The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)


If any attempt to bring a comic book franchise to the big screen was cursed it has to be The Fantastic Four.  Jack Kirby's tale of a Reed Richards, his wife Sue Storm, her brother Johnny and their friend Ben Grimm being given superpowers by a cosmic storm and defending the Earth first appeared in 1961 and has endured ever since.  The problem is that the movies so far have featured a hackneyed scheme to hold on to the franchise, a pair of goofy attempts at emulating the comics and one grimdark version that may or may not have been ruined by studio interference. 

Regardless, none of them are really worth seeing, despite Michael Chiklis going above and beyond as The Thing in 2005's Fantastic Four.  Like with most Marvel properties, these heroes and their menagerie of villains are now firmly in the grasp of Disney, having inherited the movie rights from their purchase of Fox.  That also means that they, in their infinite search for more money, must find a way to jam this team into the overarching story that is now Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Honestly, I have no idea what the main plot is now, after a good portion of the story had to be altered due to Jonathan Majors getting slap happy with his girlfriend.  I do know that Dr. Doom is going to be the new main villain and, to get there, we have to have the Fantastic Four. 

It has been four years since Reed (Pedro Pascal), Sue (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) had their lives forever changed on a trip to outer space.  Since then they have defended the Earth from the underground society of Subterranea, led by Harvey Elder (Paul Walter Hauser) and evil Soviet mastermind Red Ghost.  Reed and Sue are expecting a child, wondering if it will be normal or inherit their powers, and with Subterranea on board with peace talks they are hoping to settle down a bit.

Those hopes are dashed with the arrival of the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), warning Earth of the coming of Galactus (Ralph Ineson).  Galactus is a giant entity that predates the creation of the universe and, to sustain himself, devours entire worlds.  When the Fantastic Four go on a mission to confront and negotiate with him he states that he is willing to spare Earth if they give him Sue's unborn child to use as a vessel to free himself.  They refuse and, with mounting opposition on Earth to their unwillingness to make such a sacrifice, begin to find a way to save their planet and the Richards' son. 

I am liking this new trend of skipping the origin story.  There is no real need to spend half the movie showing the audience something they have either seen in the comics, on television or as part of one of the many movies, sequels and reboots that have come before.  That has been a major problem throughout the MCU and DCCU.  Often there is just enough time for one or two major action scenes after all the exposition.  With The Fantastic Four: First Steps we are given about five minutes of background and a few establishing scenes before the Silver Surfer - the Shalla-Bal version - shows up to warn Earth, and we are immediately out in space looking for Galactus who, this time around, is not a giant cloud.  I personally think he looks ridiculous in the comics, but here he has been given some real menace without compromising the recognizable design, and he is portrayed in a more Lovecraftian manner, that being a creature that cares little for the lesser beings that inhabit its universe. 

This universe happens to be the one that houses Earth 828, a world that looks like it is straight out of the Atomic Age, with flying cars and giant vacuum-tube-based computers.  If anything it gives the movie a sense of style that I find missing from most of the MCU.  While part of the whole it is one of the few movies since the beginning of the series that works as a standalone film.  

Unfortunately, there are still some of the same problems that pop up here and there.  Most of the CGI is overlayed on practical effects, so it looks better than what the MCU has been churning out recently, save for a CGI model of Franklin, Sue and Reed's baby.  This CGI baby trend has to stop, as I swear the old dancing baby screensaver looks better than the attempt here and in the recent Superman to render a mini human.  After all these years they finally almost have water right, so one would think an infant shouldn't be so hard. 

The other is that subplots such as Ben's budding romance with a teacher (Natasha Lyonne) either need to be properly explored or not even bothered with.  We know the characters so a ton of character development is not necessary but, if offered, there should be some follow-through.  Lyonne, who has recently had two successful streaming series, is wasted in this with what amounts to nothing but a quick cameo.  

Despite this it is once again nice to have an MCU movie under two hours and be worth seeing.  They just need to start finding a way of getting these budgets under control and realize that the days of theatrical event films have passed.  Director Matt Shakman scored with Wandavision, and it is more than past time that Disney start considering streaming and physical media rather than blowing a bunch of money trying to get people back in the theaters. 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
Time: 115 minutes
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner
Director: Matt Shakman



 

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