Another movie we had on the DVR from a few weeks back that we watched list night was 2007's Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. After such a great viewing experience with Ghost Rider, I was hoping for a double-play.
Um...well...not so much.
Don't get me wrong - I am a huge fan of the Fantastic 4. It was one of the first comic books from Marvel that I had a subscription to back in the late 70's. I always loved the dynamic of the team - the close nit family (with best friend Ben) using powers that cosmic rays gave them to fight super-villains and cosmic threats as if they were just part of the normal daily routine. And the appearance of the Silver Surfer, herald of Galactus, was always a sign of something huge.
This film, despite some nice special effects, sort of fell short for me. I think it felt a little too campy. Sure, the FF comics had some fun and a little humor to them, but on film it sort of didn't work for me.
Or maybe it was too many characters. You have the four, then add the Surfer, bring back Dr. Doom and then throw in Galactus. What? Wait. You didn't see Galactus per se? Neither did I. And that sort of stank too. The "Coming of Galactus" storyline in the comics from which this film was loosely based was a classic FF tale - so how can you do it and not show Galactus? Too much for the budget? Probably. So, let's go with a nebulous planet eating cloud instead. Yeah, that's scary. NOT.
Two pluses out of this whole thing for me.
One: GIT Corp did put out a revised Fantastic 4 set of comics on DVD-ROM when the film came out last year, and that set included the complete run of Silver Surfer comics. I loved that.
Two: I didn't take my family to see this clunker of a film in the theatres (despite my son's request to do so). That saved me at least $30 to $40 (between tickets and snacks for the three of us). Watching it home, on cable, for free was just about what it was worth for me.
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