TMNT (2007) (DVD)

Twenty-three years after debuting in a Mirage Studios comic, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in their fourth full-length feature film. Unlike the previous three film outings, this one is fully CGI.

Ostensibly taking place after Shredder's defeat in the second film (and very likely the third film as well, due to the appearance of the Time Scepter on the trophy wall), the Turtles must overcome their petty squabbles and familial rifts to battle a new menace in the form of an 3,000-year-old immortal warrior hunting alien monsters and stone statues of his former Generals.

A less-clueless, more pro-active April O'Neil is now living with vigilante Casey Jones, who is chafing at settling down. The Foot Clan makes an impressive appearance, led by Karai, who has taken over from the deceased Shredder. Though hints are given that Shredder may not be as dead as the Turtles think, leaving things open for a follow-up film. Leonardo is off training in South America, Michaelangelo is working as a birthday party entertainer, Donatello is an IT Support guy, and Raphael fills his days with sleep and the nights with vigilante justice as the Night Watcher!

I loved the heck out this flick in the theaters, and loved just as much on the recently released DVD.

The animation is crisp, fluid, and rife with depth of texture, shadow, and light. This is, by far, my favorite CGI movie to date, visually speaking. Very little is static; from natural, life-like eye movements, to the gentle motion of breathing, to the ninja-quick fight scenes, this film just breathes life into the millions of moving pixels. The visual style is less realistic, more anime/manga, yet you find yourself immersed in the story and able to relate to the emotions of the very expressive characters.

The music chosen for the film is fantastic. The well used theme music gets your juices flowing. A version of Black Betty by Big City Rock and Lights Out by P.O.D. pump it up during a couple of the frenzied fight scenes. There are other surprisingly good tunes utilized to great effect through-out the movie. (Soundtrack can be found all over, including at Amazon, who I hope won't sue me for linking to their audio clips. ^.^;;)

The voice acting was top notch, though a few of the tertiary characters were obviosuly voiced by the same few actors. Laurence Fishburne narrates, Sarah Michelle Geller is April O'Neil, Chris Evans voices Casey Jones, Patrick Stewart voices the Immortal Warrior, the late Mako does a phenominal job as Splinter, and you will hear several familair voices from other cartoons and video games through-out. The dialogue is never stilted, often amusing, and fits each character well.

TMNT has a strong story to tell. It is engaging, with a perfect blend of action, humor, and drama. Compared to many other films out this year, TMNT delivers on plot without all the excessive fluff and marketing bloat.

If you want a great action film, one you can safely watch with your kids, or even all by your lonesome, you can't go wrong with four ninja turtles and gi wearing rat!

The DVD has a lot of extras, mostly commentary and few partially completed scenes, including an alternate opening and ending. Some storyboard comparisons, and interviews with Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Geller, Laurence Fishburne and the filmmakers round out the special features. The disc I got has both wide-screen and full-screen versions, always a plus. (I like wide-screen movies, the kids and Mom like full-screen on their smaller TVs). You really can't go wrong with this DVD ... well, okay, I dislike the DVD cover (which I couldn't find a decent pic of on the 'Net). The cover was just too cartoony and belies the fantastic CGI animation awaiting your eyes on the disc inside. (The DVD gets 4 Raivynns).

I give TMNT a solid 5 of 5 Raivynns! You've never seen the Turtles like this!

Raivynn Rating

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Bourne is back, and he is better than ever!

A reporter unearths secrets about Jason Bourne and a black ops program codenamed Blackbriar, setting in motion events that propel the amnesiac assassin around the world. Bourne races against the enigmatic Treadstone Seventy-One to uncover the truth behind his existence.

From Moscow, to Paris, to London, to Madrid, to Tangier, and coming home to New York, Bourne battles other assassin "assets", evades local police forces, has a spectacular foot chase through the streets of Tangier, a tense game of cat-and-mouse in the crowded London Waterloo station, and several death-defying car chases and crashes.

