Film Review: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Director: Matt Shakman
Marvel Studios
In Theaters: 07.25.2025

The days when people would rush out to see anything involving comic books seem to be behind us, yet many are heralding the success of Superman as proof that superhero fatigue isn’t really a thing. As Marvel’s major summer entry, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is tracking to be the second super hit of July, there is certainly a ray of hope for the beleaguered genre. Or at least there is as long as we stick to iconic, monolithic franchises and do them exactly right.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps dumps a lot of the baggage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its unwieldy mythology by setting the story on an alternate version of our world, Earth 828, where there aren’t thousands upon thousands of do-gooders in capes. It also goes for a retro ‘60s vibe, telling the story as a kind of “what if?” science fiction period piece. The movie begins with our protagonists already established as world-famous heroes with special abilities that they gained while serving as astronauts on a space mission. The couple that makes up half of the team, Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian, Gladiator II) and Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby, The Crown, Napoleon) learn that they are expecting their first child, which puts Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn, Stranger Things, A Quiet Place: Day One) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear) into the de facto “Uncle Jesse and Joey” roles in this unconventional family (they even have catchphrases). But when a mysterious being from another planet, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner, The Assistant), descends from the sky with a dire warning that earth must yield to Galactus (Ralph Ineson, The Green Knight), it effectively kills the domestic bliss vibe and sends the team scrambling back into hero mode.

For anyone who misses the days when Marvel movies felt self-contained, fun and refreshing, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is several big steps in the right direction. The fact that it feels at least as much like a throwback space movie as it does a superhero story is a major plus, and it’s overflowing with charm and atmosphere. While it wisely avoids anything remotely resembling the truly disastrous 2015 Josh Trank version, there’s certainly an element of familiarity for anyone who saw the flawed-but-fun Tim Story films in the early 2000s. Still, those films don’t cast nearly as big a shadow over it as Disney’s The Incredibles, which borrowed heavily from the classic comics and still stands as the best superhero movie ever made in my book. If you can get past the urge to hold it to that standard, and instead look at it as a throwback to the unencumbered excitement of Phase One movies like Captain America: The First Avenger or Thor (with a touch of the flavor of ‘80s Star Wars wannabes such as The Black Hole or Tron) it’s hard not to have a lot of fun. The space adventure element is where the movie is at its best, offering a nice change of pace. It goes without saying that eventually, it does come down to people in costumes duking it out with a giant menace in the big city as buildings crumble around them, and yes, that formula is getting tired, but it works well enough to provide a solid third act climax.

Pascal makes a far better Reed Richards than I was expecting, effortlessly stepping into the role and the time period, and deftly mixing the nerdy squareness of the character with enough personality and humanity to make us forget John Krasinski‘s cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Kirby makes a superb Sue Storm, played here as a true Super Mom, and she and Quinn are the first version of Sue and Johnny that have really felt believable as a brother and sister. The latter, a rising star with no end of potential, is on fire in this role, bringing us a Johnny Storm who is enthusiastic, adventurous and endearing. He keeps the heartthrob element intact without leaning nearly as far into the cocky, toxic womanizer persona that made the Chris Evans version both easy to laugh at and easy to hate — so much so that I wanted to walk out of the theater. As far as I’m concerned, the major selling point of Fantastic Four will always The Thing, and Moss-Bachrach is solid as rock as the tough but lovable brawny one of the bunch. It did feel odd that Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face, His Three Daughters) is given such a thankless role, appearing as a schoolteacher named Rachel Rozman who is set up as a potential love interest for Ben Grimm, and one wonders if some of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya, Cruella) is enjoyable as Mole Man, an eccentric villain who dwells beneath the city — though it’s impossible not to think of The Underminer, the parody of the character from the end of The Incredibles, every time he comes on screen.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t a great film, or a particularly new one, but it’s a highly enjoyable entry in the MCU. My one major complaint comes at the risk of being labeled “woke” and all of the other things I am now: It was too safe and too white bread for me, with a message about the need to come together undermined by a serious lack of diversity in anything but extras or token side characters (those who push “come together” inevitably tend to be far more comfortable doing so without having to stand up for anyone). Still, the movie delivers a near-perfect mix of comic book action and old-fashioned B-movie matinee escapism, with strong characterization and solid storytelling. It’s also good hearted and hopeful, and viewed as a sweeping adventure for the whole family, it truly is fantastic. —Patrick Gibbs

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