So it’s almost here. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (don’t you love super-long movie titles?) opens on June 15th and the marketing blitz is in high gear. It almost seemed like 20th Century Fox bought up all the advertising time on the season finale of Heroes to pitch this sequel. Is it possible that the sequel could be better than the original?
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Now I’ll grant you that wouldn’t be terribly difficult since the first Fantastic Four movie was pretty weak (I only gave it stars), but it’s entirely possible for a sequel to go downhill even from there. My hope is that (if you’ll pardon the pun) this one will actually rise to the occasion and improve upon the first. The latest set of TV spots (click on the above image to watch them) actually don’t look too bad, and although it’s a fluffy press release document, here are some items that at least sound good in regards to the new film:
“It was a delicate balance meeting the comics fans’ expectations for the look of Galactus, and making him truly spectacular and cinematic to those not familiar with the character.”
So could Galactus actually appear to be more than a giant storm cloud?
“I wanted this movie to be the rare sequel that’s better than the original…”
One can only hope.
“Reed Richards has evolved and has much more confidence and is much more in control. He’s much more of a leader this time.”
That’s extremely good news, as I thought the character was pretty lame and not at all like the comic book version in the first film.
“Thing’s headpiece now features a larger brow – something requested by diehard Fantastic Four fans.”
I commented on that and showed the difference in a previous post, and it shows that at the very least they’re listening to the fans.
Of course all of the above quotes may just be happy talk from those involved with the film and it may turn out to be lame after all. Personally one of the things that bugs me from what I’ve seen so far is that I do not like Laurence Fishburne’s voice coming out of the Silver Surfer. It just doesn’t sound right… doesn’t match the character for some reason.
My expectations are pretty low on this one, so if it turns out to be even semi-decent that may be enough to get a pretty good review from me. 
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12 Comments
I think hubby and I are in the small, small group of people that didn’t mind the first one so much. Mind you, we’d heard so much about the CGI nightmares that we were expecting very, very little but in the end, I did enjoy it a fair bit.
As for FF2, I’ve been looking forward to it since the announcement that it was coming but the trailers are what have sold me. It’s looking like it’ll be a fun movie. That’s all I ask for: entertainment.
LOL, believe me Marina, I’m not looking for the “Citizen Kane” version of “Fantastic Four”, but even fun popcorn movies have to meet SOME standards.
The first movie failed on almost every level, so I’m hoping this one is a bit better now that the origin story is out of the way and the characters have settled in to being who they are.
Vic
This film looks much better than the first,the
Silver Surfer looks and sounds great,We’ve got
the evil Dr.Doom (even his dungeon!),Thing’s got
a brow,plus,the Fantasticar(!!!!),which,dare I
say looks,ahem,FANTASTIC!!! And it looks like
there will be tons of action!! WOO HOO!!! I can’t
wait to see this movie,it will definetley be
better than the original. Heck,it will probably be
better than Spider-Man 3 (I thought it was good,
but the ending is what made it so much worse than
the original 2,I mean it would’ve been great if
they could’ve had him swing away at the end like
the first two. That’s the only thing that really
made it worse than the first 2,I mean I was
practically in tears that they didn’t have that
ending. I demand they fix that ending!!!!!!
How could this NOT be better than the first? Dont get me wrong, I am a comic book movie supergeek who along with FF even enjoyed Elektra, Hulk, and Daredevil (though not even I could stomach CATWOMAN).
Still, FF left a lot to be desired. More action, the Surfer, more than 5 minutes of DOOM in suit… what more does FF 2 need to be a better film.
So, the lesson is, if you want the “rare” sequel that exceeds the original, just set the bar really low.
Ya know,Chip,your pretty right.
I see where you’re comin’ from and all,but,it
still looks pretty good. I’ve read the
novelization of the film and it’s pretty good.
On a scale of 1 to 10;10 being really close to
the comics and 1 being like,well,Catwoman,it gets
a solid 7. Even though Galactus in the book is
still kinda like a storm cloud,if what Tim Story
says is true they may have changed that.
I think Laurence Fishburne sounds good as the
Silver Surfer. As long as he doesn’t do his voice
with a thick black accent he should be good. Carl
Lumbly (who is black) does the Martian Manhunter’s
voice on the cartoon Justice League and he sounds
really good;he doesn’t voice him with a thick
black accent.
