth. It's candy and that's all to it. It's got all kinds of bright colors, tastes sweet, and probably is not the best thing to feed the brain, but you kind of like it anyway. Sometimes you feel like caviar. Other times you feel like potato chips, or in this case, candy, big fluffy sticky mostly filled with air and a bit of sugar flavored cotton like candy. [***BIG SPOILIER***] don't read further if you want to be surprised. By the way I did not believe Mr. Fantastic for a moment was sad when his hottie bride to be played by Jessica Alba died. Come on man at least chop some onions. I guess Fantastic Four blew there entire budget on Special effects to afford any. Oh well as a visual piece of art it was worth a few sacrifices.… Expand

This movie is loads of fun. It makes the first film look even worse than it did before. The plot is much more compelling, the humor is pretty funny, the visuals are gorgeous, and the acting is passable. In addition, the silver surfer is amazing! He surpassed all of my expectations. even Dr.Doom isn't as corny this time around, though I do admit that I'd rather see him without the mask. It's worth your 10 bucks. Trust me.… Expand

It was a fun movie to watch. It could be better but still fun to watch.

This movie was really good. A must-see. Mr. Fantastic and Invisible woman have great chemistry. Flame boy is really cool too! Rock man is funny and is a rock.

Jeez. Even while fans are still reeling from the mess that was the first film, it was decided to take another part of this fabled comic series and shred that into unrecognizable pieces that leave a pure-rotten taste in your mouth. This second iteration of the film series has the four fighting against the Silver Surfer and his boss, Galactus, before the two can consume Earth and many more planets along the way. But the movie becomes more and more desperate to keep you watching as it goes on. But even then, by the ending you'll be so bored watching a sack of potatoes would keep you more entertained. And there is a big freaking question that is never answered: If the Silver Surfer could take out Galactus all by himself, why didn't he do it earlier? When the idea was prompted, he was all in support of it, but at the start of the movie he wasn't? I suppose that there were some pretty cool scenes in the movie, but if you want to see a flick with a good story, dodge this train-wreck. Comic fans, don't even bother. I can't believe they decided on a second Eragon.… Expand

This movie continues the adventures of the Fantastic Four. During a wedding with Reed Richards and Susan Storm, they've been threatened by a new villain named the Silver Surfer. With the reunion of their old arch enemy, they tried to hunt down the Silver Surfer and stop him, but is he really a bad guy or is he just a slave working for an unknown evil? Oh, well. Time to get on with my opinion. I actually found this movie to be way better than the first. The cinematography was good, the sets were good, the acting was decent, the storyline was well-paced, the CGI were great, and the action sequences were also great. That's it for the good. The dialogue was rushed, and the storytelling was weak. That was it. Overall, it isn't the best marvel adaptation of the comics, but it is way better than the first as one of the most interesting superhero movies. 6/10… Expand

Another mediocre Fantastic Four movie that is just as interesting as the first one, while it does have a more interesting plot it suffers because they ruined Galactus, I mean come on a cloud?! you've got to be kidding me, but at least it's not worst than the first.

(WARNING: SOME SPOILERS) It's not great. The movie is OK but I'm unhappy with the fact that there isn't a new villain. Just Doctor Doom which was repetetive. Although the humour is OK I guess.

Do not watch this film. It's a waste of your money and your time. The acting is horrendous, the storyline is garbage and some of the lines which are meant to be serious had me shrieking in laughter. If you want to watch a movie just to laugh at it, look no further than this garbage.

The good news is that its more memorable than the original. The bad news is that the problems of the original still remain.

Particularly for me it seems the film is completely worse than its predecessor and is guilty of heavily putting on the cheese along with the film providing awful performances. The film is atrocious besides it great visual effects. I give this film 12%.

Amazing! This second part of the fantastic four is better than the first part, and the best is the apparition of Silver Surfer, the only bad is... Galactus, really? a big cloud? need be a joke. But the film is awesome, and I never wait that.