It’s time to put the struggles at Marvel Studios in the past, and the best way to do that is…by going back to the past. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the best MCU film since Deadpool & Wolverine, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like the power is back on. Directed by WandaVision writer Matt Shakman, the film is the first time that Marvel’s First Family of superheroes has been done truly right on the big screen. While I’m hardly a hater of the early 2000s movies by Tim Story, and the less said about the moody 2015 movie the better, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has panache, a retro-future energy capturing the hopeful sci-fi tone of the 1960s, and best of all, it’s just a Hell of a lot of fun.
Shakman, backed by a handful of writers, doesn’t bother with long-winded origin stories. In fact, the film clocks in at under two hours long. There’s no wasting time, as it zips through the familiar backstory of the already famous Fantastic Four. In this alternate universe, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach) have been superpowered for a few years since the fateful deep space flight that bathed them in cosmic rays. As the world’s first superheroes, and a family in the truest sense of the word, they are TV celebs, politicians, heartthrobs, everything to a humanity that adores them.
Just as Shakman made 1950s black & white comedies cool with WandaVision, he captures that sitcom feel with the opening minutes of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Just existing in this universe that Shakman has created is enjoyable enough that you could forget it’s supposed to be a superhero movie. Reed can be found starring in a Mr. Wizard’s World-style TV show for kids; Ben entertains the local kiddos with feats of strength, Sue is a global ambassador; and Johnny is…well, he’s the heartbreaker. Even the team’s loyal robot sidekick H.E.R.B.I.E. feels like a part of the family. It’s that family aspect that has been missing so badly from previous attempts at these characters, and this film just gets it exactly right.
Trailers haven’t hidden one of the key early plot twists, as Sue discovers (via a handy FF-branded pregnancy test) that she’s expecting their first child. While this is exciting news for the team (Fantastic Five?), it also drives Reed and Sue to worry if the baby will suffer any effects from the cosmic radiation. Will it be a monster? Will it inherit their powers? If this is all sounding a lot like Pixar’s The Incredibles, take heed, True Believer! That animated hit was heavily influenced by the Fantastic Four comics, and if you loved it, then you will love The Fantastic Four: First Steps, too. They have quite a lot in common from relationships, storyline, and tone. The great Michael Giacchino also scored both movies, so there’s that, too.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps feels different than any other Marvel film and it’s the light-hearted,retro-future tone that Shakman establishes. In this utopian reality, flying saucers, robot assistants, and even the Fantasticar are part of the norm. It’s the 1960s, but you’ll find no hint of racism (perhaps some mild bigotry towards “villain” Mole Man, played wonderfully by Paul Walter Hauser, and the underground people of Subterranea) or global strife. The Fantastic Four are trusted forces for good, free of the cynicism and political b.s. that we’ve seen impact the Avengers, Thunderbolts, and even Superman.
That trust gets tested when an apocalyptic threat emerges from the cosmos. Popular character the Silver Surfer (played by Julia Garner) rides the waves into the middle of Manhattan and heralds the planet’s destruction, courtesy of the hungry maw of Galactus (Ralph Ineson). The “Devour of Worlds” is no typical villain. He is accurately portrayed as a universal force, neither good or evil, and his arrival to the MCU feels immediately humungous, like a turning point. That’s exactly how Galactus should be. The team’s first encounter with him goes sideways when he makes them an offer that they absolutely must refuse. When the people of Earth hear about their decision, suddenly the Fantastic Four isn’t so popular with normals.
This is the first Marvel movie that leans so heavily into soft sci-fi. The team travels through wormholes, dabbles with new teleportation technology, and lives in a sleek, high-tech Baxter Building that looks like a skyscraper gave birth to a rocket ship. The team’s family dynamics echo the colonists of Lost in Space, and so do their adventures. Since there’s no need to overload the film with superhero slugfest and an abundance of supporting characters, time is afforded to building the most crucial relationships. Pascal and Kirby are surprisingly sweet and affectionate as married couple Reed and Sue. Reed’s brain is constantly working, and he grows increasingly anxious over his new child and the fate of the world. He’s more comfortable figuring out scientific equations than dealing with people, which is a problem when your wife is the powerful Sue Storm and she’s being a concerned mama bear.
Of the main quartet, it’s Moss-Bachrach who acquits himself best as the orange, rocky Ben Grimm aka The Thing. Long gone are the days of Michael Chiklis wearing that awful, bulky suit to portray the character. Ben looks pretty good in CGI, even when the face isn’t as expressive as it could be. Fortunately, Moss-Bachrach is a regular in the high-intensity series The Bear where elaborate dramatics are a necessity. Teased is Ben’s loneliness as the one member of the team who can no longer pass as human, making his affection for neighborhood teacher Rachel Rozman (Natasha Lyonne) difficult. It’s a storyline that isn’t given enough time but promises to be more important in future movies.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is incredible, and a rocket blast of fresh air that doesn’t require you to deep dive in MCU lore to understand it. You can go in and have an awesome time and leave wishing you had a H.E.R.B.I.E. of your own. A mid-credits scene teases the arrival of the team’s ultimate enemy, and the team’s part to play in Avengers: Doomsday. Things won’t stay this light forever, but for now, we can take heart that the Fantastic Four have finally been given the justice they deserve.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens on July 25th.
