Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was even a twinkle in executives’ eyes, there have been “Fantastic Four” adaptations. From Saturday morning cartoons to films made by B-movie kings just to keep the rights, Marvel’s first family remains one of the most long-standing and well-known creations in comic-book history. Even if you’ve never read a comic or seen one of their previous works, you know this foursome. Now, after various studio issues and rights changes, this iconic group is finally joining the MCU in their own special, cosmic, and gloriously dated way.
Set in a retro-futuristic 1960s styled alternate universe, the film follows the titular group, made up of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), played by Pedro Pascal (“Narcos,” “The Last of Us (2023)”), Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman), played by Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman,” “The Crown”), Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), played by Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things,” “A Quiet Place: Day One”), and Ben Grimm (The Thing), played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach ( “The Bear,” “Girls”). The quartet, assisted by their robotic companion HERBIE, must contend with a new threat from space in the form of the planet eating being Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson (“The Witch,” “The Green Knight”), and his servant Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner (“Ozark,” “Inventing Anna”).
From the moment this film was announced, the most eye-catching aspect has been the distinct visual stylings set up in this “Jetsons”-esque vision of the Four’s alternate universe. The adventure is full of bright colors, blues, and whites, punctuated by a warped sense of technology that feels both as futuristic as “Iron Man” with the sensibilities of “Leave It to Beaver.” This isn’t just surface level either, as the entire film never lets up from that visual touch. Even when venturing beyond Earth, things still maintain an overly designed level of hyper-detail that makes everything flow together. The costumes make fantastic use of the color-palette and reotr-styling, but Galactus is the visual standout, both in costume and overall visual design. Michael Giacchino’s (“The Incredibles,” “Up”) score is just as buoyant and airy as well, with the music and even instruments used feeling plucked directly out of the 1960s itself.
Matt Shakman (“WandaVision,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) makes his feature directorial debut here after a long career of television directing, and his experience with ensemble works is used here expertly. The scenes with the central foursome are all fantastic, and their individual moments to shine are also great. Johnny particularly gets some excellent moments that far outshine his previous film appearances, and anytime the group is simply together, no matter the context, they excel. Pascal is working his expected level of charm, with a lot clearly going on in his elastic genius’s mind. Moss-Bachrach is a fantastic Ben Grimm, channeling the charm and gruff but calm enforcer attitude required of the character. Kirby is turning in some fantastic work here, making Sue not only the center of the film but the best performed role out of the main four. Most surprisingly, the standouts come from Quinn as Johnny and Garner as the Surfer.
Quinn’s performance adds far more nuance to Johnny than we’ve ever seen before and his every scene with Garner is fantastic. They have a chemistry that lights up the film and their subplot is one of the most interesting things about the film. The film’s script, written by Eric Pearson (“Thor: Ragnarok,” “Godzilla vs. Kong”), Jeff Kaplan (“The Last of the Great Romantics,” “Bert and Annie’s Guide to Friendship”), Ian Springer (“The Last of the Great Romantics,” “Bert and Annie’s Guide to Friendship”), Kat Wood, and Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds (2005),” “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”), manages to keep a great balance between the typical superhero fare and the family dynamic that makes the Four stand out. The focus does lean more towards Sue, Johnny, and the Surfer, but each character gets plenty of great moments to shine on their own and as a part of the group. The film’s second and third acts are borderline perfectly paced and exceptionally fun, keeping the film’s drama and excitement in equal measure. The first act is far more jumbled and awkwardly paced, and the rest of the cast outside of the Four, Surfer, and Galactus suffers from having their scenes cut to ribbons.
Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face,” “But I’m a Cheerleader...”) shows up as Rachel, a schoolteacher who is friends with Ben, and Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird,” “Richard Jewell”) plays the classic Fantastic Four villain Mole Man, but neither gets a ton of room to work. Their scenes have either been almost completely cut in the editing room or just never existed to begin with. Hauser gets far more to work with than Lyonne, who is on screen for no longer than one or two minutes at most. While their characters get almost cut out of the film, numerous other scenes have bizarre editing issues. It’s not continuity or logical errors, rather there are a handful of scenes that feel like they are either cut off or begin late. It’s an ironic issue given that most modern superhero films are criticized for being far too long, but here things are so much fun and the world is so wonderful, that those shortened scenes hurt because you just want to spend more time in this tale.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is the best Fantastic Four movie by a wide margin, though that isn’t saying much. What is saying a lot is that the film itself manages to be a buoyant, lighthearted, retro tinged affair drenched in a wonderful visual design and central set of characters that makes this one of the most fun Marvel features to date. Kirby is a commanding powerhouse, and the entire cast is fantastic. It’s a shame that the film seems to be almost self-consciously cutting its supporting cast and so many scenes short just to keep the runtime under two hours. When a modern superhero film can be called a movie that you wish you had more of, you know that’s when it's truly something fantastic. 4/5
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