The story is tight, and the plot never gets lost or muddled through the twists, turns, and location changes. The acting is well done, never flat, never too over the top. I loved Albert Finney as the mastermind behind Bourne's creation. Matt Damon continues his stellar portrayal of the titular assassin, even teaching us that a good book is useful for more than just reading!

The action sequences are frenetic, and filmed in that nausea inducing choppy camera style so prevalent today. I much prefer the clean action style of the prior released Live Free or Die Hard compared to the jerky, blurred, WTF-just-happened style used in Ultimatum. It is often hard to tell exactly what was going on, which in ways amplifies the violence as well as masking it.

I suppose this frantic, spinning camera-work simulates the uncertainty of a violent situation, as if it were real. The few times I've been in a fight, or a car wreck, my memories of it are certainly more jumbled than crisp and clear. It also helps keep the violence level down to achieve the PG-13 rating by making it appear more is happening, confusing viewers with sudden jerks and blurry action.

I don't recall any cursing in the movie, and if it was present, it was minor and fit well within the context of its use. A refreshing change from the expletive filled, PG-13 summer block-busters released thus far this year.

As you hear in the trailers for this film, Jason Bourne finally remembers everything about his past. He rushes to confront the people behind it, learning more than he cares to about what really happened. The ending will leave you cheering.

If you liked the first two Bourne films, you will love this one. Action, suspense, intrigue, and a captivating story will leave you breathless and wanting more.

I give The Bourne Ultimatum a reluctant 5 of 5 Raivynns! If the camera work on the action sequences were cleaner, clearer, this would have been an no-brainer five. I like to see my action, not be befuddled and nauseated by it.

Raivynn Rating

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Best.
Movie.
Ever.

Not!

Near the beginning of The Simpsons Movie Homer berates a crowd of people for watching an Itchy & Scratchy movie they paid for when they could watch the same thing at home, on TV! More prophetic words by Homer were never spoken.

Oh, there were a few moments that you wouldn't see splash across your television during a typical Simpsons episode. But, as with more recent seasons, it appears the willingness to stretch boundaries was dropped in order to keep it PG. Well, PG-13 is the rating given to The Simpsons Movie, but it is far, far less PG-13 than any other similarly rated movie released this year. You'll see the reason for the rating if you watch this film. It's not language ...

This is not to say I did not like the movie. I did. I laughed many times, snickered a lot, and even sang along with about 2/3 of the hundred or so other movie-goers when Homer sings the Spider-Pig song ...

"Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does whatever a spider-pig does."

You don't get that sort of unplanned, spontaneous audience participation in many movies.

The movie plays out like a long episode of The Simpsons. Unfortunately, the closer to the film's release it got, more and more of this lean 87 minute movie was shown in trailers, clips, and talk shows. While it does drive up interest in seeing the movie, it detracts from the final experience because you've seen the gags dozens of times. Some held up to the hype, like the spider-pig song, while others drew flat amused laughter, as if they once found it funny but now ... meh. (The wrecking ball scene is a perfect example).

The story is not a bad one, a bit more epic in scope than most episodes, but nothing ground breaking.

Lake Springfield has become dangerously polluted. Lisa Simpson exhorts the town into doing something about it. Dumping into the lake is banned. Good ol' Homer, however, dumps in a silo full of porcine poop instead of going to the hazardous materials plant. Now the lake is toxic, threatening the rest of the country, forcing President Swarzzennegger to place a containment dome over Springfield. Homer is found out and blamed. Now, Homer and family must save Springfield and themselves. Hilarity ensues.

In the course of this straight forward plot, we get to meet a high profile band, an extremely high profile actor, the entire population of Springfield, and, of course, Spider-Pig.

If you are a die-hard Simpsons fan, you should rush out and see this. If you merely like the Simpsons, do as Homer suggests and save your money for the DVD or rental. If you hate the Simpsons ... well, there must be something wrong with you. See your family physician immediately!

