uch like the first movie based on the Marvel comic, this Fantastic Four sequel is over-involved with juvenile humor and wooden dialogue that gets tiresome rather quickly. Although the big budget attempt is there, this is merely a conventional collection of comic book heroes with extravagant superpowers in a humdrum action adventure. Sadly, it's not even entertaining camp.

It takes a while to get going, and when it does, there isn't much depth here, unlike the weightier and more ostentatious Spider-Man/X-Men/Batman/Superman franchises. But, if anything, that is its charm. This, after all, is the comic-book series that embraces its silliness.

In this installment, everything remains cozy with the Fantastic Four. Mr. Rubber-armed Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), the elastic man and group intellectual, is about to marry invisible babe Sue Storm (Jessica Alba). But, this is not as easy as it sounds since they are constantly being pursued by tabloid journalists.

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.

Director Tim Story struggles to maintain a consistent tone, but overall the adventure lacks the polish and integration we have come to expect from superhero flicks. The effects are indeed dazzling and the story even finds some heart for the third act. Beyond a few good special-effects sequences - notably the Human Torch (Chris Evans) chasing the Silver Surfer between skyscrapers, the movie is only recommended for those who like their comic-book adventures short, plotless and shallow.