‘Fantastic Four’ wows with special effects

My newsroom colleague, Jorge Sosa, introduced me to the Fantastic Four and I’m glad he did.
The Marvel comic book super heroes streaked to box office gold this past weekend earning about $58.1 million. The original “Fantastic Four” released in 2005 earned slightly less at $56.1 million on its opening weekend.

This time around the Fantastic Four meets up with another Marvel creation the Silver Surfer.

As expected in comic book action movies, the special effects are amazing. There’s great scenes of Johnny Storm, the human torch, racing after the Silver Surfer as the two dodge, weave and merge with traffic. Very cool.

In the first “Fantastic Movie,” we learned how the four human became “fantastic.” This time around “Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer” opens with the wedding of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) to Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman). The four are media darlings, outrageously encouraged by Johnny Storm.

Between wedding gown fittings and a bachelor party, the intergalactic herald, the Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Victor Von Doom/Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon), before all hope is lost.

The only moment I thought was really lame took place after an exchange between Mr. Fantastic and General Hager (Andre Braugher), when Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) grabbed Richards arm and said something like “I’m so hot for you.” I thought it was such a stupid line and I know any teenager would just break out laughing. Alba had a few other groaners, but this was the worst.

The film is geared toward young teens, but is enjoyable for adults, too. As expected, it serves up a moral lesson.