If Oscar-winning movies are the equivalent of a gourmet feast and "Spider-Man 2" and "Batman Begins" fine meals at a sit-down restaurant, the "Fantastic Four" adventures are like fast-food kids' meals. They may temporarily satisfy you, but they're not memorable or made with the fanciest ingredients.

The enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, encounters Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) of the Fantastic Four. Click photo for larger image. 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' Starring: Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd. Director: Tim Story. Rating: PG for sequences of action violence, some mild language and innuendo. Web site: www.fantasticfourmovie.com/ Related article Silver Surfer is Marvel's gold standard of a sulky superhero

The world is about to end in "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" -- and a lead character may be near death -- and yet you feel virtually no sense of danger or sorrow or panic or fright. That's why its PG rating makes it a safer bet for young moviegoers than, say, "Spider-Man 3," but an uninvolving one for older patrons (well, this one).

With effects ranging from cool to cartoonish, it keeps you at arm's length, as if Mr. Fantastic's arms were being stretched like rubber bands. That may be the result of a visitor from outer space who is conflicted; his arrival means the imminent destruction of the planet, but he also witnesses human compassion, which gives him pause.

As the movie opens, this mysterious alien is streaking through the sky and causing freaky weather changes that even Al Gore couldn't imagine. Sue Storm (Jessica Alba, in a parade of hairstyles) and Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) are preparing for the media circus that will be their wedding and debating whether a normal life will ever be possible.

Strongman Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) seems to have made peace with his transformation into The Thing and continues to date blind sculptress Alicia (Kerry Washington). Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), whose pyrotechnic power turned him into the Human Torch, is still in love with publicity and his ability to win women or endorsement deals.

As the wedding nears, a no-nonsense general (Andre Braugher) asks Reed for help in identifying and capturing the blurry figure documented on spy satellite photos. Reed tries to balance wedding plans and the woes of the world, but when the Surfer comes calling during his marriage ceremony, the team is forced into action.

And not only do they have the Surfer to suss out, but they discover Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) has resurfaced and the military may have some plans of its own for the outer space herald. The Silver Surfer, you see, roams the cosmos looking for new planets for Galactus to consume.

If you didn't have a stack of FF comic books in your bedroom growing up -- and I didn't -- you may be confused by the whole Galactus-Silver Surfer angle. In the comic books, Galactus is a ravenous planet eater who is sometimes seen in humanoid form in bulky armor but doesn't appear that way here.

A good comic-book adaptation should do two things: appeal to a mass audience and tickle the fans, who will delight in obscure references or in-jokes (beyond the now-standard appearance of creator Stan Lee, who plays a rejected wedding guest named ... Stan Lee).

The first "Fantastic Four" had the novelty of introducing the ways a cosmic storm altered the heroes' DNA, along with that of the progressively darker Doom. This time around, some power-swapping adds a new dimension to the story and the action hops around the globe, from New York to London to Shanghai and other less convincingly rendered spots.

Although it aims for romance, breathless action, FF fractures and fellowship, the prospect of Earthly destruction and heartbreak, it skims the surface as it cherry picks from FF history. It's as if the Silver Surfer himself -- a slick metallic man created with the movements of actor Doug Jones and voice of Laurence Fishburne -- were skipping through without ever really stopping.