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Here's all you really need to know about "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer": it's short (just barely 90 minutes), it's cheesy (don't bet on any visual effects Oscar nominations for this superhero saga) and there's a good chance you'll forget you ever saw it before the movie's even over.

That's not to say there's anything sinfully bad about this breezy, simple-minded time-waster. With all the narrative sophistication of a Saturday morning cartoon, the sequel quickly reassembles the titular quartet and pits them on a mission to stop planet-chomping big baddie Galactus, an interstellar dust storm whose arrival is heralded by the highly destructive Silver Surfer.

That development disrupts the wedding plans of Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue "Invisible Woman" Storm (Jessica Alba), which is as close as the movie gets to "Spider-Man" or "Batman" level pathos. Sue may fret about living a "normal life" on her off-duty hours but nothing can truly distract the team from their mission to save the world. Not even Johnny "Human Torch" Storm's (Chris Evans) newfound ability to absorb his partners' powers following a close encounter with the Surfer. Of course those skills, including the super strength of Ben "The Thing" Grimm (Michael Chiklis), come in handy when it's once again time to battle arch-enemy Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon).

Don't look for anything inspired in the workmanlike direction of Tim Story (back for more after an unimpressive job on the first film). The only surprising thing about the movie is its PG rating, which is justified by its childlike approach to screenwriting.

There's probably something significant in the fact that this is the first theatrical adaptation of a Marvel comic to carry such a tame rating since "Howard the Duck." But figuring out just what that is would take more thought than this eminently disposable flick deserves.

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