by Thomas Ferguson

If you haven’t had your fill of superheroes at the local Cineplex, you’re in luck. The latest installment of the lackluster Fantastic Four series is back on the big screen. Stan Lee’s fantastic foursome are back and this time the world’s future is in jeopardy.

Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) and Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) are trying to get married, but strange and unexplained world occurrences are threatening to put a hold on their big day. These events are becoming a major concern to the US military, who have called upon the Fantastic Four for help. Sue, Reed, and the other two members of the team Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Micheal Chiklis) join forces. They must find out what is causing this world disturbance.

After further investigation, they conclude that this global problem is more deadly than they could have ever imagined. Eight days after this mysterious presence is known, the planet it invades completely dies. The Fantastic Four, the military, and even their arch enemy Victor “Dr. Doom“Von Doom (Julian McMahon), ban together to stop this deadly entity that converts mass and energy into fuel for itself. Thus, destroying everything in its path.

Not a bad set up for a movie, but the writers (Don Payne and Mark Frost) and the director (Tim Story) have made a mess out of a potentially good story. My biggest problem with this film was its cheesy dialogue and less than impressive acting. There were pretty people on screen doing absolutely nothing. The action scenes were boring and have been seen numerous times before. It was 90 minutes of nothing original and nothing noteworthy.

There was one funny line about Ben ”The Thing” having sex with his human girlfriend Alicia(Kerry Washington) that made me laugh out loud. Also, after direct contact with the Silver Surfer, Johnny “The Human Torch” has the ability to switch powers with whomever he touches. That development was very interesting and funny. It was even used to make a great weapon during the film’s climatic sequence.

Other than that, this Silver Surfer was a complete wipe out.