Though even in the darkest points of either Fantastic Four or Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the film would never have been as dark as the bigger mistake in the franchise’s collective canon: 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot.
With the first theatrical run of films directed by Tim Story, the tone of the series seemed a little too jokey and family-oriented.
While there was still a fair amount of superhero business, Doctor Doom was more of a vain egomaniac than his usual world conquering self, and there was a decent amount of low-level hero humor trying to off-set the darker aspects of the film.