I know expectations are high for a decent FANTASTIC FOUR movie, and I’m excited to report that after many tries, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is just that, a good first step. Directed by Matt Shakman, the film is a retro-futuristic adventure that at times feels more like a character-driven family drama than it does a superhero film (and that is a compliment). With a phenomenal lead performance from Vanessa Kirby, the film is at its best when it is exploring the familial dynamics of the quartet and how they operate within their world. And I am also a sucker for the film’s stunning 1960s-esque production design, which is a mixture between THE JETSONS and Disney’s TOMORROWLAND.
The people of Earth 828 adore their superhero protectors, known as the Fantastic Four. Sue Storm (Kirby), her husband Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) gained superpowers after being exposed to a cosmic ray during a mission to space. Now they use these gifts to protect Earth from the bad guys, which seem to pop up on a fairly frequent basis. Some, like Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), are handled with diplomacy, while others, like Giganto, are handled with their fists. When Sue discovers she’s pregnant, the Four get to work making sure the baby is healthy and determining how this new addition will impact the team.
Unfortunately, their worries only grow worse when a mysterious Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) appears, heralding the coming arrival of Galactus, destroyer of worlds. The silver woman says there is nothing anyone can do to stop Galactus from consuming their planet. Humanity can only come to terms with their fate and wait for the inevitable. Of course, The Fantastic Four are not going to sit around and wait for their world to be destroyed, so the very pregnant Sue and team set off to try to talk some sense into Galactus or destroy him before he can destroy Earth. I will let you imagine how this goes…
The most important element of the movie’s success lies in the cast’s believable chemistry. And even though there’s not much build-up or back story, you immediately buy into the fact that the Fantastic Four are a family that love each other… and it’s easy to root for that. This camaraderie is a hard to capture, nebulous element that I think was missing from the preceding films. But even more than the team-up element, the true star of the film is the incredible Vanessa Kirby. Her portrayal of Sue Storm is right up there with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff as one of my favorite performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). She’s smart, strong, and is the beating heart of the film as she navigates her biggest challenge yet—raising a possibly powerful child, as a superhero, in the public eye.
Unfortunately, as much as I like Pedro Pascal, he and Joseph Quinn are woefully miscast. I would like to know who decided to cast Pascal, one of the most charismatic and engaging actors in Hollywood, as Reed Richards—a character devoid of much personality and charm. This is not a knock on Pascal’s acting, but is a criticism of how flat the character is written. To better align with the character, it almost feels like the role should have gone to an actor that more exudes sternness and seriousness; I can understand why Adam Driver was initially in conversations for the part. And Quinn, while a handsome guy, does not exude the douchey and bro-ish qualities that I think are required for the Johnny Storm character. I know Pascal and Quinn are two of the most popular it-guys in Hollywood right now, but it really feels like the studio got the casting all wrong on this one, and it hurts the film.
My hope is that FIRST STEPS is a bellwether for the MCU switching direction in favor of more character-driven stories, as opposed to prioritizing the action. Is this film reinventing the wheel? Absolutely not. But it is fun, entertaining, and I love its 1960s throwback setting that felt like a nice change from the modern time period we are used to in most every other MCU property. It’s no surprise that Shakman also directed several episodes of WANDA VISION. Finally, I have to give the film major props for keeping the runtime under two hours, ensuring it never overstayed its welcome and packed a lot of punch into an uncharacteristically shorter time frame.
There are two end credits. The mid-credit scene is a lead-in to what is to come within the MCU. The final credit scene is a silly cartoon that isn’t really worth your time.
My Review: B
