The Fantastic Four: First Steps

There is a certain cinematic irony in the fact that Matt Shakman has finally, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, managed to bring a successful version of Marvel's first family to the screen, after four highly publicized and painfully uneven attempts. From Roger Corman's unplayable experiment in 1994, to Tim Story's two safe popcorn flicks in the early 2000s, to Josh Trank's 2015 fiasco, buried under studio meddling and tonal dissonance, the Fantastic Four's cinematic journey has been marked by miscalculations. The first version looked like a science fair project that had escaped from the lab. The 2005 and 2007 versions attempted to portray family dysfunction through caricature, notably with Galactus depicted as a space cloud, while the 2015 reboot aimed for a more down-to-earth realism but ended up sinking under the weight of its own melancholy. The tragedy of these films lies not only in their inability to adapt the comics, but also in the fact that none of them believed in the central appeal of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's creation: a wildly imaginative and resolutely optimistic story about a family with superpowers who go through personal and cosmic crises together. Fantastic Four: First Steps (The Fantastic Four: First Steps) is the first film that, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, polished it until it shone like chrome.

From the very first images of Fantastic Four: First Steps, set in the alternate universe Earth-828, Matt Shakman makes his intentions clear: this is not yet another dark, tortured origin story worn thin by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rather, it's a retro-futuristic journey that seamlessly blends 1960s pop art aesthetics with a sincere belief in science, unity, and family bonds. The opening montage, designed as a vintage news broadcast with archival footage, vintage talk show interviews, and cheeky media appearances, immediately immerses the audience in a world where superheroes aren't vigilantes or saviors hiding in the shadows, but public figures, famous science ambassadors, and cultural icons. In doing so, the film avoids tired origin story clichés and instead celebrates the four years of existence of these protectors and pioneers. This decision is key to its success. Instead of another cosmic blast in two acts, we are presented with characters who are moving, alive, evolving, and already endearing.

At the heart of this new approach are the consistently strong performances of the main actors, even if the script doesn't always give them the breathing room they deserve. Pedro Pascal, as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, strikes the right balance between pragmatic genius and emotionally constipated father-to-be. His Reed Richards is a man cursed by the burden of foresight, constantly calculating the worst-case scenario while trying to maintain a facade of hope. The film cleverly uses Reed's elastic body not only for spectacle, but also as a metaphor for a man trying to spread himself too thin across too many roles: leader, scientist, husband, and soon-to-be father. Vanessa Kirby, meanwhile, delivers perhaps the most moving performance of the film as Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. Her journey from brilliant diplomat to fiercely protective mother is fascinating, and Kirby imbues her scenes, particularly those where she gives birth in zero gravity and publicly calls for global unity, with a gravity rarely seen in Marvel films.

 The fact that her motherhood becomes the emotional center of the film is both refreshing and slightly outdated, depending on your point of view, but Vanessa Kirby is so invested in her role that she largely transcends the cliché. Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm, brings a welcome touch of charisma and lightheartedness.

 His Human Torch is less the arrogant joker of previous versions and more of a down-to-earth, impulsive, multilingual, and reluctant hero, who forms the film's most intriguing emotional connection with the ethereal Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner. Their scenes, charged with a mixture of flirtation and existential curiosity, are among the few that truly surprise. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, as the heartbroken but endearing Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, is the soul of the group. His budding romance with a teacher (played by Natasha Lyonne) is a minor subplot, but one that highlights the film's human themes. Although Ben's existential angst about his transformation is only lightly explored, Ebon Moss-Bachrach delivers a performance imbued with a warmth that overshadows the film's occasional tonal confusion.

Narratively, Fantastic Four: First Steps is less a superhero movie than a classic moral piece of science fiction. The arrival of the Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner, who glides through Manhattan like an art deco ghost, sets off the main conflict: Galactus is coming, and he has decided that Earth-828 will be his next meal. Played with unsettling dignity by Ralph Ineson, Galactus is not a swirling space mist, but an imposing, godlike figure, fully embracing his comic book absurdity with his tuning fork helmet and solemn demeanor. And yet, rather than simply threatening destruction, he offers a deal: if Reed Richards and Sue Storm hand over their baby, considered to be a being with infinite cosmic potential, Earth will be spared. It's a pact with the devil that plunges the Fantastic Four into a crisis that is not only a matter of survival, but also of principle. The fact that this film focuses on the ethical dilemma of sacrificing one individual to save many, rather than simply solving a problem, sets it apart from the usual Marvel model.

Despite this rich plot, the film sometimes falls short in its execution. At times, particularly in the second half, the pace falters under the weight of its ambitions. With five credited writers, including Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer, the narrative sometimes feels like a patchwork of ideas: a galactic threat, a parental crisis, a love story, and a political allegory about global unity. Not everything works. Some characters, such as the Silver Surfer, disappear from the plot for long periods of time, and the moral dilemma, while intriguing, is resolved with an almost sitcom-like clarity that undermines the philosophical weight it previously had. Nevertheless, the film is sincere and visually imaginative enough not to sink into inertia.

Visually, Fantastic Four: First Steps is arguably the most striking Marvel film since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Kasra Farahani's art design is a masterpiece of retro-futuristic world-building. Flying cars with fins, conversation pits, pillbox hats, analog computers coexisting with teleportation platforms: all of this creates a world that looks like it came straight out of the covers of old science fiction magazines. Alexandra Byrne's costumes evoke the classic colors of comic books without falling into parody, and Michael Giacchino's score oscillates between barbershop fantasy and operatic thunder. In its quieter moments, such as when Ben prepares dinner with HERBIE or Sue reads a story to her unborn child, the film exudes a warmth that feels entirely deserved and a visual texture that elevates even the most mundane sequences. This is where The Fantastic Four: First Steps truly pays homage to Jack Kirby. These aren't just sets, they're dreams of a better world made tangible.

In terms of legacy, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is undoubtedly the cinematic balm that longtime Fantastic Four fans have been waiting for for decades. While the 1994 version was underfunded and shelved, the 2005 and 2007 versions were stylish but superficial, and the 2015 reboot collapsed under the weight of tonal dissonance, The Fantastic Four: First Steps understands that what made the team resonate in the first place wasn't just their powers, but their humanity, their optimism, their dysfunction, and ultimately their ability to come together when everything falls apart. The film's central conflict, namely the choice between protecting a child and saving a planet, is rendered with enough conviction and visual splendor to feel important, even if the script sometimes stumbles under the weight of its own theme.

If this is truly the first step toward a new phase of the MCU, then it's a welcome course correction. Matt Shakman's experience on WandaVision is clearly evident, not only in his control of aesthetics and tone, but also in his willingness to explore the genre through the characters rather than the spectacle. It remains to be seen whether future sequels will be able to deepen the group dynamics or explore the darker corners of the multiverse. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a promising foundation, one that understands the value of nostalgia without drowning in it, that honors Jack Kirby's legacy while daring to color it with its own hues, and most importantly, that remembers that at the heart of every cosmic crisis, there is a family trying to make sense of it all. And that, in a genre often overrun by gods and monsters, is what makes them truly fantastic.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Directed by Matt Shakman
Written by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer
Story by Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Kat Wood
Based on Fantastic Four by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Produced by Kevin Feige
Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson
Cinematography: Jess Hall
Edited by Nona Khodai, Tim Roche
Music by Michael Giacchino
Production company: Marvel Studios
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates: July 21, 2025 (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), July 35, 2025 (France), July 25, 2025 (United States)
Running time: 114 minutes

Seen on July 28, 2025 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, IMAX theater

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