Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer



A sequel to 2005's Fantastic Four, which is about...The Silver Surfer, the "herald" for the planet-consuming being Galactus, who in this movie is. Loosely based on the Ultimate Marvel Gah Lak Tus Trilogy written by Warren Ellis.

Some reviews rated the film higher than its predecessor, but only slightly. And it didn't make as much money, thus making any further films unlikely.

"Johnny: (sees the "Dodge" logo on the front) Hemi? Reed: Of course!"
 * Action Girl: Sue, of course. Also Cpt. Frankie Raye.
 * Actionized Sequel: The film has more action than the previous film.
 * All Your Powers Combined: Johnny at the end. After being a screw up due to his unstable form for most of the movie he uses it to his advantage at the end.
 * Avoid the Dreaded G Rating: Surprisingly averted. The director actually stated that he didn't want to pepper the film because he was happy with its PG rating. It helps that the FF's adventures and tone have almost always been rather family-friendly.
 * Badass Boast: Reed.
 * Beta Couple: Ben and Alicia, Johnny and Frankie.
 * Bouquet Toss: Johnny shoots it in midair when it looked like Frankie would catch it.
 * Creator Cameo: Stan Lee, as required by Federal law.
 * Chrome Champion: The Silver Surfer later plays it pretty straight.
 * Color-Coded for Your Convenience:
 * Cool Car: The Fantasticar.

"Sue (to Reed): I am so hot for you right now... Johnny: Me, too!"
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Super-powered Johnny versus Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom acquires the Surfboard of the Silver Surfer -- which allows him to fire stupidly powerful energy blasts -- and to combat that, Johnny grabs the powers of the entire team to take him down. Doom never even gets a single shot off.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Captain Frankie Raye.
 * Demoted to Extra: In the comics, Alicia Masters (Ben's blind girlfriend) was the one who appealed to the Surfer's "humanity" and convinced him to save the world from Galactus. Here, Sue is given that job, and Alicia is only given two scenes.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Galactus (called Gah Lak Tus here).
 * Enemy Mine: They team up with Dr. Doom to get the Silver Surfer.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Parodied.

"Johnny: I've been wondering. How do you and Alicia... *clicks his tongue in lieu of finishing the sentence* Ben: That's none of your business! Johnny: Okay, okay! I'm just concerned, that's all. I hate to wake up one morning and find out she was killed in a rockslide! Ben: I'll show you a rockslide!"
 * Every Helicopter Is a Huey: As the team are flown over the Thames in a pair of Hueys. Since the US military phased out the Huey long ago and the British military never used them at all, it's anyone's guess where on Earth they even got the things unless they raided an air museum.
 * Fakeout Escape: There's a sequence (imported from the original comics) where Sue turns invisible when government officials come to check on her, then runs out the doorway during their confusion.
 * Family-Unfriendly Death: Doom actually blasts apart one whole side of a military-officer's body. Sure, it turns to ash and there's no blood and gore, but it's in a PG-rated film.
 * Fan Service: Both the Storm siblings have a lot of Shirtless Scenes. This is also the primary reason Alba was cast as Sue.
 * Flying Firepower: Johnny Storm, the human torch.
 * Genius Bruiser: Reed is given photos of a "comet" (actually the Silver Surfer) that's entered the Earth's atmosphere. Reed immediately hands the photos to Ben, who points out that the object can't be a comet because "the trail's all wrong". A subtle but brilliant nod to Ben's astronaut career.
 * Incredibly Lame Pun: When Surfer!Doom whips up a tornado for the Fantastic Four. "Let's all go... FOR A SPIN!!"
 * I Will Show You X: When Johnny and Ben discuss Ben's sex life.


 * Jumped At the Call: The Human Torch, but only because there was no higher calling than getting girls and making money.
 * Laser-Guided Karma: While it doesn't last long, Johnny accidentally switching powers with Ben and becoming the Thing after all the crap he puts Ben through. Ben clearly enjoyed it.
 * Lethal Harmless Powers: Force Fields, only threatened though.
 * Lightning Bruiser: The Thing's make-up had improved to be lighter and allow Chiklis more freedom (in the first movie he couldn't even sit down while wearing the full costume and makeup). This means that he gets even faster and more dangerously agile in the sequel.
 * Logo Joke: The movie -- released by 20th Century Fox -- featured the Fox logo segue into the page-flipping Marvel logo.
 * Look Ma, No Plane: The Human Torch flies next to the plane in which the rest of the Fantastic Four is flying, annoying the Thing.
 * Mythology Gag:
 * Stan Lee's cameo doubles for this in the film, he was turned away from Reed and Sue's wedding, just as he (and Jack Kirby) were for the wedding in the comic.
 * No One Gets Left Behind: The reason Sue leaves the safety of the shields to help the others.
 * The Notable Numeral: 4. Written on the sky, in case you missed it on their chests.
 * Powers as Programs: Johnny's form becomes unstable causing him to swap powers with the others whenever they touch.
 * Samaritan Syndrome: The Four feel compelled to use their powers for good... often at the cost of their personal lives and relationships, as seen in the wedding opening.
 * Sequel Hook: The end credits has one.
 * Snow Means Cold: Subverted when the Surfer's passage causes snow to fall on the Great Sphinx outside Giza, Egypt... without a corresponding drop in temperature.
 * Starring Special Effects: The Silver Surfer is made of computer animation for the most of the film.
 * The Stinger: The Silver Surfer wakes up and goes back on his board.
 * Ultimate Evil: Gah Lak Tus.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Ben and Johnny, as always.
 * We Can Rule Together: Doom makes this offer to the Silver Surfer.
 * Wedding Smashers: Sorry, Sue...
 * With Catlike Tread: The 4 decide that the only way to get the Silver Surfer's board back from Dr. Doom is to use The Human Torch's new "powers" to combine all their abilities to allow him to fly, but also be as strong as The Thing, and be invisible so he can sneak up on Doom. It works perfectly and he gets to within two feet of Doom. But rather than just knock him out, he has to say "To quote a friend, It's clobbering time." thus blowing the cover and starting a drawn out battle... all while the Earth is about to be destroyed.
 * With Catlike Tread: The 4 decide that the only way to get the Silver Surfer's board back from Dr. Doom is to use The Human Torch's new "powers" to combine all their abilities to allow him to fly, but also be as strong as The Thing, and be invisible so he can sneak up on Doom. It works perfectly and he gets to within two feet of Doom. But rather than just knock him out, he has to say "To quote a friend, It's clobbering time." thus blowing the cover and starting a drawn out battle... all while the Earth is about to be destroyed.