Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (titled Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer on the DVD/Blu-ray release) is a 2007 American superhero film, and sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story. The film stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis as the title characters, with Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, and Laurence Fishburne in supporting roles. The plot follows the Fantastic Four (and Doctor Doom) as they confront, and later ally with, the Silver Surfer to save Earth from Galactus.

Fantastic Four:
Rise of the Silver Surfer
Theatrical poster
Directed byTim Story
Produced by
  • Avi Arad
  • Bernd Eichinger
  • Ralph Winter
Screenplay by
  • Don Payne
  • Mark Frost
Story by
  • John Turman
  • Mark Frost
Based on
Fantastic Four
by
Starring
Music byJohn Ottman
CinematographyLarry Blanford
Edited by
  • William Hoy
  • Peter S. Elliot
Production
company
  • Marvel Entertainment
  • 1492 Pictures
  • Constantin Film
  • Ingenious Film Partners
  • Dune Entertainment
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 15, 2007 (2007-06-15) (United States)
  • August 14, 2007 (2007-08-14) (Germany)
Running time
91 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$130 million[1]
Box office$301.9 million

Upon its release on June 15, 2007 in North America, the film received mixed reviews from critics, though some considered it an improvement over the first film. While it was the highest-grossing film during its first week, the film ultimately made less than its predecessor, resulting in both a planned third film and a spin-off Silver Surfer film being cancelled. The series was later rebooted in 2015 and released to a worse critical and commercial reception.

Plot

Reed Richards and Sue Storm prepare for their wedding. A silver object enters Earth's atmosphere, radiating cosmic energy that creates massive molecular fluctuations and causes deep craters at locations across the Earth. The government approaches Reed to track the movements of the object.

As the wedding begins Reed's systems detect the phenomenon approaching New York City. The object destroys the sensors while the Fantastic Four protect the crowd. The Human Torch pursues the object, discovering that it is a humanoid, a "Silver Surfer". He confronts the Surfer, who drags Johnny into the upper atmosphere then drops him back toward Earth. Johnny manages to reactivate his powers and survives the fall. Later, when Sue tries to comfort Johnny, she touches his shoulders and their powers switch—he becomes invisible, and she is set on fire; when they touch again their powers revert but leaves Sue naked without her underwear outside in front of the public while they snap pictures of her being naked. Reed's examination of Johnny reveals that exposure to the Surfer has set Johnny's molecular structure in flux, allowing him to switch powers with his teammates through physical contact. Tracing the cosmic energy of the Surfer, Reed discovers that a series of planets the alien had visited have all been destroyed.

The Surfer has been creating deep artificial craters around the globe. Reed determines that the next crater will appear in London, and the team travel there. They arrive too late to stop the crater, and the Thames drains into it. Afterwards, both Reed and Sue contemplate abandoning their lives as superheroes in order to provide a normal life to raise a family. The Surfer's movements around the globe bring him past Latveria, where the cosmic energy affects Victor Von Doom, freeing him from two years as a metal statue. Doom, able to move again but scarred, traces the Surfer to the Russell Glacier and makes him an offer to join forces. When the Surfer rebuffs him, Doom attacks. The Surfer returns fire, blasting Doom through the ice. The cosmic energy of the Surfer's blast heals Doom's body.

Doom leverages his experience into a deal with the American military, who have the Fantastic Four work with Doom. Deducing that the Surfer's board is the source of his power, Reed develops a pulse generator that will separate him from it, while Victor works on an unknown remote-like machine. In the Black Forest, Sue is confronted by the Surfer, during which he reveals he is merely a servant to the destroyer of worlds, and regrets the destruction he causes. The military opens fire on the Surfer, which distracts him and allows the four to fire the pulse, separating the Surfer from his board. The military imprisons the Surfer in Siberia, while they torture him for information. Sue uses her powers to sneak into his cell, where she learns more information from the Surfer. He tells her his master was known by the people of his world as Galactus, a massive cloud-like cosmic entity which feeds on life-bearing planets to survive, and that his board is a homing beacon which is summoning Galactus to the planet.

