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| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | |
|---|---|
| File:FanFour2 newposter.JPGTeaser poster for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. | |
| Directed by | Tim Story |
| Written by | Comic Book: Stan Lee Jack Kirby Story: Mark Frost Screenplay: Don Payne |
| Produced by | Marvel Enterprises |
| Starring | Ioan Gruffudd Jessica Alba Michael Chiklis Chris Evans Doug Jones Julian McMahon Kerry Washington Laurence Fishburne |
| Edited by | Michael McCusker |
| Music by | John Ottman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release dates |   June 13, 2007  June 15, 2007 |
| Running time | 94 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $130,000,000 |
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 superhero film, and sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four; both films are based upon the comic books of the same name. The film was directed by Tim Story, who also directed the original, and Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, Julian McMahon and Kerry Washington reprised their roles from the original. Doug Jones and Beau Garrett appear in the sequel as the Silver Surfer and Frankie Raye, respectively, along with Laurence Fishburne as the voice of the Surfer. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was released on June 15, 2007. It was rated PG by the MPAA for sequences of action violence, some mild language and innuendo.
Plot
Two years after the previous film, as Reed Richards and Sue Storm prepare their fourth attempt to wed, a silver object enters Earth's atmosphere, radiating cosmic energy that creates massive molecular fluctuations at locations across the Earth. The government approaches Reed to build a sensor to track the movements of the object.
The wedding begins, but Reed's sensor detects the phenomenon approaching New York, causing a massive power blackout. The object destroys the sensor while the Fantastic Four protect the crowd. The Human Torch then pursues the object, discovering that it is a humanoid, a "Silver Surfer". He confronts the Surfer, only to be dragged into the upper atmosphere. After his flame snuffs out, the Surfer drops him back towards Earth, but he reactivates his powers and survives the fall. Reed's examination reveals that exposure to the Surfer has caused his Johnny's DNA to destabilize, allowing him to switch powers with his teammates through physical contact. Tracing the energy of the Surfer - a cosmic energy similar to that which gave the team their powers - Reed discovers that a series of planets the alien had visited before Earth have all been destroyed.
The Surfer's circuit of the globe has restored an old enemy to life - Doctor Doom, having spent two years paralyzed as a metal statue, has been returned to life, albeit hideously scarred. He traces the Surfer to the Arctic and makes him an offer to join forces, but when the Surfer rebuffs him, Doom attacks with an ineffective electrical blast. The Surfer returns fire, blasting Doom through the ice, but as an unexpected side-effect, the cosmic energy of the Surfer's blast heals Doom's body. Ever the schemer, he proceeds to offer his services and the knowledge he has acquired on the Surfer to the American military, who force the Fantastic Four to work with him. Deducing that the Surfer's board is the source of his power, the group develops a four-part energy-pulse generator that will separate him from his board, and track him to his current location. While setting up the pulse generator, Sue is confronted by the Surfer, in which he reveals he is not the destroyer of worlds, only its servant. Regardless, the military open fire on the Surfer, and while he is distracted, the pulse is fired and the board and Surfer are taken captive.
The military imprison the Surfer in a remote gulag, and forbid the Fantastic Four from interacting with him, while they torture him for information. Sue, however, uses her powers to invisibly sneak into his cell, where she coerces more information from the Surfer. He tells her his master was known by the people of his world as Galactus, an entity which must feed on life-bearing planets to survive, and that his board is a homing beacon for Galactus to follow, which even now summons him to the planet.
Meanwhile, Doom betrays the military, donning a suit of armor containing a device that allows him to take control of the Surfer's board, and gains the alien's cosmic powers. Realizing they must get the board off the planet, the Four free the Surfer from his cell and summon the Fantasticar to pursue Von Doom. When they encounter the thief, Doom refuses to cooperate and the Four are forced to battle him to confiscate the board. Eventually the destructive chase leads to Shanghai where Sue is impaled through the chest by Doom when she attempts to protect the Surfer by projecting a large force field around them both, eventually killing her. As the Surfer is powerless to help, Johnny absorbs all three of his teammates' powers in order to become strong enough to defeat Doom. When he destroys Doom's machinery and separates him from the board, returning it to the Surfer's control, Ben (powerless) manages to knock Doom into the harbor using a crane, where he is seen sinking. However, Galactus (portrayed as a massive cloud-like mass containing a burning core shaped like his helmet, somewhat akin to Gah Lak Tus) has already arrived. His power restored, the Surfer revives Sue and decides to defend his newfound friends by flying into Galactus and destroying him from the inside with a massive energy blast, apparently killing himself in the process.
Realising that they will always have to live in the spotlight because of who they are and what they do, Reed and Sue are married in a small ceremony, which is rushed through by yet another emergency alert that the team flies off to attend.
Seconds into the credits, the film cuts back to a shot of the Silver Surfer's seemingly lifeless body floating through space. Just as he drifts off the edge of the screen, his eyes snap open, and his board races out of shot to reunite with his body.
