Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Reed's and Sue's wedding gets interrupted by a global disaster in the making. A silver skinned man on what looks like a surfboard is boring big holes in the surface of the Earth. Johnny tries taking on the Silver Surfer and gets infected with some radiation that causes him to switch powers with his teammates if he touches them.

Victor von Doom returns. He confronts the Silver Surfer and then convinces the US Army that he wants to help them deal with the alien. Reed is the one who figures out how to contain the Silver Surfer, who up to that point has seemed unstoppable but Victor is the one to take advantage of the situation. After the Silver Surfer has been immobilized Doom steals his board.

Mr. Fantastic unveils his latest invention, the Fantastic Car, just in time to help them deal with von Doom and his newly acquired surf board. They don't refer to it as the Fantastic Car but clearly what else could it be? They take on Dr. Doom and defeat him by giving their powers to Johnny who uses their combined powers to separate him from the board.

The ending is a bit lackluster. It all ends a little too quickly. The Surfer decides to turn on his boss, who I don't think is named or clearly seen. He throws his power back at Galactus which banishes him from the Earth or maybe kills him. As the credits begin to roll the Surfer and his board are seen drifting in space.

Kerry Washington returns to play the part of Alicia Masters. She has a few scenes and lines but is not an integral part of the plot. Andre Braugher plays the part of US Army General Hager. He does a decent job in the role. I don't think this is a character from the comic books. Beau Garrett plays the part of US Army Captain Raye. I don't recall them using her name during the movie but it was there in the credits. There is a character named Frankie Raye in the comics who was a love interest of Johnny Storm's. She gained super powers similar to his and became a herald of Galactus.

One big disappointment for me the first time I saw this movie was the lack of Galactus. He's there but he isn't there. You never really get to see Galactus. For most of the movie the surfer is the bad guy. It is only towards the end that it's revealed that he works for someone else. I remembered all this so I was prepared for the lack of Galactus but it still feels wrong.

This isn't a great movie. I'm not crazy about the ending but on the whole I like it. I don't get all the hate for what I consider to be a decent superhero film.