Review of 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps '

The latest reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise sees us transported to a retro-futuristic 1960s-inspired Earth where the Fantastic Four - Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) - Serve as defenders of the planet, having been mutated into superheroes following a freak space accident. A mysterious alien riding a cosmic surfboard, the “Silver Surfer” (Julia Garner), arrives on the planet to warn that it is to be devoured by Galactus, a massively powerful (and big) cosmic being. The Fantastic Four, with a heavily pregnant Sue Storm, travel to meet Galactus to see if they can stop him but are told that unless they are willing to offer him Sue's child he will consume the planet. The team refuses and returns to an earth jubilant in thinking the group have saved the planet only to be confused and outraged to learn that they have failed and refused to give up their child to save everyone. It's up to the group to (quickly) figure out a way to save their child as well as their planet as Galactus gets ever closer…

An interesting and fresh new take on not only the Fantastic Four but also on superhero films in general with a degree of polish and moral plot points that are often not seen. The retro-futuristic look is amazing but it is nice to see that the filmmakers have gone beyond this to make a decent story and ask interesting questions of the audience. It is nice to see that the answers to the questions being asked are not as clear-cut as in most superhero films. Indeed, in this film it is not simply a matter of the heroes solely defeating the powerful enemy as early on we see that this will not be possible with their powers ineffectual against the super-being putting in question as to how exactly they will be able to stop him.

Unlike the earlier Fantastic Four films, here the team work well together with a focus on chemistry and inter-personal elements that really brings them to life and make them much more believable. The focus is on family relationships and friendship with little of the open hostility seen in other depictions that undermined the idea that they could work well as a team. Tied into this cohesion is a sense of fun and humour that really brings the group to life. Other than the four themselves, the events and people surrounding them are decidedly one dimensional with the intriguing exception of a new Silver Surfer (now a woman rather than the traditional man) who has a depth of character not seen before and who plays a significant part in resolving the plot though perhaps this might be TOO much of a part for Marvel purists (indeed, the tidy way the story is wrapped up might make more than a few fans quite annoyed).

It does feel at points that this film is over-hyping the “Fantastic Four” as a brand with the logo appearing everywhere (belt buckles, vehicles, in the sky, on buildings, etc) it feels a bit like a never-ending advertisement but perhaps this is part of the appeal and authenticity of the film - The slickness is a highly polished ad campaign that in many ways mimics the comic book source material itself, making this film a truer comic book film than most. In any case, it looks, and feels, very cool.

An excellent superhero film that rewrites the rule-book and brings a much needed sense of fun to the genre with not only great looks but a smart storyline and characters you actually care about.

By the way, stick around for the traditional in-credit sequences which harken to the upcoming 2026 film “Avengers: Doomsday” (yes, fans, Doctor Doom).

Rating: “I have absolutely no complaints”

Review Date: 2025-08-02

Directed by: Matt Shakman

Studio: Marvel Studios

Year: 2025

Length: 114 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10676052/