A Look Back at “Fantastic Four 2005” and “Rise of the Silver Surfer”
- Matt Palmer
- Jul 25, 2025
- 4 min read
Since the “Fantastic Four” is getting yet another start on the big screen (this time in the MCU), I wanted to take a look at the previous iterations of the “Fantastic Four.” For this edition, I took a look at the 2005 movie “Fantastic Four” and its 2007 sequel “Rise of the Silver Surfer."
In 2005's “Fantastic Four,” scientist Reed Richards persuades former classmate, Victor von Doom, to fund his experiments with cosmic energy.
On von Doom’s space station, the crew - including astronaut Ben Grimm, researcher Sue Storm and pilot Johnny Storm - are exposed to a mysterious cosmic storm that bestows them superpowers upon them. As they cope with their transformations, von Doom seeks his revenge.
This is actually the first time I’m checking out the previous “Fantastic Four” movies. They have all received not so great reviews and heavily mixed reactions from audiences (especially with the 2015 reboot - let’s see if that one is just as bad as the initial reviews say). While some of the 2005 movie can be flawed at times and the visual effects are not the greatest, this iteration is still a fairly entertaining movie.
2005’s “Fantastic Four” delivers a fairly decent mix of action, humor and a touch of corniness. The humor throughout the movie mainly comes from the Human Torch and The Thing characters with their interactions with each other, especially once they receive their powers. There’s also some witty one-liners from the characters and a few visual gags - primarily when Grimm/Thing is trying to work on everyday tasks due to his new appearance.
There’s also some fairly decent action throughout - not the best, but at least the action is entertaining. With the action the movie delivers, the superheroes final battle with Doctor Doom really stands out. The rest of the action is not that bad but doesn’t quite stand out. Surely, the visual effects are a little dated and mainly noticeable when Mr. Fantastic uses his stretch powers.
The 2005 movie is light-hearted superhero fun during a time when superhero movies were starting to get better!
MPA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content (runtime 106 minutes)
In the 2007 sequel “Rise of the Silver Surfer,” the Fantastic Four face an intergalactic
messenger who has arrived to prepare Earth for its destruction.
While the enigmatic being wrecks havoc around the world, the heroic quartet must also contend with the unexpected return of their enemy, Victor von Doom.
So, “Rise of the Silver Surfer” is, by no means, a great superhero sequel. But, it’s a step up from the 2005 movie and (just like the previous movie) can be entertaining.
Even the action in this movie is slightly better. The action in this sequel is at its greatest as both the Army and the Fantastic Four are trying to get the Silver Surfer and initially chaos ensues. A lot of the Silver Surfer action is visually decent and can be a little tense at times.
And, just like the previous movie, “Rise of the Silver Surfer” does have its flaws. The biggest criticism of this movie is definitely the depiction of the infamous Fantastic Four villain Galactus. Unlike his traditional appearance, this sequel depicts him as a giant, planet-sized cloud - for some unknown reason. Even the return of Doctor Doom just felt like a wasted opportunity and didn’t even last that long.
MPA: Rated PG for sequences of action violence, some mild language and innuendo (runtime 92 minutes).
So, while the 2005 and 2007 “Fantastic Four” movies can be entertaining, they can sometimes leave true die hard comic book fans a bit disappointed! And in the next edition I will be checking out “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (been anticipating this one!) and the 2015 reboot!
For most of the shoot, Michael Chiklis was terribly uncomfortable in the hot Thing suit. The final street battle, however, was filmed in Vancouver in December, leaving Chiklis as the only comfortable one of the four (the rest were in the skintight blue uniforms).
Not the first Fantastic Four movie. Another was made ("The Fantastic Four (1994)") but never released because, unbeknown to the cast and crew, it was never intended to BE released; it was made only because the studio that owned the rights to make a Fantastic Four movie would have lost them if it did not begin production by a certain date.
The sequence of Johnny Storm morphing into a ball of flames and soaring over Manhattan took 4 months to create.
Thing notices puppets at Alicia's art gallery and she says they belong to her father. In the comics, Alicia's stepfather Philip Masters is the super-villain the Puppet Master, a foe of the Fantastic Four.
Many comic-book fans disliked the way Doctor Doom was portrayed. Original series author Stan Lee, who plays Willy the Postman, agreed with them.
Three years before Iron Man (2008) helped Robert Downey Jr. relaunch his career, Marvel almost cast him as Doctor Doom in this movie. Downey eventually was cast as Doom in Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
The studio hated Doctor Doom's make-up so he remains hidden under a cowl in most of his early scenes.
Originally, Laurence Fishburne was keen to provide the voice for Galactus. He happily switched to the role of the Silver Surfer when it was decided to make Galactus mute.
Was given a PG rating by the MPAA, the first Marvel film since Howard the Duck (1986) to earn this rating.
Plans for a third installment, as well as a Silver Surfer solo film, were discarded after this film flopped at the box office.
Originally, Doug Jones was not only going to do motion capture, but also potentially voice for The Silver Surfer. However, he was later replaced with Laurence Fishburne. Jones' voice for the Surfer can be heard briefly in the first trailer.
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