"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" *** (out of four): The titular metallic flier adds some much-needed awe to the otherwise cheesy superhero series.

Rumor has it “Ocean’s Thirteen” was to be playfully subtitled “The One We Should Have Made Last Time”. “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” could wear a similar epithet. While I was one of the few who found 2005’s “Fantastic Four”to be cheesily enjoyable, the majority of the movie-going public – despite its grosses – met the film with disdain. This latest “Fantastic Four” vehicle may face a similar fate, but that don’t make it so. I found “Rise of the Silver Surfer” to be an action-filled crowd-pleaser, with its tongue firmly in its cheek - the type of superhero movie that the “Superman” and “X-Men” series used to churn out before they got all serious.

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