Fantastic Four: First Steps Review
Remember ten years ago when Fox announced they were releasing a reboot of the Fantastic Four? The moment I saw the trailers for it, all I could do was groan because I knew it would be a disaster. More than that, I didn’t understand why Fox felt the need to do this. With the MCU already well-underway, it felt like a waste of time and money to make a standalone film. I wasn’t alone, either; the film flopped so bad that when Disney bought Fox in 2019, people cheered since it meant Marvel’s first family could come home at last. Fast-forward to 2025, and we finally have the Fantastic Four’s induction into the MCU with their newest film, Fantastic Four: First Steps. But does it manage to give the quartet their due after all these years? The long and short of it is that yes, yes it does.
The Amazing Retrofuturism
The big thing that needs to be said about Fantastic Four: First Steps is the fact that while it’s part of the MCU, it doesn’t take place in the MCU’s main timeline. Instead, it takes place on Earth-828 during a retro-futuristic 1960s. Besides being a loving tribute to the birthday of the team’s co-creator, Jack Kirby, the most advantage this film has is starting off with a clean slate. Ever since Endgame, more and more people have complained about the abundance of shows and specials that the MCU has gotten on streaming. It’s a bold experiment, but even the most devoted fans (like me) don’t like having to watch everything to make sense of what’s going on! Not only is this film something that we can watch without seeing any other Marvel movies, but it taking place on an alternate Earth means it can use the Multiverse concept to be as creative as possible. And creative it gets!
When the Fantastic Four first came out in 1961, the US was experiencing a time of growth and prosperity. Advances in science, technology, and civil rights meant that people were very optimistic about the future held in store. Shows like Star Trek had us exploring the depths of the universe, while cartoons like The Jetsons imagined a future with flying cars, floating houses, and wonders that would like our lives better than ever. While that future has yet to come about in real life, First Steps gives us a chance to see what that would might have been like. Everything is full of bright colors and smooth lines from the biggest buildings to the cars (which look awesome!) The movie even goes the extra mile by capturing the art style of the time on everything from the billboard signs to a box of cereal. As someone who loves sci-fi and retro-futurism, it was like a dream come true for me!
What was even better, though, was how the film managed to do justice to not only the Fantastic Four, but Galactus…and the Silver Surfer, though that’s complicated.
The Characters Were Near Perfect
As a kid, I never had any interest in Fox’s first two attempts at Fantastic Four movies, and I have never seen the disaster that was the 2015 film (and I never hope to!) It wasn’t until after I had already seen First Steps that I even watched the 2005 film. I’m glad that I waited, because the 2005 movie is very dated, not only in special effects, but in how it portrays the characters. The movie forgets one of the most important things about its main characters: they’re a family. And while families do often fight and argue about things, at the end of the day, the Fantastic Four are incredibly close and care about each other. I watched the 2005 film, and I barely got any family vibes from them.
In contrast to the previous films, First Steps sees the Fantastic Four fully embrace their role as Marvel’s first family. Not only do the actors do a good job of portraying their characters, but they manage to act much like a normal family would when they’re onscreen together. Reed is constantly worrying about things that could go wrong, but he has his wife, brother-in-law, and best friend to get him out of his head when needed. Johnny and Ben’s back-and-forth is a lot more playful than in the Tim Story films. And not only does Susan have a lot more agency, but she lives up to her role as the loving team mom who keeps everyone together.
As far as the individual actors go, though, I’ve got a few things worth saying.
Good Actors!
I know some people have gotten tired of seeing Pedro Pascal everywhere, but I haven’t. And I think that he does a good job of downplaying the more negative aspects of Reed Richards’ personality. While he does admit that he’s the smartest man in the room, he also holds himself to high, almost impossible standards. This is best shown when he can’t initally find a way to stop Galactus without sacrificing someone. But that’s why he has his family and especially his wife to keep him grounded.
Speaking of grounded, Ebon-Moss Bachrach plays a good Ben Grimm. Having seen the 2005 film and how grumpy he was, it was nice to have a Thing that has already come to terms with his life. Ironically, he also gets the least focus out of the four.
Johnny, played by Joseph Quinn, was the biggest surprise for me. It makes sense that the people making the movie would want to tone down Johnny’s womanizing, because, quite frankly, the Chris Evans Johnny would get cancelled in today’s culture. That wasn’t the biggest surprise though; it was his intelligence. Johnny manages to be as smart as the rest of his family. In one crucial plot point, he’s able to take what the Silver Surfer says in her native language and use it to translate the entire thing! It becomes an important part of the plot, so, that’s impressive, Johnny!