Doom, pursuing the power in the board, steals it from the compound, using the device he secretly created earlier to gain control of the board and its powers. The Fantastic Four rescue the Surfer, and pursue Doom in the Fantasticar, confronting him in Shanghai. During the battle, Sue is mortally wounded. With the Surfer powerless, Johnny absorbs the combined powers of the entire team in order to battle the cosmic energy-empowered Doom. Johnny succeeds in breaking Doom's control over the Surfer's board, while Ben Grimm uses a nearby crane to knock Doom into the harbor; however, Galactus has already arrived, and Sue dies in Reed's arms. The Surfer regains the control of his board, and his power is restored. He revives Sue and chooses to defend Earth, flying into Galactus. The conflict results in a massive blast of energy that engulfs Galactus in a cosmic rift, and apparently kills the Surfer as well. Reed and Sue get married in Japan. The credits cut back to a shot of the Silver Surfer's seemingly lifeless body floating through space, but his eyes open and his board races towards him.

Cast
  • Ioan Gruffudd as Dr. Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
  • Jessica Alba as Susan Storm / Invisible Woman
  • Chris Evans as Johnny Storm / Human Torch
  • Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm / The Thing
  • Doug Jones as Norrin Radd / Silver Surfer
  • Julian McMahon as Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom
  • Kerry Washington as Alicia Masters
  • Beau Garrett as Captain Frankie Raye
  • Vanessa Minnillo as Julie Angel
  • Andre Braugher as General Hager
  • Brian Posehn as Wedding Minister
  • Stan Lee as Himself

Production
Jessica Alba getting makeup placed on her face on the film set

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.[2] Screenwriters Frost and Don Payne were hired to write the screenplay.[3] Payne has said the film is based upon "The Galactus Trilogy", 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.[4] As of March 2, 2007, Galactus' design was not yet done,[5] and by April 18, until hiring Laurence Fishburne to perform the voice, the filmmakers were unsure of whether the character would speak.[6]

The film includes the Fantasti-Car,[7] 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".[8] 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.[9] Michael Chiklis' prosthetics as The Thing were also redesigned to allow him to take it off in between takes[10] and for better ventilation.[11]

In August 2006, actor Andre Braugher dropped out of an ER supporting role to be cast in Rise of the Silver Surfer.[12] 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".[13] In September, Jones was confirmed to portray the Silver Surfer in addition to Julian McMahon reprising his role as Doctor Doom.[14] The Baxter Building was also redesigned.[4]

Release

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 scheduled to appear during the film Disturbia on April 13, 2007 but errors occurred and Tim Story announced that it would be released with Spider-Man 3 on May 4, 2007. The theatrical trailer was finally released online on April 30, 2007 on Apple Trailer's website.[15] 20th Century Fox launched an outdoor advertising campaign at the end of February.[16] The cast also made an appearance at the Coca-Cola 600 Nextel Cup NASCAR race in Charlotte over Memorial Day weekend.[17]

In late May 2007, 20th Century Fox struck a deal with the Franklin Mint to promote the movie by altering 40,000 U.S. quarters and releasing them into circulation.[18] All of the altered quarters were minted in 2005 and honor the state of California as part of the 50 State Quarters program created by the U.S. Mint. The altered quarters feature the Silver Surfer on the reverse along with a URL to the movie's official website. Once the U.S. Mint became aware of the promotion, it notified the studio and the Franklin Mint that it was breaking the law by turning government-issued currency into private advertising. The federal mint did not indicate whether a penalty would be effected.[18]

Home media

The film was released October 2, 2007 on DVD (Widescreen/Full Screen & 2 Disc "The Power Cosmic" Edition)[19] and high-definition Blu-ray Disc.[20] The film was also released on HD DVD outside of the U.S.

Reception

Box office

On its opening weekend, the film was the highest-grossing movie at the U.S. box office, reaching approximately $58 million,[21] $2 million more than its predecessor.[22] By its second weekend, the film suffered a 66% drop and a 54% drop in its third weekend.[21] The film grossed $289 million worldwide, including a $131.9 million gross in the United States and in Canada.[1] The budget was $130 million.[1]

Critical response

On the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 162 reviews (59 "fresh", 103 "rotten").[23] On Metacritic, the film had a score of 45%, based on 45 reviews.[24] On Yahoo! Movies the film is rated C+ by critics, based on 14 reviews.[25]

