When people think what is the best Fantastic Four movie, many will cite that 2004’s The Incredibles is that movie, doing a much better job on exploring that concept of a family of superheroes than any official movie made about Marvel’s First Family. After watching the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that puts their own spin on The Fantastic Four, Brad Bird’s movie still reigns supreme, but have Marvel Studios actually done justice to the family that made Marvel as we know it today?
With a title like The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the film’s first step to differentiate itself from previous cinematic incarnations is to skip the origin story, opening with a televised broadcast that briefly explains the titular astronauts Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) embarked on a mission into outer space, during which they gained superhuman abilities from cosmic rays. At the start, The Fantastic Four have been around for four years, becoming celebrities and regarded as the world’s protectors.
From the heavy interconnectivity to the multiverse angle that has been going on throughout most of recent MCU flicks (films and television), The Fantastic Four: First Steps establishes its heroes in their own universe. Having previously done every episode of WandaVision that leaned into a retro aesthetic through its homaging towards classic sitcoms, Matt Shakman pushes that aesthetic moreso here with a New York where there is futuristic tech, but still feels like the 1960s never left. If anything, the film could have benefitted from showcasing more of this world, where The Fantastic Four balance their slice-of-life antics as a family, and their heroics battling an already established rogues gallery.
However, once the end of the world comes knocking at their door, the main conflict kicks in. As the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) suddenly appears to announce to the people of Earth that their planet has been marked for destruction by a planet-devouring cosmic being known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson), Reed and his family must devise a plan to protect their home whilst preparing for the arrival of his son.
Considering that 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer did its own adaptation of “The Galactus Trilogy” — the most iconic storyline from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s classic run — First Steps succeeds more at delivering both the global and emotional stakes with Galactus’ impending arrival shaking up the family and the world’s perspective of them as protectors. Certainly, Galactus really delivers on being a global threat and his huge presence has to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
With no lengthy origin story, The Fantastic Four: First Steps does a fantastic job (pun intended) on the central casting, establishing that family dynamic right from the jump. First off, Pedro Pascal captures the conflicting nature of Reed Richards, who has the best intentions as a family man, but his genius gets the better of him, to the point of paranoia.
However, Vanessa Kirby steals the show as the motherly Sue Storm who has a commanding presence in scenes where her voice is more powerful than her invisibility, which can be quite powerful. While Joseph Quinn is terrific as a nuanced Johnny Storm who has his own subplot where he oozes with charm and intelligence, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the rocky Ben Grimm gets the short end when it comes to development with a rather aimless romantic subplot.
While this doesn’t go hard on being comic book-y like James Gunn’s Superman which threw a lot in the kitchen sink — there is a robot that leaves an adorable impression — The Fantastic Four: First Steps balances the positive tone that celebrates The Fantastic Four’s media history in a meta way, and the sense of dread when the whole world is being threatened.
The Foursome do go up into space, but doesn’t go quite as cosmic as the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, even during an epic action sequence where a black hole is involved. The climax is somewhat underwhelming, which blends the typical superhero spectacle with something that resembles a Kaiju, but in the end, it is that central family that you care about as you hope all, including the baby and the robot, make it out in one piece.
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