If you do go to see this at a theater, wait through the credits for some more fun and a surprise or two. ~.^

I give The Simpsons Movie 3 of 5 Raivynns!

Raivynn Rating

Open Water (2003) DVD

I am never scuba diving. Ever!

This film is like an 81 minute long public service ad showing you the perils of open water scuba diving. It shows us an unmarried couple who take a spur-of-the-moment diving vacation. They are dive certified and end up on a chartered boat in some un-named tropical locale. A mishap in the head count (why not have a sign-in sheet???) leads to our two protagonists being stranded two hours out from land, in the middle of the ocean.

That's where the based-on-a-true-story begins.

Daniel and Susan, our erstwhile divers, decide to do their own thing and not stay with the group. (There's Public Service Ad #1 - Stay With the Group!) They also spend too much time fiddling with some eels and petting a nurse shark, surfacing right at the 35 minutes dive time allotted for the trip. (PSA #2 - Be on Time!)

The boat is gone, the crew having flubbed the headcount and no one else noticing two people were missing. (PSA #3 - Make Friends Who Will Miss You! and PSA #4 - Don't Trust the Locals!)

Gradually, the two adrift divers realize they are lost at sea. Things begin to get worse as panic sets in, and the sharks begin to circle. If you follow closely, the film follows the Five Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. It gives an interesting, even emotional, look into their situation.

The duo must deal with dehydration, motion sickness, hunger, fear, jellyfish swarms, and the ever present sharks as they try to survive. Daniel and Susan act like I imagine most couples in love would in a situation like this. It wasn't overblown. It wasn't melodramatic. They love each other, help each other, even yell at each other, but through it all they are there for one another.

The ending is more Perfect Storm than Titanic. It's melancholy, and leaves you a bit disappointed. But it's real. It feels true, like it would happen that way.

The scenes with the sharks were done using live sharks. No CG was used in the film. The whole thing was financed by two people, director Chris Kentis and his wife, producer Laura Lau. It was digitally shot, and often had only two or three crew filming (plus the actors) on weekends and holidays.

For an independent film shot for a mere $130,000, Open Water is a surprising well made movie. Lion's Gate purchased the film for $2.5 million after a screening at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was very well received. It grossed over $52 million worldwide.

I mention all that because while the film itself, while good, is not overly impressive, how it was made is. In this summer's glut of high budget, over-the-top films I've seen, Open Water is a refreshing change of a well-told, well-acted story done on a minimal budget.

For those of you with kids or easily bruised sensibilities, there is one (totally un-needed) scene of sexual nudity, and several places with heavy cursing. Though, in all honesty, I would have said much worse in that situation, and the cursing lent the film more realism than if it were eliminated or cut down.

The DVD I watched (Okay ...bought for my collection) is a Widescreen, 2-Disc set with tons of features. There are two commentary tracks: one with the director and producer, one with the actors. also included are Deleted Scenes, English and Spanish tracks (how do you scream in Spanish?), a Making Of featurette, and a short feature called "The Indie Essentials".

I haven't viewed the extras yet, so cannot really comment on them at this time.

For a bargain bin $5 movie, it was a good investment. I'm sure I'll watch this again a few times, as well as view some of the extra features.

As rental, you wouldn't be wasting your time or money. As a purchase, if you like survival flicks as much as I do, this is a decent one. I give Open Water a very solid 3 out of 5 Raivynns!

Raivynn Rating

Transformers (2007)

This summer's blockbuster event is Transformers. And, unless you've lived under a rock for the last 20 years, you pretty much know what the movie is about.

Big. Transforming. Robots.

Transformers is a pure action romp from start to finish. You have Huge Shape-Shifting Robots fighting the military, you have Huge Shape-Shifting Robots fighting a secret government agency. You have Huge Shape-Shifting Robots fighting each other.

Oh, and a Little Shape-Shifting Robot fighting all that, plus Shia LeBouf and his hot girlfriend.

