“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” pits the superhero group against one of the great comic-book figures, an entity iconic enough to get his name into the title.
Yes, the Silver Surfer is so cool that he even takes the Four’s collective breath away.
“Aw,” says Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch, “That is cool.”
So do franchise saviors ride surfboards?
Apparently so.
Despite generally bad reviews for “FF2,” on the eve of its Friday release, 20th Century Fox studios already has put a feature spinoff into development that will star the enigmatic Surfer. Another “FF” sequel is reportedly in the works too.
The first “Fantastic Four,” also savaged by critics, raked in $329 million worldwide, apparently a result of its appeal to younger viewers. So the sequel has skewed its tone even softer. This has resulted in a PG rating, which has provoked a disgusted outcry from fans online who churlishly point out that even Harry Potter is now too gritty for 11-year-olds.
Well, perhaps the studio has heard the negative static, since it apparently hopes to spin the new Surfer franchise in a darker direction to attract the slightly older demographic of its “X-Men” films.
In “FF2,” the philosophical and ultra-powerful Surfer rides the crests of cosmic waves, exploring the mysteries of existence, bringing with him salvation or devastation. Michael Chiklis, who plays Four team member The Thing, said he doesn’t want to give too much away about the Surfer.
“He’s being billed as the villain in this movie,” Chiklis said. “But I think the hard-core faithful will know better. For anyone who hasn’t read the comic book, he isn’t what he appears; he’s much more complex.”
The Silver Surfer is one of the best-loved characters of the Marvel Comics universe. A child of the ’60s, the Surfer is a celestial being who stands apart from humanity, appalled by its brutishness but fascinated by its potential.
“He is a Christ-like character because of his origins,” said Tim Story, director of both “FF” movies and longtime fan of the comics. “We don’t know much about his home planet, how he was before he became this.”
The Surfer’s popularity has transcended his appearances with the Fantastic Four comics: He has glided into several other comics, including his own; he had his own Nintendo video game and briefly an animated show in 1998 on Fox; he is often referred to in music (including guitar hero Joe Satriani’s “Surfing With the Alien” album) and movies (among them, “Reservoir Dogs” and “Crimson Tide”).
Although Story was eager to get such a revered character to the screen, his main concern was “just not to [bleep] it up,” he said. “At the end of the day, he’s simple but really beautiful — you don’t have to do much.”
That simplicity begins with the Surfer’s look: A sleek, nude figure in shimmering silver skin on a matching surfboard.
“People are seeing the poster and saying, ‘That’s cool,’ ” Story said. “He’s just cool, the way he moves, the way he flies.”
The film’s Surfer looks like the shape-shifting cyborg of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
The Surfer’s few words are voiced by Laurence Fishburne. Doug Jones, a mime who portrayed the forest faun and the creepy Pale Man in last year’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” performed body movements that were used as the basis for the computer-generated Surfer, which was crafted by Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital effects outfit.
“I’ve always been a fan,” Story said of his superpowered charges. “When you played in the street, somebody was the Torch, somebody took the Hulk. … I’ve got to tell you, to get the ‘Fantastic Four’ and turn it into a franchise, the first thing I thought was, ‘Will I get the Silver Surfer? … I feel like I hit the jackpot.”
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SURF’S UP
Sorry, we can’t help but say it: Everybody’s gone surfin’, surfin’ USA. OK, enough groaning, but it seems that with the release of “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” surfing has hit the pop culture zeitgeist at the moment. RedEye spotted these recent examples.
John From Cincinnati
The new HBO drama follows a cursed family of surfers whose lives are changed by a stranger named John who repeats “The end is near.” One of the few lines spoken by the Silver Surfer in “FF2” is “All that you know is at an end.” Discuss.
Surf’s Up
The recent animated movie takes viewers behind the scenes at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championships. Let us guess, they’re wearing tuxes?
Johnny Kapahala: Back On Board
In the Disney Channel movie, surfer Johnny Kapahala’s returns to Hawaii for the wedding of his surfing legend grandfather. When Johnny learns his cousin is a mountain boarder, it’s on!
Private Practice
In the pilot for the upcoming “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff, the female doctors at the practice loiter in the waiting room just to watch office receptionist/hottie Dell (Chris Lowell) wax his board shirtless before catching some waves during his lunch hour.
