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Director: Tim Story
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic), Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm/The Thing), Jessica Alba (Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman)

Although the voting in this poll would tend to suggest otherwise, at the time this sequel came out, everybody was claiming it as superior to the original, mainly thanks to a chrome bloke on a surfboard. The Silver Surfer is one of comics’ most enigmatic and eye-pleasing icons, so when he first appears, you may find yourself muttering, “Aw, that’s cool!” with the Human Torch.

This screw-browed philosopher’s an odd fit with our heroes, though, who exist in a brightly-coloured sitcom world of banter and Looney Tunes sight gags. That might explain why the back-story of Norrin Radd and his world-consuming master Galactus (who’s earmarked Earth for dinner) is so under-explored. Or maybe they were saving it for a Silver Surfer film…

As before, Chris Evans’s incorrigible Johnny Storm steals the show, with some wittily self-referential lines about sponsorship – a “having your cake and eating it” nod to the franchise’s omnipresent product placement. There’s some likeably goofy business with the Four swapping powers, and a showdown at the London Eye that makes you feel like waving a small Union Jack flag.

Julian McMahon’s Dr Doom is an irrelevance, Jessica Alba still has the charisma of a wet sock, and the ending is an almighty anticlimax. But at least, unlike many blockbusters, Rise never outstays its welcome. It’s certainly less disappointing than Spider-Man 3 – despite a scene in which Mr Fantastic vies with Peter Parker for the Most Embarrassing Superhero Dance award.