Marvel is hoping the third time’s the charm for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In two previous attempts at establishing a lasting franchise about Marvel’s “first family”, a total of three movies have been released, with the best of them earning a 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. Matt Shakman has now been called into the director’s chair in 2025, exactly ten years after the last attempt. Shakman is an established presence in TV, working on shows such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Boys, and more relevantly WandaVision. First Steps is only his second film and is technically the follow up to his 2014 film, Cut Bank, an A24 Thriller starring Liam Hemsworth that you may or may not have heard of (don’t worry, I hadn’t either). This time, Marvel handed him a $200 million budget to deliver the Fantastic Four movie fans have been longing to see.
Starring Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby as Reed Richards and Sue Storm, the movie places us right in the middle of their relationship as we learn they have a kid on the way in the opening scene. Immediately after, we see Sue and Reed unable to keep the pregnancy a secret from their fellow Fantastic Four members, Johnny and Ben, who simply know them too well. Matt Shakman then takes very little time to get into the meat of the movie. Once it’s established that the Fantastic Four are the protectors of the earth, the silver surfer warns of a being called Galactus, and wasting no time, the group takes a trip to stop him. They instead find themselves in a failed negotiation that sends them fleeing back to earth.
At one hour and fifty-five minutes, the movie flies through its run time, as one of the most engaging movies I’ve seen recently. The movie dedicates most of what little exposition it has, to filling the audience in on who these Fantastic Four characters are and how they got to this point. Some of my favorite moments take place in their shared home, where scenes are focused on building group chemistry. And for as many of those scenes as there are, I wish there were even more. As the movie continues,the film’s simplicity becomes its strength, giving us the space to get to know the four leads. Don’t get me wrong though – it’s still an action-packed Marvel movie with no shortage of moving parts. But compared to what I’ve been seeing in its genre lately, this Fantastic Four film is a much more intimate, stripped-back story. Outside of the four heroes, there really aren’t many characters. Off the top of my head, there’s the Silver Surfer, Mole Man, and Ben’s love interest – all of whom get very little screen time. In fact, I can’t remember any scenes not containing a member of the Fantastic Four.
Pedro Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic is the standout character in my opinion, but not by a super wide margin. Johnny, mostly unveiled through relationships with the other three members, is quite a fun and intriguing member of the squad. Johnny and Ben both come off as more likeable characters than Reed, but a little less complex. Reed’s arrogance and cold nature make him a bit hard to root for at times, but Pedro Pascal does a remarkable job of displaying inner conflict and regret with subtlety. He’s the leader of the group, but doesn’t always know what to do. His habit of questioning himself, not only demonstrates his intellect, but also his care in decision making. One of the most difficult things to achieve in superhero movies is making the characters feel like regular, complex people. Pedro Pascal accomplishes this swimmingly. He’ll be cold and distant for a little while, then quickly draw you back in, by just trying his best, even though he, like us, does not have all the answers.
However, in the exact opposite direction, Sue’s character feels a bit flat due to her lack of understanding and one dimensionalness. She seems to be more of a vessel to steer Reed back on track and connect the characters, rather than being her own individual. Vanessa Kirby’s character wasn’t necessarily a bad one; she just didn’t stand out in a lead role where it’s important to do just that.
Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer has a similar problem. With fairly small pockets of screen time, her character isn’t necessarily a bad one. It’s just a forgettable take on the silver surfer anti-hero, who has so much potential. The movie’s choice to focus solely on the Fantastic Four characters leaves a hole in the story of the villains and supporting cast. Galactus comes at an intimidating scale, but without much else. Having not read the comics, I still don’t really understand what the whole underground mole society is or why they hate everyone on the surface, and I don’t really know anything about Ben’s love interest, played by Natasha Lyonne. Even if these supporting roles are just meant to be insignificant world building elements, I would have liked to see a few of them explored more fully. At least show us more of the Silver Surfer or Ben’s story with the teacher.
Cinematographer Jess Hall creates a world in Earth 828 that is retro, even in its futuristic elements. Paired with the cold, blue-dominated coloring, this old-school world gives the movie its own unique aesthetic. The film feels almost like a 60s sci-fi movie in a good way.
I enjoy how the plot combines personal relationship struggles with world – ending stakes. It allows us to get to really know the characters in their planning to save the world. However, there are certain plot points and events, especially at the very end of the movie, that work out too conveniently for my liking. However, If you can suspend disbelief a bit, and want to watch a superhero film with a different look than most Marvel movies, but still a similar effect, you’ll love The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
