Throwback Thursday: Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

When a book (whether it is a traditional book or a comic book) is transferred to the big or small screen, it has to be much more than a soulless copy. Whatever qualities made the book successful, those qualities must be transferred to live action adaptation.

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer hit theaters in 2007. The sequel to Fantastic Four (2005), the film adds to the world of this narrative by introducing the characters and the audience to the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fisburne and physically played by Doug Jones). Sent by Galactus, the Surfer arrives on Earth to warn of it’s residence of his master’s impending arrival and our destruction. It is up to the Fantastic Four to save the day and ensure that the planet remains intact.

Though it is slightly better than it’s predecessor, this is far from the best comic book movie ever made. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer is the type of film one watches on a lazy weekend afternoon when you need to something, but don’t want to leave the house.

Do I recommend it? I am leaning toward maybe with a possibility of a no.

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Throwback Thursday-Superhero Edition-Daredevil (2003) and Fantastic Four (2005)

I’ve come to the conclusion that everything in Hollywood is cyclical. It all comes back around eventually.

With the newest adaptations of Daredevil and Fantastic Four, I was reminded, that 10 years ago, these superheroes dominated our screens.

The 2003 Daredevil film starred Ben Affleck in the lead role as lawyer by day Matt Murdock and superhero by night Daredevil.  His co stars include his now wife Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Colin Farrell as Bullseye, the film’s villain.

It was not a bad film. Daredevil is one of those superheroes where if your a comic book fan, you know the story and if your not, you need the back story. But it is an interesting film never the less.

Two years later, The Fantastic Four returned to big screen. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) are four astronauts who are shot into space. But the mission does not go as planned and they find themselves with unusual powers. Now they must use these powers to prevent Victor von Doom (Julian McMahon), from taking over the world.

The movie is a tad on the hokey side. But it’s not real life and that is why we go to the movies, to escape from real life for a short time and enter a world that is not ours.

I recommend them both.