Alright, so we've finally come to it. This is the one film that I was specifically requested to cover, and why I chose to go through the franchise. Producers were ecstatic over the financial returns from the previous F4 film, and immediately began pouring through thousands of old F4 comics in hopes of finding a story which could be adapted to the big screen for their sequel.
Things are busy for the foursome. Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards and Sue "Invisible Girl" Storm are preparing for their wedding, when Reed notices something odd in space, and it appears to be heading straight toward Earth. Soon, a silver object enters Earth's atmosphere and begins creating one mile deep craters on the planet. On wedding day, the humanoid silver object arrives in New York, and Johnny "Human Torch" Storm immediately gives chase. It takes a turn for the worse, as the Surfer leads Johnny into the upper atmosphere, and after touching the Surfer once, Johnny begins to lose his powers and plummets to the ground below. He survives, and the Four try to figure out just what is going on. Some time later, the Surfer passes Latveria, where he unknowingly frees a frozen Doctor Doom from his imprisonment, who wants to know what caused his freedom. Soon, the Four and the US Military are able to separate the Surfer from his board, and he is captured. After his initial confrontation with the Surfer, Johnny finds out that his molecular structure has been compromised, causing him to switch powers with the others by a simple touch.
Things are busy for the foursome. Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards and Sue "Invisible Girl" Storm are preparing for their wedding, when Reed notices something odd in space, and it appears to be heading straight toward Earth. Soon, a silver object enters Earth's atmosphere and begins creating one mile deep craters on the planet. On wedding day, the humanoid silver object arrives in New York, and Johnny "Human Torch" Storm immediately gives chase. It takes a turn for the worse, as the Surfer leads Johnny into the upper atmosphere, and after touching the Surfer once, Johnny begins to lose his powers and plummets to the ground below. He survives, and the Four try to figure out just what is going on. Some time later, the Surfer passes Latveria, where he unknowingly frees a frozen Doctor Doom from his imprisonment, who wants to know what caused his freedom. Soon, the Four and the US Military are able to separate the Surfer from his board, and he is captured. After his initial confrontation with the Surfer, Johnny finds out that his molecular structure has been compromised, causing him to switch powers with the others by a simple touch.
The Surfer reveals to Sue that he is under the service of his master, known to his people as Galactus, and he is charged with being the first scout for planets which Galactus can consume. Otherwise, his world and his people will be destroyed. This causes the Four to somehow figure out a way to stop Galactus, who is on his way to Earth. Yet to throw a monkey wrench in the works, Doom has stolen the Surfer's board and intends to use the Power Cosmic to become the most powerful being in the entire Universe. So, no pressure. Eventually, they find a way to save the day. The Surfer sacrifices himself to destroy Galactus, Reed & Sue get married, Johnny's molecules are restored, and all is well.
Alright, here's what I've got to say. If they would have cut out the entire plot about Galactus, then this film might have been decent. The costumes stuck to the same theme as the previous film, the effect were stepped up just a little bit, and some of the acting was better. Of course, they brought back Julian McMahon as Doom, which I will never be a fan of, but at least they showcased some form of continuity.
The biggest problem I have with this film is Galactus. Being a comic book fan, I have always been a fan of Galactus. The story of this gigantic robot-looking monstrosity that moves throughout the universe consuming planets is incredibly compelling. And they had a HUGE opportunity to showcase the amazing planet-eater on the big screen, which is something fans had been waiting for ever since Marvel started utilizing their characters in film format. And yet, they completely shit the bed. When we first got our glimpse of Galactus...we got this:
Alright, here's what I've got to say. If they would have cut out the entire plot about Galactus, then this film might have been decent. The costumes stuck to the same theme as the previous film, the effect were stepped up just a little bit, and some of the acting was better. Of course, they brought back Julian McMahon as Doom, which I will never be a fan of, but at least they showcased some form of continuity.
The biggest problem I have with this film is Galactus. Being a comic book fan, I have always been a fan of Galactus. The story of this gigantic robot-looking monstrosity that moves throughout the universe consuming planets is incredibly compelling. And they had a HUGE opportunity to showcase the amazing planet-eater on the big screen, which is something fans had been waiting for ever since Marvel started utilizing their characters in film format. And yet, they completely shit the bed. When we first got our glimpse of Galactus...we got this:
A cloud. A CLOUD?! A FREAKIN' CLOUD?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I dare all of you to pour through each and every single Galactus story in every comic book he's ever been in, and you tell me when he appeared as a cloud! Talk about the most disappointing film debut ever. And you know what pisses me off even more? Months ago, some original concept art was released for this film, and THIS is how Galactus was originally intended to look:
Producers keep saying that Galactus was a cloud because he was not yet designed, and they ran out of time before putting him in. And they wanted to use his humanoid form in a Silver Surfer movie. But the damage was done. Fanboys and girls worldwide immediately took to the internet to share in their hatred of a damn cloud. And whenever this is mentioned to me, I always shake with disappointment over knowing how they had a chance to do something awesome, yet destroyed all comic fans' hopes. And you know what? No other sequel to this particular Fantastic Four franchise was ever produced. Not even that Silver Surfer movie they kept going on and on about. Marvel Studios recently even offered Fox Studios a deal to let them keep the rights to Daredevil, but they wanted Galactus and the Surfer back. Of course, this deal was turned down, and those two particular characters are being held captive by Fox. Now, the talk is of once again rebooting the franchise with younger actors, and taking another shot to give fans a F4 film that they deserve. Whether they can finally align the pieces in the right order or not is too hard to tell. Looking at their past experiences, things don't look good. But I guess only time will answer our questions.