The New York Times critic Manohla Dargis called the film an "amalgam of recycled ideas, dead air, dumb quips, casual sexism and pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo".[26] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said the film was "more fun than in the original" but "fails to sustain its modest running time of 87 minutes."[27] James Berardinelli of ReelViews.com called the film "so lackluster it makes Spider-Man 3 feel like a masterpiece by comparison".[28]

Kevin Maher of The Times liked the film's light tone saying "the film is everything you’d expect from a movie that began in the pages of a 1960s comic book – garish, giddy, emotionally simplistic, boldly idiotic and mercifully short".[29] New York Daily News liked the movie: "It's almost a surprise that the sequel is actually better — much better — than the original."[30]

Accolades

Rise of the Silver Surfer was nominated for fifteen awards, winning two. The film won the 2008 Golden Trailer Award for "Best Teaser Poster", against competition from Saw IV, and Quantum of Solace, among others.[31] At the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards, Jessica Alba won for "Favorite Female Movie Star", over Keira Knightley of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Kirsten Dunst of Spider-Man 3.[32] Rise of the Silver Surfer was nominated for five additional Kids' Choice awards.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer lost to Cloverfield for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films' 2008 Best Science Fiction Film award,[33] just as it lost in the "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" category, presented by the MTV Movie Awards to Transformers.[34] The United Kingdom's National Movie Awards, additionally, selected Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix over Rise of the Silver Surfer in its 2007 "Best Family" category.[35] The film was nominated in eight categories during the Teen Choice Awards ceremonies of 2007, but won no award.[36]

See also
  • Fantastic Four (film series)
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (video game)

Notes
  1. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  2. Michael Fleming (2005-12-04). "Story booked solid with Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  3. Michael Fleming; Dave McNary (2006-05-03). "Inside Move: Surfer may board Four". Variety. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  4. Ben Morse; Brian Warmoth (2007-01-15). "2007 Preview: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". Wizard. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  5. Tim Story (2007-03-02). "Fantastic Four 2 Set Footage & Story Comments". Superherohype.com. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  6. Pamela McClintock (2007-04-18). "Fishburne voices Surfer". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
  7. Bowles, Scott (2006-11-30). "First look: Fantasticar flows onto film". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
  8. William Keck (2006-06-01). "Jessica Alba plans a fantastic summer". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  9. Stax (2006-08-17). "Fantastic New Title". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  10. Ftopel (2007-03-12). "Washington Waits for "Fantastic Four" Final Cut". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  11. Director Tim Story's DVD commentary
  12. Stax (2006-08-24). "Braugher Joins Fantastic Sequel". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  13. Stax (2006-09-05). "Fantastic Four Sequel Under Way". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  14. Stax (2006-09-25). "Weta Surfs to Fantastic Four". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
  15. "Apple.com - Trailers - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". Apple, Inc. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  16. "Fox Set To Launch Outdoor RISE Campaign". F4movies.com. 2007-02-14. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  17. "Jessica Alba mothers her co-stars, attends NASCAR Coca Colar race in North Carolina". Celebrity-Gossip. May 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  18. "U.S. Mint: Silver Surfer Coin is Breaking the Law". Fox News Network. May 26, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  19. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) DVD/Home Video Rentals". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  20. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Blu-Ray)". Blu-Ray.com. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  21. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  22. "Fantastic Four (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  23. "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  24. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  25. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  26. Dargis, Manohla (2007-06-14). "Armageddon Comes Knocking". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  27. Joe Morgenstern (2007-06-15). "Film Review - WSJ.com". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  28. James Berardinelli. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". ReelViews. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  29. Kevin Maher (2007-06-14). "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer review". The Times. London. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  30. Mathews, Jack (June 15, 2007). "Second time's the charm: Team strikes gold with Silver Surfer". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  31. "9th Annual Golden Trailer Award Winner and Nominees". Golden Trailer Awards. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  32. "Cyrus dominates Kids Choice Awards". UPI. March 30, 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  33. "Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films, USA: 2008". Internet Movie Database. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  34. "MTV Movie Awards, 2007". Internet Movie Database. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  35. "National Movie Awards, UK: 2007". Internet Movie Database. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  36. "Teen Choice Awards: 2007". Internet Movie Database. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

References

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