That’s not my issue with Fishburne’s voice. It’s just too… I don’t know… smooth or soothing a voice to me. Kind of weird sounding.
Vic
I think,while it wasn’t the best comix adaption,
Fantastic Four deserves more credit then some of
you people give it credit for. I mean sure,Doc
Doom’s barely in costume and his powers are
organic,sure the Thing’s not as big as I think he
should be,sure Alicia’s black (and before I get
smeared with the you’re a rascist comments,let me
say that if Robbie from the Spider-Man comix was
white in the Spider-Man movie franchise,I would be
complaining about that too,also,my best friend
is black)and sure,the fight with Doom is too short.
But look at what’s come before Fantastic Four and
what hasn’t been so close to the comix and has
recieved praise as some of the best. Take 1978’s
Superman:the movie for instance:
-We are supposed to believe that Lex Luthor is
bald as he is in the comix and yet he wears wigs
all the time
-Consider how nerdy Clark Kent acts,even in the
pre-Byrne era he wasn’t that nerdy
-Also look at what else has been added to the
Superman legacy-the comical character Otis
-Not to mention how jokey and funny Lex Luthor is
written
And yet the film is praised as the definite
version of Superman.
Or take 1989’s Batman:
-Joker kills Bruce Wayne’s Ma & Pa
-The batsuit is so opposite the comics (as it has
remained in every Bat-film since then)it’s
sickening
-Anyone else notice how Bruce Wayne in this film
wears glasses?
-Batman’s identity has been revealed in this film,
as it has been in every other bat-film since then
And yet the film recieves praise as one of the
best.
And now we move on to the more rescent X-men
franchise. Allow me state some of the problems
many seem to overlook:
-The costumes completely suck
-Wolverine is taller than Cyclops
-Collosus is hardly seen
-As is Iceman in his icy form
-Wolverine kills Dark Phoenix? Isn’t that Cyclops’
job?
-Beast should’ve been in 1&2
-So should the Angel have been too
-Magneto can’t bend adamantium
And yet the movie series’ critisism is relatively
small.
Consider what the first Fantastic Four established
that had already been established in the comix:
-Dr. Doom loathes Reed Richards because he thinks
he’s responsible for the condition he’s in;
regardless of how different what the cause for
his condition is from the comix
-The Thing and the Torch don’t always get along
-The Human Torch is a show off
-The Thing doesn’t like bein’ the Thing
-Reed’s too busy to notice Sue
-Considering how much the costumes have changed
in the comix over the years,the movie suits are
very good,even though I prefer the Thing shoeless
and in a letard;the more Jack Kirby look (don’t
ask)
-On a non-comic note,I thought the casting was
well done and John Ottman’s music score was good
If you want to see a comic based film with bad
casting rent Hulk (remember that seen where Talbot
tries to prevent Doc Banner from leaving his
house? anyone notice how tall Banner was compared
to Talbot? he didn’t need the Hulk to take that
guy in a fight!)or Daredevil (Ben Affleck?!? what
were they thinking?)or Elektra (Jeniffer red-head-
ed-Garner?!!)or Catwoman (I guess they forgot
Halle Berry already played Storm)or Batman Forever
(Val Kilmer and Chris O’donell with an earring?!?
WTF?!!?? to Jim Carrey as the Riddler I must say
WTF?!??!)or Batman and Robin (George Clooney?!?
Evil Governer Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze?!?!
to that I must also say WTF?!?! WTF?!?! WTF?!?!).
So,Fantastic Four in my opinion,wasn’t as good as
Spider-Man,but was better than X-Men. Hey,I know
Superman diehards who watch Smallville every
thursday and enjoy it (I think that show SUX by
the way,being a Superman and comix diehard fan
myself),so there are fans who can watch that stuff
and think it’s the greatest thing in the world.
So,if diehard Superman fans can accept a show like
Smallville,can’t we at least cut a movie like
Fantastic Four some slack?
Kel, you love the letter X
Whatever the hell that means.
Anyone know how long this film is? Or what it’s been rated? I hope it’s a little over 2 hours.
I don’t know what the running time is but I’ll bet you a dollar it’s going to be rated PG-13.
Vic
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