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Watching the second installment of the Fantastic Four again, it's obvious why they added
the name of The Silver Surfer in the title. The metallic character brought to life by the
brilliant Doug Jones literally steals the film out from underneath the four headlining
heroes. It could be his sleek and fluid movements, the change in tone whenever he graces
the screen or maybe the whole mystic quality that the character possesses; in the end it's
most likely all of the above. Not that the Fantastic gang are an afterthought - everyone
plays their respective roles just right - but the inclusion of the Surfer gives the gang much
more to do then act like a bunch of buffoons. (Though I would've liked to hear Jones do
the voice of his Surfer, as opposed to Laurence Fishburne's Morpheus version!)
This Two-Disc “Power Cosmic” Edition (they were even smart enough to reference the Surfer in the Special Edition title!) has some really terrific features on it, though most on disc two. Disc One has two commentaries, neither of which are particularly mind-blowing - the first by a rather mundane (he keeps mentioning how great Fishburne is as the voice, but almost never mentions Doug Jones!), over analyzing, and sometimes completely silent (”it all pretty much speaks for itself!) Director Tim Story and the second (a much better listen) a combo deal that features Producer Avi Arad (and his wonderfully wacky stories!), Writer Don Payne (who's the first to admit when the ideas are not his!) and Editors Peter S. Elliot and William Hoy. (I guess sometimes more people on the line can make for a better party!)
Disc Two has the real gems (aka plenty-o-content!), starting with Extended and Deleted Scenes with optional Tim Story commentary (liked the sleek Superman style opening, hated the cheesy FF merchandise store scene - thank god they cut it!). There's also a ”Family Bonds” making-of doc that's in two parts both, Pre-Production (where we get to hear a lot of cool insider jargon during various roundtable huddles - very revealing!) and Production (love seeing more Jones at work and the whole Stan Lee at the wedding - fun stuff!), five featurettes including one on the Fantasticar (with plenty of practical and design info), an awesome one about the magic of Doug Jones (props!) called The Power Cosmic, a mammoth doc on the whole (I mean whole!) comic history on the Silver Surfer, one featuring my friend Mike Elizalde from Spectral Motion (check out our exclusive interview and tour here and here) talking The Thing, and a final one that's all about the music baby! Plus you also get an Interactive Fantasticar Featurette that lets you peruse various car drawings, a cavalcade of trailers and a three section still gallery - these guys don't mess around! So while the Fantastic Four may be like a safe and comforting meal, sometimes just adding a pinch of silver can really spice things up. (Viva la Jones!)
Visit Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (The Power Cosmic Edition) on the web.
Written By: Don Payne and Mark Frost
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Doug Jones
Runtime: 92 minutes
Rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence, some mild language and innuendo
Release Company: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Action/Adventure
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