Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Comic book movies are usually pretty fun, which is why it's odd that the franchise that should be he most fun becomes so disappointingly dull.
The Fantastic Four series seems to have settled into its mediocrity, but they're still enjoying the view at the top of the box office. Of course, that's a double-edged sword, because as long as they open well there will be no incentive to improve things, but if they start to fail, then they just won't make any more, and this is Marvel Comics' First Family we're talking about here. If you're making comic-book movies, the FF must be involved.
The FF are unique in that they're a crime-fighting family, with all the foibles of any group of relatives trying to get along, and it should make for some great comedy. The movies, however, have lackluster dialog and strained attempts at comedy that rarely work out, which makes the first part of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer a bit tedious to sit through. It was good to have a focus on Reed Richards, but that did make the lack of chemistry between Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba that much more painful.
Business picks up when the Silver Surfer shows up and the action finally kicks in, and that's likely what drew everyone to the theaters that opening weekend. The Surfer just looks really cool, gleaming smooth on a super-fast flying surfboard and smacking Chris Evans around. He's pretty much a perfect adaptation of the character, and easily the best thing about the film franchise so far. Of course, he's the herald of Galactus, the world-devourer, a mythic figure in Marvel Comics. Trouble is, he's also a giant dude in a purple skirt and a huge papal hat. That's why we give director Tim Story a pass on this one, because there's no way that translation was going to work, no matter which direction he took it.
The biggest failing, though, has to be with Dr. Doom. Now, Dr. Doom needs to be Darth Vader in sheer presence (pre-Jake Lloyd, natch). He's a masked, arrogant Eastern European mystic with a thundering voice and immense power that can chill the bones. He is very much not Julian McMahon, whom I imagine is quite fine on Nip/Tuck. I blame the Tobey Maguire precedent of constantly having the cool masked ripped off in Spider-Man for the reason McMahon chucks the armor for most of the movie – it screams “face-time clause in the contract.” Apparently only Hugo Weaving is cool enough to commit to wearing a mask for the entirety of a comic-book movie, as evidenced in V for Vendetta.
Even this would be adequate if, when the big metal mask finally goes on, they would synthesize his voice, even slightly, to give it a darker edge. Alas, he has McMahon's light, smarmy tone that is completely incongruous with the incredibly cool Vader-esque villain we see on the screen.
Still, the high-flying action saves this movie, and definitely makes it worth the rental.
ALSO RELEASING THIS WEEK:
1408 – John Cusack stars as a paranormal travel book writer investigating a cursed hotel room. Samuel L. Jackson is the hotel manager full of warning and ominous portents. Yes, Jackson will do anything, but Cusack's presence generally means there's an interesting film to be seen here.
Civic Duty – Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under” and “Sports Night”) plays an unemployed man who becomes convinced that his neighbor is a terrorist in a riff on Hitchcock's classic Rear Window. I'm all for Krause, but why isn't Josh Charles, his co-star on “Sports Night,” just as famous as he is? I demand an explanation.