I enjoyed this movie. You don't get too many "popcorn flicks" like this every year. It was fast, it was energetic, it had a decent story, it even had made you care, just a little, about the people and robots in it.

In truth, the movie was more about people with some Huge Shape-Shifting Robots thrown in, than about Huge Shape-Shifting Robots who meet people.

And, that's okay.

One of the things the old Transformers cartoons did not depict very well, or at all, was how the Transformers being on Earth affected anything. The movie shows us, sometimes in excruciating detail, just how the United States would respond the Huge Shape-Shifting Robots ... pretty much how the Government is depicted responding to anything from outer space ... shoot at it, capture one, and torture / experiment on it!

Still, it felt plausible, and for once our government and military isn't portrayed as some inept, bumbling, and vaguely evil entity. (Though the throw-away, snide political commentary about the President is more biting). I suppose being a Fourth of July release, it behooved the filmmakers to show the US in a good light. Pump up the patriotism, fuel the war machine, and all that. *shrug*

Still, while the movie, overall, was a blast to watch, it suffered from similar plot bloat as did Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. There are several plot threads, and so many characters introduced, that you begin to feel slightly overwhelmed.

There are six groups of characters that alternately interact with one another throughout the film, eventually converging together in the film's climax: Shia LeBouf's Sam Witwicky and his girlfriend and family; the Special Forces military team; the Secretary of Defense (Jon Voight, yay!) and his signal breaker team; the enigmatic Sector 7; the brave Autobots; and the evil Decepticons.

I think they should have lost the Sector 7 and most of the signal breakers stuff and focused more on Sam Witicky and his relationship with Bumblebee (the yellow, Camaro Autobot). To me, that storyline was the true heart of the film, and it seemed a bit rushed and somewhat forced in places. Shia Lebouf was a great fit for his character, though at times he seemed more like his Even Stevens character in his frantic yelling and screaming at the beginning.

The Army vs. Robot sequences were great. Lots of explosions, plenty of cool guns, awesome special effects. Some of it could have been cut down, but Michael Bay sure loves his exploding action sequences. I'm not a huge fan of the way he does action. I much prefer the cleaner style of action I saw in Live Free or Die Hard to his choppy, quick shift style. It's not horrible, but I just prefer to see what is going on, rather than semi-see it and have to guess.

I liked having the Secretary of Defense in charge of things. Jon Voight is one of my favorite actors, and I really enjoyed seeing him in this role. The signal trackers were okay, but too much focus and importance was given to them, and the addition of Anthony Anderson's character was totally unneeded, slowed things down, and was just jarring in its blatant attempt to be "funny". (Though still not as ear-shriekingly bad as Bernie Mac as the car salesman at the beginning of the film).

The Decepticons looked sufficiently menacing, and very fluid. The Autobots were similarly fluid, but seem to convey a more benign nature. The CGI teams did excellent work with the designs and animations.

All the Transformers were realized perfectly on screen. You fully buy into the idea that these Huge Robots could transform into the vehicles and other shapes. The one thing that seemed incongruous about them was how they were able to move almost silently while walking or hiding. You'd think there would be great big WHOMPS when they took steps due to their massive size.

Peter Cullen returns as the voice of Optimus Prime. He makes the movie. Without him the movie would still be pretty good, but having him reprise his role as Optimus makes it freaking great! Optimus is more humorous in the film than in the cartoons, a refreshing change. All the Transformer dialogue is as fluid as their animations. You feel they are definitely "more than meets the eye".

There were a few other things I didn't care for in the film ... the Allspark's size-shifting, a few rude humor scenes, a bit more strong language than I care for in a "family film" (mostly several Mother Fu ... never completely spoken, but you know we all mentally finish the statement), and the ending sorta made me think "Why didn't he just do that in the first place?"

Overall, I liked it ... a lot. I'd go see it again, except I'd have less to drink beforehand as the movie is two and a half hours long. I'll definitely be getting this on DVD. And I eagerly await the sequel.

You know there will be one. They left it open at the end, with a hook or two here and there.

