Although the first Fantastic Four movie was deemed a bit silly, it grossed $155m so execs took it very seriously. They figured they could make even more cash from the Marvel property by throwing the fabled Silver Surfer into the mix, but the "sense-slurping" sequel was actually less profitable than the original. Still, $130m is not to be sneezed at so Ioan Gruffudd can probably expect to suit up for No.3.

Four Play

An extended origin story for the Silver Surfer makes up one of five deleted scenes along with more Chuckle Brothers-style shtick between Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) and Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). Director Tim Story provides commentary for the excised scenes and talks us through the main feature as well. He reveals that one of the luxuries of doing a bigger budgeted sequel was being able to afford a ventilated costume for the formerly clammy Mr Chiklis.

In an alternative commentary, producer Avi Arad congratulates himself for the "stroke of genius" decision to include the surfer in the film. He sits in with editors Peter S Elliot and William Hoy who talk about restructuring passages of the story.

The actors offer their thoughts in The Four Elements featurette, a basic rundown of the dynamics between the eponymous four. Jessica Alba insists that the continuing love story between Sue Storm and Mr Fantastic (Gruffudd) makes the second film "more in-depth". Even so it's a pretty dull featurette - all talking heads and no action. An up-close look at the The Fantasticar seeks to remedy that. Aside from taking us through the design process, this featurette sees Gruffudd and co. take the hydraulic mounted supercar for a little spin against a green screen. The Welsh thesp seems a little uncertain of the machine, however, stroking his chin anxiously whilst Chiklis can't wait to get in "that sucker".

Fantastic Voyage

Three more keys stunts, including the London Eye rescue, are stripped down to their initial planning stages in the 'previs' section (that's pre-visualisation for the uninitiated). If you invest in the two-disc edition, two documentaries take a more expansive look at the film from inception to post-production. At 46minutes Family Bonds does tend to drag though (thumbing through storyboards is only interesting up to a point), but once it comes to the shoot the mood lifts. It's the camaraderie between the leads that comes across most. Surprisingly Chiklis' boyish enthusiasm never wanes despite having to sit through hours of makeup. A featurette on character design sees him 'in the chair' doing comedy shtick for the benefit of the crew and, we presume, his own sanity.

Sentinel Of The Spaceways hears from Stan Lee and other comicbook pros on the 'the rise' of the Silver Surfer from page to screen. Lee talks about using the character as a mouthpiece for his own concerns about humanity beating a path to self-destruction. For the techno geeks there's The Power Of Cosmic, a detailed examination of the CGI effects that bring the Surfer to life on the big screen. Finally, a featurette on the score sees composer John Ottoman go to work with the orchestra.

Diehard fans of the Marvel comics will surely appreciate the Special Edition package with its in-depth exploration of the characters and their history. For casual fans, the single disc edition is a good option with a fair helping of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. It's only 'fantastic' if you're under twelve.

EXTRA FEATURES

DISC ONE:

DISC TWO (SPECIAL EDITION):

Fantastic Four: The Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2 Discs) DVD is released on Monday 8th October 2007.