"The Fantastic Four - Rise Of The Silver Surfer"

I missed the first of these movies. This film struck me as amiable. The title is odd - exactly where did the Silver Surfer rise from? It seemed to me he just showed up one day. But whatever.....

This review (from Tucson's Arizona Star) seemed to say it all (and the reviewer also saw the first film!):

Fantastic? Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Thrilling, engaging and totally adequate are more fitting adjectives to the latest superhero special effects bonanza.

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," which opened Friday, is a breezy crowd-pleaser, and a fitting antidote for that scatterbrained downer known as "Spider-Man 3." In "Fantastic," the spryly sarcastic humor finds its mark, the action scenes are bold and flashy, and there are even traces of that element that's so rare in summer blockbusters — heart.

...This time, we catch the Fantastic Four in full stride, fighting crime and wilting under media scrutiny as they try to eke out their personal lives. Elastic-limbed Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd) is set to marry the Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba). Their partners, rock creature The Thing (Michael Chiklis) and the Human Torch (Chris Evans), prepare for the festivities while they continue their playful personal rivalry with one another.

The villain from the first movie, metal-masked Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon), who was thought to have been defeated, is back for an unexplained reason, but Doom takes a back seat to a mysterious creature known as the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), a poorly computer-animated alien who tells the Invisible Woman that the world is doomed, set to be consumed by a planet-devouring cosmic entity known as Galactus.

As tedious as it was to watch the Fantastic Four lumber together in the first film, it's a pleasure this time out. Story lets the characters flex their powers and demonstrate personality.

Story's narrative taps into the genius of the superhero-team concept, likening the squad to a loving yet dysfunctional family. Only when they commit to working together on the fly can the Four get anything accomplished. The teammates bicker and bond, snapping tight dialogue back and forth.