Still, you really only need one reason to go see this film ...

Big. Transforming. Robots.

I was wavering between a 3 or a 4 for my rating, but the movie has grown on me in the two days since i saw it. So I am giving Transformers as solid 4 out of 5 Raivynns.

Raivynn Rating

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Oh Noes!
Terrorists stole teh Interweb!

The fourth installment of the Die Hard action franchise (Die Hard 4.0 in most non-US markets) pits Bruce Willis' everyman hero, Detective John McClane, against Internet terrorists bent on the destruction of the United States ... or are they?

The movie plays out like a watered-down Hackers (1995) meshed with Bruce Willis' own, more recent, 16 Blocks (2006), with more explosions, cursing, and improbable situations thrown into the mix.

And, since when was it decided the Die Hard franchise was to be turned into buddy movies?

Die Hard with a Vengeance paired Samuel L. Jackson with Bruce Willis. It was a departure from the previous two films; not only by adding a secondary "buddy" character, but by moving the location from New York, losing Reginald VelJohnson's Sgt. Al Powell, and not happening on, or around, Christmas. For all that, Die Hard with a Vengeance was a fun, entertaining action romp.

Live Free or Die Hard pairs Bruce Willis with Justin Long as Matt Farrell, a computer super-nerd. I was extremely worried Long would pull the movie down and was very surprised when he didn't. You actually begin to like the mousy computer nerd as he slowly transforms from the whiny, scared spitless punk in the beginning of the film into "a guy who does what is needed because there is no one else to do it."

Along the way we are also introduced to McClane's grown up daughter, who while not having a lengthy part in the film, plays an important role. Okay, she ends up playing a hostage, thus giving McClane more incentive to beat the snot out of the bad guys. It's not like he wasn't already trying to stop them from mucking up the country, now he's really pissed at them.

What is wrong with bad guys, anyhow? In every single action movie where a villain uses the protagonist's loved ones as a hostage, it always turns out bad. All it does is make the good guy madder, and sets him on a bee line straight for the main baddie.

If they absolutely have to use a beloved hostage, why take that hostage with you?

Put the hostage somewhere as far from where you are, or plan to be, as possible. then make sure the good guy knows exactly where the hostage is and how to get there. Send them to MapQuest for directions if needed. But make sure he goes after his daughter / wife / fiance /best friend / whatever far, far from you. While he's out saving the hostage across the state, blow up the world from the relative safety of your good-guy-free command center.

Better yet, don't actually have the hostage at all. Fake it. So when Good Guy finally arrives to save her, she's not there. Never was there. He can call her on a cell and find out she was okay, never in danger, just over at a slumber party enjoying make-overs, popcorn, and talking about boys or something. Good Guy is now tired, all his anger used up on killing disposable baddies, and now relieved to find out his daughter is safe. Bad Guy laughs and presses the Big Red Button ... BOOM ... plan completed.

Of course, if McClane didn't take out the main bad guy's love interest, he might have left his daughter alone. The baddie love interest is played by Maggie Q, and is a sexy computer nerd ninja. Seriously. And you get to see her and McClane go mano-a-mano. Or would that be man-a-womano? Talk about women gaining equality. ~.^

Timothy Olyphant plays Thomas Gabriel, the mastermind behind the Internet terrorists. He starts off a bit stiff, but quickly warms up to be a credible nemesis for McClane. He's brilliant, ruthless, and just a bit off his rocker. And, like all Die Hard villains, there is more under the surface of his actions than what it seems. Not terribly far under the surface in this guy's case, but still ...

What I liked is that he was the mastermind, the brains behind the whole thing, not the toughest SOB McClane has to face. He manipulates, he schmoozes, he gives the orders to do the dirty work, then watches it all unfold. Of course, as it unfolds, McClane begins to unravel it, and Gabriel becomes more and more unhinged. You can see the seething anger roiling beneath the surface of his carefully maintained calm exterior. The eruptions of anger, the losses of control, are interesting to watch.