The character that gets the most attention, though, is Vanessa Kirby’s Susan Storm, and for good reason. She spends the first half of the film pregnant with her and Reed’s child. With the second half focusing on protecting their newborn son from Galactus, her importance only grows. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always imagined Susan Storm played by someone fierce but motherly, like Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. And as this film makes abundantly clear in its climax, you don’t want to mess with mom! She’s pretty much the badass, self-actualized mom that every woman aspires to be!
They Did Right By Galactus
On the other end of the spectrum we have our main antagonists, Galactus and the Silver Surfer. While some might complain about Norrin Radd getting swapped out for Shalla-Bal, I didn’t care. At all. What mattered is that the Surfer fulfilled their narrative purpose, and I’d say Julia Garner did that. Like many people, what I did care about was Marvel doing right by Galactus. He’s to the Marvel Universe what Beerus is to Dragon Ball: a force of nature and destruction. Rise of the Silver Surfer dropped the ball eighteen years ago, but Ralph Ineson manages to do right by the Devourer of Worlds.
If Stan Lee and Jack Kirby could be brought back to the present-day so they could see this movie, I hope that someone like Ralph is who they imagined Galactus to be. He’s every bit as terrifying as he was back in the 60s, and even though you might feel bad because of his lot in life, you still root against him. Moreover, since this universe doesn’t have plot armor, you can’t but fear that before he is defeated, one of the heroes might have to make the ulitmate sacrifice. Or even worse, that the Fantastic Four would ultimately fail.
Decent Superhero Film, Better Family Film
As far as being a superhero film, Fantastic Four: First Steps is actually rather basic when compared to the more fantastical plots we’ve gotten in the MCU. However, it doesn’t need to be that complex, as its adapting one of the greatest stories in comic book history. What I will say, though, is that when it comes to balancing being a superhero film with a family film, First Steps favors the latter over the former. Much of the film is centered less on the combat and more on the family drama as the heroes struggle against their biggest challenge to date. It only gets worse, though, when Galactus wants baby Franklin so he can drop his world-eater gig for good. When they refuse, everyone’s understandably upset. It’s things like this where the film is at its best, and unfortunatley, that means that the superhero stuff seems to suffer a bit. The combat is rather simplistic when compared to what we’ve gotten in other Marvel films, and this becomes glaringly obvious during the final battle against Galactus. Maybe I’ve seen too much shonen anime, but I know that the heroes could do way more with their powers if they pushed themselves to the limit!
To its credit, though, the film does a great job of playing on the sci-fi aspects of the Fantastic Four, especially once the group travels into deep space to confront Galactus. That entire section of the film, from confronting him on his worldship to the Surfer chasing them through warp into a quasar is like something that’s out of the best of Star Trek. Which is fitting, considering how both came out in the 60s, are heavily influenced by sci-fi, and have an overall positive outlook on the future, one that the world desperately needs right now.
This message about hope and optimism is something that First Steps has in common with that of Superman. Both are encouraging people to look for the best possible future, and both have their own strengths. But while I loved both movies, I think that Superman might beat out Fantastic Four when it comes to being a superhero film. Because, as I’ve already said, the Fantastic Four aren’t just a team of heroes; they’re a family. And when the film focuses more on the dynamics of being a family, I think that’s where it works best. Then again, this is only the Fantastic Four’s formal introduction to the MCU, so they’re only getting started.
The Fantastic Four are Just Getting Started
Let’s rip the band-aid off: the rumors about the mid-credits scene were true. A man in a green hood does show up, and the film explicitly states that the Fantastic Four will be returning in the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday, where they are set to play a key role. With Kevin Feige confirming that Avengers: Secret Wars will serve as a soft reset for the MCU, the Fantastic Four will undoubtedly become a part of this merged universe when the dust settles. Having seen other studios repeatedly fumble the ball with Marvel properties in the 2010s, I wholeheartedly support this. It’s time for all of Marvel to come home.
Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t just another Marvel; it’s a homecoming. After all these years and three failed attempts as well as movie that never got released, we finally have a movie that does Marvel’s first family justice. It is, by no means, a perfect film, as the pacing is a little off and some of the cast gets more attention than others. As far as formal introductions to the MCU, though, First Steps delivers. I cannot argue whether or not it’s a better movie than Superman, though, as I feel both films have their pros and cons and are delightful films overall. They manage to put Marvel and DC on equal footing on the big screen for the first time in years, and that in and of itself could be considered a win. I will say this, though: I’m not paying $80 for the Galactus popcorn bucket, world record or not!
I Give Fantastic Four: First Steps a 4/5
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