Rating: ****
Review Date: 7/28/25
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn,
Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner
Having already established themselves as Earth-828's heroes, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) find themselves expecting a child. Unfortunately, the happy news is interrupted when a silver surfer (Julia Garner) arrives to herald the coming of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), the devourer of worlds. The Fantastic Four track Galactus in an attempt to stop him, but he takes an unhealthy interest in Sue's unborn child, forcing the group to make a desperate retreat. Unwilling to sacrifice their child to save Earth, the Fantastic Four face harsh criticism while racing against the clock to come up with a plan to defeat Galactus.
To be honest, I don't have a lot of cultural touchpoints with The Fantastic Four. I watched the Saturday morning cartoon in the 70s, read a couple of comic books where they showed up as guest characters, and saw the awful 1994 Roger Corman movie. First and foremost, what makes this film work is that it's a period piece. The retro-futuristic 1960's look and vibe makes the film relatable, and is the only way to pull off The Fantastic Four as a family unit with such earnestness. Plus, you've got all of those fancy clothes. A contemporary setting would have them strapped with too much angst, attitude, edginess, and dysfunction. The reimagined world of the 60s is buzzing with impossibly cheerful hope, optimism, innocence, and naïveté, which is all taken away by Galactus.
Secondly, the cast is great and Vanessa Kirby is phenomenal. She also totally rocks her 60s fashions. Pedro Pascal imbues Reed Richards with obsession, guilt, vulnerability, and the curse of knowledge. He is a tortured soul, tormented by his own brilliance. Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is charming and his motion capture performance is excellent. Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) is annoying, but he's supposed to be. I just wish he could tone it down a bit.
The action scenes are excellent and the visual effects are superb. The campy and upbeat music score complements the underlying goofiness of the film and maintains a heroic and optimistic tone. The film only falters in a handful of places where it goes off the rails and doesn't quite work tonally or emotionally, but it always manages to come back. Honestly, the biggest problem I had with the film was Grimm's beard. What's up with that and why did they find that necessary? It was a constant distraction.
While I'm not a fan of family drama, "First Steps" does a respectable job of handling everything with a light touch and ensures that all of the characters remain as endearing and likable as possible. Sue Storm demonstrates that she is NOT someone you want to mess with, and is definitely one of the most powerful and frightening entities in the MCU. Since this all takes place in an alternate Earth realm, it's not clear how The Fantastic Four tie into "The New Avengers" (2025) or the upcoming "Doomsday" film. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. On its own, it's a fun stand-alone adventure full of nostalgic comic book charm.