Anyhow, McClane gets his ass kicked almost as bad as he kicks the bad guys', as usual. He always bounces back. Sometimes cleaner, and less bloody, than he was in the previous scene.

As Gabriel growls to McClane at one point, "I thought I killed you," McClane's "Yeah, I get that a lot," puts his violent day into perspective.

The action sequences are as good as ever, though Willis is showing his age in more than just his heavier features and lack of hair. He seems a little slower, a little stiffer, more world weary ... but this is counter-pointed by his experience with this sort of thing, and referenced, tongue-in-cheek, several times throughout the film. He is an anachronism in a high-tech world.

Over all, it was a good movie. Very fun, very entertaining, not too cerebral. It moved at a decent pace, though the beginning was a bit slow, and the various cut-aways to the FBI dragged down the pacing a bit. The action was what you would expect from a Die Hard film, as are the improbable situations McClane finds himself in.

I mean, he takes out a helicopter with a car. He fights a sexy computer nerd ninja girl inside an SUV inside an elevator shaft. He fights an F35 with a semi-truck. He even suddenly knows how to fly a helicopter ... sorta. The ending is a good, yet typical, McClane shocker, but you never get to hear his full catch-phrase.

The price they paid to get a PG-13 rating. Though, with all the other rampant cursing and heavy violence, you wouldn't know it.

I recommend seeing this in the theater for the Big Screen and the Movie Sound (and the Jumbo Coke Freezies). I'm also getting it on DVD when it comes out. Not the best action movie of the summer, or of the series. But it's better than Vengeance and a worthy addition to the fast fading (and fast aging Willis) Die Hard franchise.

Next up ... Die Hard with a Respirator!

Yippie Kiy Yay. Mother Fu ... *cough cough cough*

Raivynn Rating

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

I enjoyed the movie. Even though most of the critics and comic geek purists said I shouldn't, I did.

I went in without any expectations except to enjoy myself, drink my freezie coke, and ogle super-hero antics on the big screen.

The movie is much better than the first, in my opinion.

First, it was a mere 85 minutes long. There was plot, story, and action ... no tedious fluff that tends to pad out and bloat more recent movies. I felt almost as if I were watching a comic book come to life. (Well, okay, comic books from a few years ago, not these melodramas the comic industry seems keen on churning out lately. I'm all for backstory and seeing the inner workings of super-hero, but 20 of 24 pages of standing or sitting around chewing the fat gets old, fast.)

With the origin of how the Fantastic Four came to be already told, the story could focus more on ... well, the story.

It was lifted from classic Fantastic Four comic mythology.

A being of cosmic enormity which devours worlds to sustain itself is on its way to Earth, sending its Herald (Silver Surfer) to prepare for its arrival. This being is Galactus.

Now, comic purists are howling that Galactus is not realized on screen as he is in the comics. And, to be brutally honest, I'm glad. I mean, would you really want to see a bright pinky-purple and blue clad cosmic giant with a goofy horned helmet and no pants show up to eat your world?

Of course not! He wouldn't even have to destroy life on Earth before he ate it. We'd already have laughed ourselves to death at first sight of him.

Instead, we get this destructive, cosmic nebula-type thing, with vague shadows of the classic horned helmet and other anthropomorphic details here and there. If you aren't looking for them, you may not even notice them.

Could Galactus have been designed better for the movie? Possibly. But I feel this was a decent choice given the absurdity of the original (yet classic) look of the Devourer of Worlds. (Early appearances of Galactus even had a huge G emblazoned across his chest, while latter showings added blue pants to his outfit).

I suppose the film writers could have opted for the Ultimate version of The Devourer of Worlds, Gah Lak Tus. An immense, 100,000 mile long hive mind conglomeration of city-sized robots. It may have worked on screen, but I do prefer the more simplistic (possibly shrouding?) space cloud used in the current film. The novelization of the film does refer to Galactus as Gah Lak Tus, however, so ... who knows?

