3 out of 5

Director: Tim Story

I’m really not sure I get all the hate for this movie.  Tim Story brought to the sequel almost the exact same elements he brought to the previous one, which it seemed like opinions were friendlier toward…  Furthermore, I’d say he stepped into the comic world a couple inches further with his FF vs. fame storyline and inclusion of Alicia Masters, and the Fantasticar… the ‘realization’ of the family just seemed tighter, not having to stumble through getting the audience up to speed.  Granted, this Doctor Doom incarnation is the worst, but that’s a carryover from before.  So if you could deal with it then, you can deal with it now.  Otherwise, the big violation seems to be with Galactus-as-storm-cloud, but I was totally okay with this, and I actually think it was a smart way to go.  How could you possibly convey the scope of Galactus otherwise?

…Although it seems like my perceptions are exclusively based on DVD / bluray sales while at Tower Records, since apparently the critics slightly favored this over the original, according to wiki.  BUT THE FANS, man… they spoke… with crazy rentals of FF1 but tons of copies of FF2 sitting on our shelf…  Why, oh why couldn’t they just heed the critics’ praises?  WHYYYYYYYY

Anyhow, we pick up with Reed and Sue planning their wedding, interrupted by army types wanting to know why some massive holes are appearing all around the world.  Sue, who in the movie world is apparently not a scientist and totally just wants to pick out wedding dresses girls, please, puts on a pouty face until Reed tells army types that he doesn’t have time to save the world ’cause he has to get married.  …Of course, he goes about working on the project on the side, and this all comes to a head when the world does, indeed, appear to end right about the time the wedding vows are being made.  The team jumps to the task – slowed down by having to team up with a magically healed Victor von Doom and, after getting blasted with the power cosmic, Johnny Storm’s fluctuating powers – and eventually helps the army capture The Silver Surfer, the ‘herald’ of the world-destroyer Galactus.  Spoiler: things end up okay.

What Story did well in film one he continues with here: the action scenes have the same quick, readable sense as those in the first G.I. Joe, but with marginally better special effects that satisfy the blockbuster need without trying to go all out in every scene.  As mentioned, the family dynamic works well, and because we can ditch ‘The Thing hates himself’ subplot, we can work in a more comfortable groove of Johnny / Ben’s riffing.  This is also a pretty wacky story that probably was already silly on paper, but could’ve been completely bungled on screen, and Story (and his editors) make sure to balance the Surfer’s inclusion (besides an annoying and pointless opening sequence that just wants to clue us into the stakes) such that it does feel important when he appears, and that his presence and silence makes for a believable impact.  The character model also looks pretty slick, despite the CGIness – just the right level of reflection in his skin, just the right level of “liquid” to his look.

And what didn’t really work in film one carried over as well: Julian McMahon is not the right fit for Victor, and so makes the way that character is written stick out all the more, and Jessica Alba… what?  Come on.  Nothing against the actress, but certainly there were enough crowd-drawing names of women who wouldn’t have had to wear odd contacts and who would maybe seem believable as matches for Reed.  …About who, I would add, Ioan Gruffud does a lot for – he’s got the look, and a good set of mannerisms for it, and feels more comfortable with his accent and timing in this go around.  So it’s too bad he couldn’t get a more ‘serious’ script for the reboot.

So it is what it is, which is not, at all, horrible, and in my mind, equally fun as the first, while managing a massive cosmic story arc (whittling it down to simple stuff, sure) and including a couple extra nods for fans.  Nothing obscure, but the film’s popcorn and meant for crowds, not geeks, so that works for me.