Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four is a light-hearted and funny take on Marvel Comics' first family of superheroes. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help of former schoolmate and rival Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) in order to pursue outer-space research involving human DNA. Also on the trip are Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis); his former lover, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), who's now Doom's employee and love interest; and her hotshot-pilot brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). Things don't go as planned, of course, and the quartet becomes blessed--or is it cursed--with superhuman powers: flexibility, brute strength, invisibility and projecting force fields, and bursting into flame. Meanwhile, Doom himself is undergoing a transformation. Among the many entries in the comic-book-movie frenzy, Fantastic Four is refreshing because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Characterisation isn't too deep, and the action is a bit sparse until the final reel (like most "first" superhero movies, it has to go through the "how did we get these powers and what we will do with them?" churn). But it's a good-looking cast, and original comic-book co-creator Stan Lee makes his most significant Marvel-movie cameo yet, in a speaking role as the FF's steadfast postal carrier, Willie Lumpkin. Newcomers to superhero movies might find the idea of a family with flexibility, strength, invisibility, and force fields a retread of The Incredibles, but Pixar's animated film was very much a tribute to the FF and other heroes of the last 40 years. The irony is that while Fantastic Four is an enjoyable B-grade movie, it's the tribute, The Incredibles, that turned out to be a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Offering a real improvement on its predecessor and successfully introducing one of the world of comics’ most popular characters in the process, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer easily warrants some attention on DVD to go with its impressive box office take. Picking up where the surprisingly tepid original left off, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer finds the Marvel Comics Universe’s first family dealing with the celebrity that their powers have brought them, to the point where even a simple wedding can’t take place without interruption. The film then takes a little while to re-establish its characters and re-introduce some of the issues that underpin them. But it’s not too long before the Silver Surfer arrives, and things really get into gear. For make no mistake: it’s the Surfer who ignites the film and provides some of the very best moments of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Backed up by some superb special effects work, he’s a far more interesting draw than the returning Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom. While there are, inevitably, various problems that each of the characters in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer must face, the film never opts to go knee-deep into them. Instead, it chooses a light, breezy tone, that’s suited well to family viewing yet not without some genuine blockbuster moments. It’s no classic, but Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is most certainly fun. And it’s equally certain that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of this quintet of heroes... --Jon Foster