The Fantastic Four meet their greatest challenge yet as the enigmatic Silver Surfer arrives from the depths of space to prepare Earth for total destruction. With the planet's existence hanging in the balance, Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Surfer and confront the return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost to a cosmic entity known as Galactus.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
June 15, 2007 |
Running time |
92 minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Fantasy Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$130,000,000 |
Box Office |
$301,913,131 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Tim Story |
Produced by |
Bernd Eichinger Avi Arad Ralph Winter |
Written by |
Don Payne Mark Frost |
Music by |
John Ottman |
Cinematography |
Larry Blanford |
Edited by |
William Hoy Peter S. Elliot |
Production Co. |
20th Century Fox Constantin Film Marvel Studios |
Distributed by |
20th Century Fox |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #02 in Fantastic Four Collection
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The Plot
Global Disturbances and Wedding Bells
Set two years after the events of the first film, the world has embraced the Fantastic Four as heroes, but Reed Richards and Sue Storm are focused on their personal lives, specifically preparing for their highly anticipated wedding. However, a mysterious phenomenon interrupts the calm; a silver object enters Earth's atmosphere, radiating immense cosmic energy. This energy triggers massive molecular fluctuations and gouges deep craters into the Earth's crust at various locations across the globe. Before the ceremony can take place, the United States government, represented by the military, approaches Reed with a request to construct a specialized sensor capable of tracking the object's erratic movements. Despite his desire to focus on his nuptials, Reed agrees to the task.
Chaos at the Altar and the Sky Chase
As the wedding ceremony begins in New York City—an event so high-profile that even Stan Lee is turned away at the door—Reed's newly constructed systems detect the phenomenon rapidly approaching the city. The arrival of the object triggers a massive power blackout, plunging the city into chaos. As the entity passes overhead, it destroys Reed’s sensors, forcing the Fantastic Four to abandon the altar to protect the panic-stricken crowd from falling debris.
The Human Torch, Johnny Storm, takes to the skies to pursue the object. Upon closing the distance, he discovers that the anomaly is actually a humanoid alien riding a silver board, known as the "Silver Surfer." Johnny confronts the intruder, but the Surfer drags him into the upper atmosphere. In the vacuum of space, the lack of oxygen and low air pressure snuffs out Johnny's flame, causing him to lose consciousness and plummet back toward Earth. Johnny manages to wake up and reactivate his powers just in time to survive the fall, landing in open land outside the city.
A Volatile Diagnosis and the London Crisis
Later, the team regroups to assess the situation. When Sue tries to comfort a shaken Johnny, she touches his shoulders, triggering a bizarre reaction: their powers instantly switch. Johnny becomes invisible, and Sue is suddenly set on fire. Upon touching again, their powers revert to their original owners. However, the momentary ignition burns away Sue's clothes, leaving her completely exposed to a crowd of onlookers. Humiliated, Sue is comforted by Reed, who promises that once this crisis is averted, they will leave the spotlight for a normal family life. Reed’s medical examination reveals that Johnny’s exposure to the Surfer has destabilized his molecular structure, placing him in a constant state of flux that allows him to swap powers with his teammates through physical contact.
Tracing the cosmic energy signature of the Surfer, Reed makes a grim discovery: every planet the alien visited prior to Earth has been destroyed. Reed predicts the Surfer’s next target will be London. The team rushes to the United Kingdom, arriving just as a massive crater begins to form in the Thames. The Surfer's presence threatens to topple the London Eye. The Fantastic Four intervene to save the passengers from the collapsing structure, though the rescue is nearly jeopardized when Johnny accidentally touches Reed, swapping powers and hindering their coordination. Ultimately, they save the civilians, but the Surfer departs, leaving the River Thames to drain into a massive subterranean crater.
The Resurrection of Doctor Doom
The Silver Surfer's circumnavigation of the globe takes him past Latveria. The cosmic energy radiating from his board affects the frozen metal statue of Victor von Doom, freeing the villain from his two-year imprisonment. Although able to move again, Doom is scarred and stripped of his mask. He traces the Surfer to the Arctic glacier and attempts to make a deal, offering the alien an alliance. When the Surfer rebuffs the offer, Doom attacks him in a rage. The Surfer effortlessly returns fire, blasting Doom through the ice. Miraculously, the cosmic energy from the blast heals Doom’s body, reversing the disfigurement and organic mutations he suffered previously, effectively restoring him to human form.
A Deal with the Devil
Leveraging his firsthand experience with the alien, Doom approaches the United States military. He brokers a deal that grants him a pardon and access to resources, forcing the Fantastic Four to work alongside their nemesis to stop the global threat. Working together at a military compound, the group deduces that the Surfer's power is derived entirely from his board. Reed designs a tachyon pulse generator intended to separate the alien from his craft. Unbeknownst to the team, while supposedly assisting Reed, Doom is secretly constructing a remote-like device for his own agenda.
The Servant of the Destroyer
While the team sets up the pulse device, Sue is confronted by the Silver Surfer. During this interaction, he reveals he is not the master of this destruction, but merely a servant to the "Destroyer of Worlds," and he expresses genuine regret for the chaos he causes. The military, ignoring the moment of empathy, opens fire on the Surfer. The attack distracts the alien long enough for the Fantastic Four to fire the pulse generator. The beam successfully separates the Surfer from his board, rendering him powerless.
Interrogation and the Galactus Prophecy
The military imprisons the fallen Surfer in a high-security facility in Siberia, forbidding the Fantastic Four from interacting with him while they torture him for information. Defying orders, Sue uses her invisibility to sneak into his cell. The Surfer reveals the terrifying truth: his master is known as Galactus, a massive, cloud-like cosmic entity that feeds on life-bearing planets to survive. He explains that his board serves as a homing beacon, and even now, it is summoning Galactus to consume Earth.
Doom Ascendant and the Battle of Shanghai
Doctor Doom, whose true goal was always the ultimate power of the Surfer, betrays the military. He steals the board from the containment compound and uses his secret device to gain control over it. Now possessing cosmic abilities, Doom flees the scene. The Fantastic Four rescue the Surfer—now known as Norrin Radd—and pursue Doom in the Fantasticar, confronting him in the skies over Shanghai.
A brutal battle ensues, but the team is outmatched by Doom's cosmic enhancements. During the fight, Doom fires a blast that mortally wounds Sue, leaving her dying in Reed's arms. Realizing they cannot win individually, Johnny makes a desperate move: he touches all three of his teammates, absorbing their combined powers. Enveloped in flame, with rock-hard skin and stretching limbs, Johnny engages Doom in a final showdown. He succeeds in destroying the control device, breaking Doom's link to the board. Simultaneously, Ben Grimm uses a nearby construction crane to knock Doom into the harbor, where the villain sinks beneath the waves.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
The victory is short-lived as Galactus arrives, casting a massive shadow over the Earth. The Silver Surfer, reunited with his board, regains his full power. He uses his cosmic energy to revive Sue, saving her life. Inspired by Sue's compassion, the Surfer chooses to defend Earth. He flies upward, charging directly into the massive cloud entity of Galactus. He releases a catastrophic blast of energy, seemingly destroying both himself and his master in a massive explosion that saves the planet.
Epilogue
With the world safe, Reed and Sue finally hold their wedding, relocating the ceremony to Japan to avoid interruptions. Following the vows, the team takes off in the Fantasticar, using the ship's exhaust to draw their signature "4" logo in the sky. As the credits roll, the scene cuts back to the vacuum of space, where the Silver Surfer's seemingly lifeless body floats in the void. Suddenly, his eyes snap open, and his board races through space toward him, signaling his return.
