Michael Chiklis (The Shield) plays Ben Grimm, otherwise known as the Thing. He's highly underused aside for a few moments of comic relief. And Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), whose gimmick is to fly around while on fire, is living the bachelor life, toying with fame and girls.

Along the way, arch-villain Victor Von Doom (nip/tuck's Julian McMahon) – last seen racked, stacked and frozen in episode one – is given a new lease on life when the enigmatic silver guy surfs in. A giant comet circling the globe, causing snowstorms, blackouts and all manner of meteorological mayhem worldwide, evidently caused by the Surfer, played in body by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne.

The military in the person of Andre Braugher bullies the Four into helping track this guy down. With the Torch in hot pursuit, the Surfer sails down the side of a skyscraper and through a tunnel. This gives a hint of hope that the movie will pick up. Rise of the Silver Surfer is slow to gain its rhythm, but that leaves room for a few decent acting moments.