Maybe the shrouded mystery is what it should be. A being so immense, so powerful, so far beyond mortal comprehension that we can only see a swirling vortex of cosmic nebula.

Victor von Doom is also back again. The cosmic power which gives the Silver surfer his abilities as Galactus' Herald, revive and restore Dr. Doom. He plays a typically villainous role in the film, one suited to the comic book style. He wants to steal the Surfer's power. I am not a big fan of Julian McMahon as Doom, though he is less stiff and annoying than in the first film. He does pull off the smarmy, egotistical persona fairly well, however.

The titular heroes of the film, the Fantastic Four, are played with more familiarity then in the first one.

Thing is more at ease with his grotesque appearance. Even in love with his blind lady friend, Alicia Masters. Michael Chiklis seems to be the comedic side-kick of the series. Much more so than in the first, or in the comics. It is not overly distracting, but it is slightly overdone. I missed him bellowing his signature battle cry in the film, though he does quip it once. He makes a darn good Ben Grimm, though I always envisioned the Thing to be taller.

The Human Torch is as arrogant and greedy as ever, yet still with the strong core of love for friends and family. Chris Evans plays him perfectly, I think. He has the looks, the build, and the attitude to carry off the disaffected sarcasm and hot-headedness of Johnny Storm.

The Invisible Woman has the best powers of the bunch, in my opinion. Force fields, invisibility, and telekinesis (basically). Jessica Alba is a credible Sue Storm, though she too has gotten bashed for her portrayal of Invisible Woman.

Mister Fantastic is as pliable as ever, and he seems to be loosening up in this go-round. He even steals a page from ol' Spidey and gives us a dance number, Fantastic style. Ioan Gruffudd comes into his own as Reed Richards in this movie. I did not care for him in the first one, but he really made the part his own now.

All the characters' powers were showcased, more believably than before, and with more versatility. I particularly enjoy seeing the powers used in everyday circumstances. I mean, c'mon, who in their right mind wouldn't use their super-powers to make life easier for themselves?

Lastly, we have the Silver Surfer.

An iconic character from Marvel, who got his start in the pages of the Fantastic Four.

He was portrayed nicely in the movie, much as I imagined he would be were he a real entity. You'd think a big silver man flying around on a surfboard would be ludicrous, but you somehow buy into the fantasy without question.

The great Doug Jones plays the non CG-body of the Surfer, with a melodramatic Laurence Fishburne providing the voice. Jones was fantastic, Fishburne was adequate. I'm not sure who's voice would have fit the character better, but the stilted enunciation of Fishburne, coupled with the attempted other-worldly deepness of voice just didn't quite fit for me.

On second thought, I think I would have rather seen Doug Jones provide the voice, as he did for his portrayal of Abe Sapien in Hellboy. But then the producers may have feared for too much comparison between Jones' Ape Sapien and the Silver Surfer.

It's bad enough everyone is saying the Surfer looks too much like the T-1000 terminator from Terminator 2.

I say the T-1000 looks like the Silver Surfer.

Speaking of which, the look was dead on to what I expected he would appear as. The CGI was a bit stiff, a bit other-worldly, but that may have been what the SFX guys were going for. Still, I feel the Silver Surfer was the best part of the movie, and the rumors of a Silver Surfer movie make me very happy.

I'm definitely getting this on DVD when it comes out. And I would love to see a third film, perhaps one featuring Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner! (Who has his own movie in the pipe-line, but I'd like to see him in a FF film first).

If you didn't like the first movie, you may not like this one. It is an improvement, and as I said, more like a live-action comic book than a typical super-hero flick. Try it and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

If you liked the first one, you will really like this one. Less fluff, more stuff. Brighter, faster, and more fun than the original. A very good successor to it's progenitor.

It's not the best movie you'll see this year, by far. But, by far, it's not the worst.

I recommend seeing it at the theater for the big screen experience and the great surround sound effects. Especially if you can suck down a freezie coke while you watch! ~.^