Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is where my gripes with these movies comes from.

Story 

Two years after the events of the first movie, the Fantastic Four are now heroes in their own right. ReeD and Sue are planning their wedding, only to be interrupted by the Silver Surfer during the ceremony. The four are then tasked with stopping the surfer and his master, who wants to consume the planet. 

Acting 

Much like in the first movie, I like the group dynamic, and in this movie, it really feels like they have grown together. I do like the tension when Johnny and Ben think that Reed and Sue are going to "abandon" them. It shows just how much they care about each other. I would say that they feel more like a family than the first one, but that is to be expected in a sequel that builds on the origin story of the first movie. And though we didn't get the third movie, I like the references to Franklin and Valeria. (still cannot believe that we're getting one of Reed and Sue's kids in live action in 2025, what a time to be alive) 

Writing/Direction 

My main gripe stems from here. *insert director and writers' names* played it too safe with the antagonists, and this is where the film falters. Galactus being portrayed as a space cloud rather than the planet-eating entity that he is was a bad choice. I know that comic book movies were not as popular, and an argument could be made forrealismm but Iron Man's success the year after this film was released shows that comic accuracy pays. 

I also don't think that the Silver Surfer should have sacrificed himself at the end. I am aware that he is not acting as Galactus' herald willingly; however, his turnaround time undermines the beginning of the movie, where he was actually a threat.

My main issue with Galactus is that the threat never feels that serious. Ima a going to be a little unfair and compare this movie to the one coming out in 2 weeks (eeeeeeeeee), and one thing that sets the new one apart is that the Silver Surfer announces to the world that Galactus is coming. There is public pressure on the Fantastic Four to neutralise the threat. In this movie, only the four and Norrin Radd know about it, and while it does work, Victor von Doom feels like a more pressing issue than the literal space entity that wants to consume the planet. 

Having Doom as a secondary antagonist also undermines the primary antagonists. We are supposed to be scared of this world-ending threat, but the four spend a significant chunk of the movie with the main villain from the first film. That being said, Doom is an iconic villain. I understand bringing him back. 

CGI/Set Design 

When it comes to these movies, I am a CGI defender. Does it look amazing? No. That being said, it was 2007, and when you keep that in mind, it really doesn't look THAT bad. Will 2025's movie look bad 

Score/Soundtrack 

I don't have much to say about the score that I didn't say in my previous review, which I will conveniently leave linked here if you would like to read it. I like the score in these movies, I think they do stand out, however, they don't stand out enough for me to seek them out the way I do others.

Overall Thoughts

I enjoyed this movie a lot less than its predecessor. It is not a bad movie (some might argue that it is), but I find it mediocre. Galactus was mishandled, and the I would have preferred if the Silver Surfer was "the villain" for longer. 

Much like the first one, New Rockstars has a breakdown of this movie.