The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the third attempt at bringing Marvel’s first family onto the big screen. The first two were overall failures, although the first attempt did warrant a sequel, but the second is panned as perhaps the worst comic book movie of all time.

To say there was much riding on this third and potentially final attempt would be an understatement. The MCU and comic book adaptations at large were at a crossroads, and First Steps as well as Superman and Thunderbolts* before it showed that we’re taking the correct path at this fork in the road.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Review

Comic book movies have experienced a really rough go recently. For every Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there’s been a Madame Web or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The post-Endgame run for Marvel hasn’t been as bad as many might argue, but it certainly hasn’t been very good.

Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four were two of the most important movies perhaps in MCU history. Two more failures, especially after such a run and when handling perhaps Marvel’s most iconic characters, might’ve been too much for even the MCU machine to absorb.

Fortunately, the third attempt at booting up the Fantastic Four onto the big screen is successful. Not only is it finally a successful outing for Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, but it’s genuinely one of the stronger movie outings this year and in the MCU at large, even when stacked up against movies from the franchise’s dominant prime.

But even when balancing all that was resting on this movie’s success, the creators didn’t shy away from taking creative swings. They could’ve understandably played it safe and put out a straightforward attempt just to ensure they didn’t flop a third time or that the MCU would at least stave off elimination for a few more movies.

They didn’t. Matt Shakman, the main showrunner of WandaVision, helms a brilliant entry that takes some surprising narrative choices with these characters. They skip the origin story, which both prior entries did not. Much like the MCU skipping Spider-Man’s origin story because we’d seen it twice already, the Fantastic Four are pre-existing heroes at this time.

They also skip Doctor Doom, whose origin is often entangled with the Four themselves, and go straight to Galactus. They also included Franklin Richards, a character who has never been in live action. They traded out the traditional Silver Surfer for a female one, albeit another character from the comics. They included Mole Man in a movie that unfathomably didn’t veer into silly territory when he was on screen. They set the movie in the past and in an alternate universe from every other MCU movie. It all worked.

Speaking of Silver Surfer, there was a bit of an outrage (as there usually is when a male character is a female or there’s a female version of said character) that Norrin Radd was not the MCU’s Silver Surfer. Instead, it’s Shalla-Bal, portrayed brilliantly by Julia Garner.

The design of the character is incredible. She looks fantastic in live action. The portrayal itself is what shines, though. Not only is this Silver Surfer an incredible character, she’s sympathetic, powerful, and just plain cool. Switching the gender didn’t negatively affect anything.

In fact, it might’ve been the greatest creative choice First Steps makes. She plays so well with Johnny Storm, played excellently by Joseph Quinn, who is an infamous ladies man. Their relationship is really crucial to the plot, and it is only elevated by the fact that the Surfer is a female and there’s some clear attraction from Johnny.

The Human Torch is possibly the real standout here. All the cast are putting in good work, but Quinn really shines (pun intended). He gets to be the MVP of the movie, effectively saving everyone not by doing something hotheaded like usual, but by using the brain he has that so often gets overlooked. He’s not just a pretty face.

Pedro Pascal perfectly embodies Reed Richards, too. He is arrogant, but he’s also incredibly loving. His hubris causes some problems, a perfect representation of the comic character, but he also shows immense vulnerability. Pascal, a seasoned veteran in roles like this, puts in his usual strong work.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach has little to do besides voice acting for The Thing, Ben Grimm, but he does well. The design of The Thing is really strong, particularly when stacked up against the previous iterations. And perhaps in a hilarious nod to the abysmal Fant4stic from 2015 when The Thing was literally naked, Moss-Bachrach’s Grimm is often fully clothed with a shirt, pants, and sweater.

The central figure, though, is Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm. She anchors the team and especially Reed, but she also plays as the emotional center of the movie. Her relationship with Franklin is the thing that drives the movie forward most, and Kirby carries it all really well.

Ralph Ineson’s voice is really perfect for Galactus, but once again, the visual design of the character is incredible. The shot of the Four and the Silver Surfer standing in the bottom of the screen with Galactus’ purple eyes beaming at the top of the screen is one of the best shots in the MCU. There are plenty of shots from cinematographer Jess Hall and director Shakman. It has drawn comparisons to Interstellar, perhaps unfairly, but it really is a gorgeous film in space and on Earth.

The score is excellent, with Michael Giacchino returning to Marvel to once again put some incredible music behind an incredible movie. The pacing is lightning-quick, which isn’t a problem except for when it ends. It feels like it’s gone by so quickly, and the biggest problem with the movie is that it ends sooner than I would’ve liked. I could’ve watched hours and hours of this.

One of the biggest problems with previous Fantastic Four iterations has been how to translate the powers onto the screen. It hasn’t been easy to portray someone stretching beyond a human’s capability or catching on fire. In that sense, again, First Steps is a genuine triumph. Mister Fantastic’s powers are really well-done with CGI, and they didn’t shy away from using them out of a lack of confidence in the product.

The Human Torch is brilliantly done, looking really close to what the comics versions of an enflamed Johnny Storm looks like. As it pertains to comic book accuracy, it’s great. As it pertains to a movie, it’s great, like most of the movie is. It really cannot be overstated how good this movie looks in all facets.

But aesthetics (which include a killer, perfectly realized ’60s vibe) are only one piece of the puzzle. A movie has to tell a story, too. This one’s good on that front, too. The writing team came up with a really good way to include so many aspects of the Fantastic Four’s story, from their origin to the Puppetmaster (a really incredible Easter egg I personally loved).

It’s not perfect, of course. The beginning of the film spends a good bit of time telling audiences what they missed in terms of the origin. So while it begins past the team getting their powers, there is some information on that that might’ve been better left unsaid. But overall, it’s a really nice script that brings everything together for a really satisfying product.

Conclusion

For once, Fantastic Four fans can leave a theater happy. And for the first (or second) time in a really long while, there’s genuine excitement about what comes next thanks to a particularly shocking and thrilling mid-credits scene.

It’s a real shame that Marvel is slowing down now (it’s not, because it should lead to more movies like this and less like Captain America: Brave New World), because it means we all have to wait to see the best versions of these characters on screen again, and we have to wait to see the continuation of the story. It’s been quite some time since that was felt, and it’s a near-perfect reminder of what comic book movies can be.

Score: 4.25/5