Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (**)

So, okay, the Fantastic Four flicks are clearly going after a family audience. You can't expect them to be another Batman Begins. The jokes are cheesy, the acting wooden (I'm singling you out, Jessica Alba), and the special effects are merely okay, even the Surfer. I think it was a mistake to cast Laurence Fishbourne as the voice of the Silver. It was just too distracting. The tone of the flick is light and "fun" but with the plot and dialogue being so creaky, you really have to struggle through it to make it to the end. Like Pirates, this is another franchise I'm going to have to jump ship on. Fantastic Four needs a reboot and overhaul if it's going to please audiences again and get me back in the theater.