The Silver Surfer

This was a short focusing on the coolest superhero of all time.

Story: Some random kid is getting picked on and the Surfer shows up and scares them away. What was the point of this?

Production: Its too short to really judge. Surfer looked... Silvery.

Highlight: Surfer doesn't like Terminator. Do you think Surfer came down to find and destroy the Terminator?

Should you watch this?: Naw. It seems kind of pointless. I don't get the reasoning for this short film. If it was a test run to have a Surfer movie, then this obviously failed.

Something is picked up on radar heading straight for earth. With a time to impact of under ten seconds there is little time to do anything other than watch. Meanwhile in an ordinary street a young boy is being bullied for his Terminator action figure and urgently needs whatever help he can get.

Off the back of Fantastic Four 2 (or "4: Rise of the Silver Surfer" to give it its proper title) I came to this film looking for a bit more surfer action. Very quickly I realised that this film was never made to entertain anyone or be something that anyone would actually pay money to see (or at least I hope not). No, what this film does is showcase some impressive (for the time) special effects. There is no doubting the importance of the film in that regard as the surfer looks cool despite his stiff movements. Certainly considering the budget this was an achievement.

However, watching it almost twenty years later (yeah, makes me feel old too) I have to ask what they did for the non-studio viewers and the answer is very little. There is no story of significance or action to care about. Although I normally deliberately side against the fan boys I too must ask if there was not a more worthy cause that could have brought the surfer into play than a boy with a doll (you heard me, a doll). As it is, apart from an effects shot of a few seconds, there is not a lot to be had here and those looking for more of the surfer will be disappointed to learn that it makes FF4: 2 looks like Hamlet.

Overall then this works really well as a piece of effects development and it is impressive if you put yourself mentally in 1994 while watching it. However those looking for anything more than this will be sorely disappointed as otherwise there is nothing to be had here whatsoever.

The film begins with an early warning station on Earth reporting that an object is hurling towards the planet. Everyone is scared but there doesn't seem to be much anyone can do, so they wait---anticipating the impact of this odd object. However, instead of a disastrous impact, the scene switches and the Silver Surfer appears to a group of naturally scared kids.

While this short film is far from perfect, I was shocked how negative the review was that first appeared for this entry. Sure, the film is way too short on plot, but after all, it looks like it was meant as an experimental film. And, based on the technology that was available in 1994, it is a good film and worth a peek.

The Silver Surfer comes to Earth and helps a kid whose Terminator doll was stolen by some bullies in this impressive student film. That's pretty much it. The short was made during the height of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day craze (hence the doll). Presumably the T-1000 in that movie made some people think "wow this technology could help make a wicked Silver Surfer movie" and so they set about trying to prove that on a small scale. We've since gotten an actual Surfer in the less-than-great Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie. While those effects were better than these, they weren't light years apart despite the astronomical difference in budget. Obviously something like this shouldn't be rated on the same scale as something professionally produced (and I've seen far worse "professional" efforts). It's enjoyable for Silver Surfer fans or anyone who likes looking at amateur short films.

This 5 minute film basically set the pace for CGI animation. When I saw the Fantastic Four Movie /Sllver Surfer movie, I was moved that they had used the same animation 'styling' that Robert Letterman had used over a decade ago.

What people have to take into consideration is that Stan Lee Comics was NOT going to just 'give' the rights to shoot a feature film to a bunch of film students. Even if said students were attending USC and had access to the Spielberg film studio/lab. Which, at the time, was state of the art.

Also, if you notice, the Silver Surfer was an 'Improved' model over the Terminator 2's nemesis villainous character who was made of "polymemetic alloy" or whatever the hell it was Arnold was trying to say in the movie :)

So, I give this a 10 simply for the effort of the team of kids (at that time) that did this. Personally, I think the thing with the doll was the filmmaker's sense of cynicism and sarcasm. Of course, you'd have to ask them! :)