Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer – A Giant Fart Cloud of Disappointment

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was released on the cusp of what would become the superhero movie boom. A sequel to 2005's Fantastic Four—which was even more critically panned than this one—Silver Surfer premiered just a year prior to 2008's The Dark Knight and Iron Man, the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Even without the rising benchmarks or a more crowded field, Silver Surfer does little to distinguish itself; and it is only marginally better than the 2005 film. The action is mundane, the characters are bland, and it makes mincemeat of beloved villains from the team's lore—those being Dr. Doom and Galactus. Even the celestial being whose rise the title refers to is shortchanged.

Sure, it may have been ambitious in its scope, intertwining several of the key storylines from the Fantastic Four comics, but it didn't execute them on any level. As a kid who grew up reading the adventures of the Silver Surfer, Chumpzilla was not pleased. Capt. Cash was equally displeasured about its treatment of Doom (If you've heard the Corman pod, you know why).

To be fair, its shortcomings are rooted in that prior film. When that failed to grasp the audiences attention, Silver Surfer naturally had massive pressure upon its shoulders. Spoiler: It couldn't bear the load. Running just an hour and 31 minutes, it never amounts to more than a half-baked, overstuffed mess of a movie. And in earning over $30 million less than 2005's (just over $300 million total), it ultimately tanked the franchise.

But, hey, it can always be worse—*cough* Fant4stic. So sit back, clobber a couple Blueberry Maple Pancake Ales from Ellicottville Brewing Co., and get down on the good foot with Mr. Fantastic! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, and Chumpzilla are hopping aboard our cosmic surfboards to take down the heralded fart cloud of doom!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Oh, the poor first family of Marvel. This, like the other three films, was a not-so fantastic entry.  (00:00)
• Fantastic Four-centric Questions and a Drinking Game Inspired by the Movie – Since we're all stuck indoors, you may as well Skype some friends and drink while watching this incredibly mediocre movie. (48:13)
• Recommendations – Again, employ sound social distancing strategies, stay safe, and enjoy each of this week's picks. Next up, we begin our series of quarantine specials (i.e. films that were released early because of the ongoing crisis) with Bloodshot! (1:36:05)

And, as always, hit us up on Twitter or Facebook to check out all the interesting factoids—how The Incredibles handcuffed this movie's predecessor and more—from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, and Spotify!