I’m gasping for air. Not because the new Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surver trailer is that good, although I think it is pretty damn spiffy. No, it’s because I’ve been forced to consider the possibility that the film itself may be an absolute blast. I may have to go in with an open mind and enjoy the hell out of this. I’ve already ordered the Tim Story effigies and they weren’t cheap, I tell you (Priority Mail for 30 of those is a bitch). So why now do they have to pull the rug out from under me?
I kid. Tim Story may thus far be a very mediocre filmmaker, but he’s one of the few black filmmakers who get the chance to do material this big, and based on this trailer, he’s defying my every low expectation. It starts off with a slow build to the arrival of the Surfer, but once he gets there, this thing hits the pedal and doesn’t let up. There’s a silly aside where Ben and Johnny switch powers briefly, and that’s exactly the sort of craziness that evokes the spirit of the book, but will annoy fanboys anyway (In fact, it leads to a brief shot of Johnny showing Super-Skrull-esque multi-powers). Morpheus The Surfer speaks a smidgen. The stakes look to be so much higher. Doom makes his presence known. And best of all, it ends on a pretty nice money shot of The Surfer treating ground-to-air missiles like gnats.
This hits theaters June 15, but you can shorten the wait by checking out
the new trailer in your choice of Quicktime goodness right here.