Cast
Production
With Fantastic Four grossing $330 million worldwide, 20th Century Fox hired director Tim Story and screenwriter Mark Frost in December 2005 to return for the superhero team's sequel. Screenwriters Frost and Don Payne were hired to write the screenplay. Payne has said the film is based upon Fantastic Four #48-51, in which Galactus also makes an appearance, as well as issues 57-60 in which Doom steals the Surfer's power. Payne has also said the film takes inspiration from the Ultimate Marvel limited series Ultimate Extinction. As of March 2 2007, Galactus' design was not yet done, and by April 18 they were still unsure of whether he would speak.
The film includes the Fantasti-Car, a larger role for Kerry Washington's character Alicia Masters, and in June 2006, the Silver Surfer was announced to appear in the sequel as a "villain / hero". The Silver Surfer has been created by combining the performance of actor Doug Jones, a grey-silver suit designed by Jose Fernandez and created by FX shop Spectral Motion which has then been enhanced by a new computer-generated system designed by WETA. The sequel, whose working title was Fantastic Four 2, was officially titled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in August 2006 with filming beginning on August 28 in Vancouver and set for a release date of June 15, 2007. Michael Chiklis' prosthetics as the Thing were also redesigned to allow him to take it off in between takes.
In August 2006, actor Andre Braugher dropped out of an ER supporting role to be cast in Rise of the Silver Surfer. Braugher was cast as General Hager, whom director Story described as "an old acquaintance of Reed Richards and one of the major additions to the movie". In September, actor Doug Jones was confirmed to portray the Silver Surfer in addition to Julian McMahon reprising his role as Doctor Doom. The Baxter Building was also redesigned.
Rating
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer got a PG rating from the MPAA, the first Marvel film since Howard the Duck to earn this rating. The first Fantastic Four film earned the higher rating of PG-13. However, when asked about the rating at SuperHeroHype, Tim Story said that he didn't change anything and also said he wants younger people to see this and have a good time as well.
Promotion
The teaser trailer was initially exclusively attached to Night at the Museum. It was released to the general public online on December 26, 2006 on the film's official website. The theatrical trailer was supposed to appear during the film Disturbia on April 13th but errors occurred and Tim Story announced that it would be released during the Spider-Man 3 film on May 4th. However, the theatrical trailer was finally released online on April 30th on Apple Trailer's website. 20th Century Fox launched an outdoor advertising campaign at the end of February.
Release
Box office performance
The film has currently made $57.4 million.
Reception
Although many reviews agree that the movie is superior to the first film, the movie has thus far received mixed reviews. Currently the movie only holds a 39% at Rotten Tomatoes.
Those who liked the film, however, praised it for its great CGI-action packed story and the depiction of the Silver Surfer character. The Times, for example, gave the movie credit for its simplicity in bringing the story to life. Furthermore, IGN wrote in its review that "it has enough fun, action and wit to keep fans and non-fans interested and entertained". Empire magazine gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, calling it bigger, better and more polished than the first.
Nonetheless, the film has also garnered negative reviews. The New York Times called the movie an "amalgam of recycled ideas, dead air, dumb quips, casual sexism and pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo", whilst The Wall Street Journal said the film even failed to sustain its modest running time of 87 minutes.
Sequel/spin-off
Screenwriter Don Payne has said he'd love to write a spin-off for the Silver Surfer and explore his origins, either in flashbacks or a prequel film. Actor Julian McMahon is signed on for a third film. J. Michael Straczynski, writer of the current Silver Surfer: Requiem series for Marvel, is writing the Silver Surfer screenplay.
Nominations
Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer was nominated for the "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" Award at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, but it lost to Transformers.
References
- http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=6295
- Michael Fleming (2005-12-04). "Story booked solid with Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Michael Fleming (2006-05-03). "Inside Move: Surfer may board 'Four'". Variety. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Ben Morse and Brian Warmoth (2007-01-15). "2007 PREVIEW: 'FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER'". Wizard. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Tim Story (2007-03-02). "Fantastic Four 2 Set Footage & Story Comments". Superherohype.com. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Pamela McClintock (2007-04-18). "Fishburne voices Surfer". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "First look: Fantasticar flows onto film". USA Today. 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
- William Keck (2006-06-01). "Jessica Alba plans a fantastic summer". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Stax (2006-08-17). "Fantastic New Title". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Ftopel (2007-03-12). "Washington Waits for "Fantastic Four" Final Cut". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Stax (2006-08-24). "Braugher Joins Fantastic Sequel". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Stax (2006-09-05). "Fantastic Four Sequel Under Way". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Stax (2006-09-25). "Weta Surfs to Fantastic Four". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Apple.com - Trailers
- "Fox Set To Launch Outdoor RISE Campaign". F4movies.com. 2007-02-14. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer box office numbers". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at Rotten Tomatoes
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at IGN
- Dargis, Manohla (2007-06-14). "Armageddon Comes Knocking". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Paul Fischer (2007-03-15). "Exclusive Interview: Julian McMahon for "Premonition"". Dark Horizons. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Jay A. Fernandez (2007-06-13). "Next 'Silver Surfer': Make it gnarly". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Official site
- F4Movies.com
- Trailers in Quicktime
- F4Moviearacde.com
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) at IMDb
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at Rotten Tomatoes
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at MetaCritic
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Sufer Review at the Hollywood Snitch
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