33) The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

(3.5 's out of 5)

"Die with yours."

Director
Matt Shakman

Cast

Pedro Pascal - Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic​
Vanessa Kirby - Sue Storm / Invisible Woman​
Joseph Quinn - Johnny Storm / Human Torch​
Ebon Moss-Bachrach - Ben Grimm / The Thing

Ralph Ineson - Galactus​
Julia Garner - Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer
Matthew Wood - voice of H.E.R.B.I.E.
Paul Walter Hauser - Harvey Elder / Mole Man

In my last post on "Avengers: Endgame" I said, and I still believe, the best days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is behind us. Since Endgame, Marvel has released a lot of bombs. In fact, comic book movies don't appeal to me so much anymore. Thei novelty has worn off.

That's part of the reason why I didn't have much hope for the fourth remake or reboot (I don't know what to call this) of a "Fantastic Four" movie. 

There have been a handful of forgettable "Fantastic Four" movies already, starting with one from 1994. I haven't seen it, but I know it's there. 

Then there's the 2005 movie with Ioan Gruffudd and Chris Evans as the Human Torch. That 2005 movie is mediocre at best. Honestly, I don't remember much about it other than the origin story it depicts.

It spawned a sequel in 2007 called "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." All I remember about that one is myself not being very impressed. That's all. 

And then Marvel tried to save the face of the Fantastic Four after the failure of both previous movies with a reboot in 2015 called, "Fantastic Four." I do remember this movie. It was one of the worst superhero movies I've ever seen. The story was boring. The characters were uninteresting. The pacing was extremely awkward. Terrible! Enough said. 

This year, the writers-that-be over at Marvel Studios rehashed the Fantastic Four for the fourth time (what a coincidence) like a desperate gambler insisting their luck with definitely turn around on the next spin. “Trust us,” they said, clutching their dice. “We’ve totally figured it out this time.” 

And so, against all reason and common sense financially and artistically speaking, they went ahead and made another one.

The story takes place in the year 1964 but on an alternate Earth called Earth-828. 

We get a brief backstory about the origins of our four superheroes setup like a quick news segment. Scientists have performed the first successful wormhole experiment. In the aftermath of this successful experiment, a scientist named Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) heads a small team composed of test pilot Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), biophysicist Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), and her impulsive younger brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) into an unknown realm of deep space. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal, and Joseph Quinn in "Fantastic Four: First Steps."

Their ship is hit with a tidal wave of cosmic radiation, giving each of the four team members inhuman superhero qualities. 

Richard becomes Mr. Fantastic. Sue Storm becomes the Invisible Woman. Ben becomes the Thing. And Joseph becomes the Human Torch. 

Since then, Richards has been busy trying to reverse their mutations. 

Sometime later, Earth receives a visit from a strange otherworldly being named Shalla-Ba (Julia Garner) who's dubbed "Silver Surfer" because she looks as though she's made of solid metallic and she rides around on what looks like a surfboard. 

She tells everyone on Earth that the planet has been marked for consumption by none other than the intergalactic gluttonous bad guy, Galactus (Ralph Ineson). I picked up on some "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" vibes with that particular plot point. The demolition of Earth at the hands of an intergalactic giant thing just brought Hitchhiker's Guide to mind. 

Anyways, the Fantastic Four do some digging around into the origins of this Galactus, and find that other planets have disappeared completely thanks to his hunger for power and control. 

So, they follow the Silver Surfer and her space trail to find Galactus with the hopes of meeting him and, maybe, try to make some kind of deal with him so that he won't consume their Earth. 

Meanwhile, Reed and Sue are expecting a child. When the four (well, five because Sue's baby-to-come is certainly a person) have an audience with Galactus, he tells them he'll spare Earth if they surrender their baby to him. Galactus senses that the baby carries a cosmic power that could absorb his hunger.

Of course, they flat-out refuse to do give up their child, whom they later name Franklin Richards. 

So, the consumption of Earth is still on. That leaves the Fantastic Four in need of a plan to defeat Galactus when he arrives to destroy Earth. It's a compelling story, and an entertaining one. 

"First Steps" can stand alone just fine without any regard to the previous movies. Thank you, Marvel! The previous films didn't accomplish much, if anything. For the Fantastic Four franchise, "First Steps" is the MCU equivalent of discovering fire. 

Julia Garner as Silver Surfer.

The characters in the previous Fantastic Four films come across as though their stuck in their situation, and the actors are doing what they need to do to get their paycheck at the end of the day. In other words, they're not very interesting.

Any one episode of Mr. Wizard has more chemistry and significance than the last Fantastic Four movie alone. 

The story in "First Steps" is set in an alternate version of the 1960s with pretty much that familiar sixties style. This version, however, is more technologically advanced with a retro/futuristic style. It's visually pleasing, imaginative, surreal and fascinating to watch. 

Thankfully, "First Steps" reduces the origin story of the four superheroes to a swift and concise reference in the beginning. They went to space, and some freaky space stuff happened. Now they're fantastic - all four of them! In the previous movies, the origin is the center of the story except for "Rise of the Silver Surfer." At least, that's what I recall. 

Rather than obsessing over how these four characters became "fantastic," the story in "First Steps" shifts focus on why these superheroes are superheroes, and what they mean to each other. The story gradually builds up to that aspect as the story progresses. Obviously, that's how stories are generally told. I mention this because the last movie completely missed that point. 

This movie inserts itself into the MCU with the same old parallel or alternate universes trope. Reed Richards makes the comment, "This equation not only confirms alternate dimensions, it suggests that parallel Earths exist on different dimensional planes."
So, the general plot is like all the rest of the comic book movies. A seemingly undeafetable threat looms over the entire planet, threatening to destroy the entire thing. So, the superheroes have their work cut out for them. It's not a bad story. I probably have some comic book movie fatigue. When you see the same general superhero(s) versus bad guy storyline again, and again, and again, it's hard to be wowed even with all the chemistry and such I just got through praising. What sets it apart, however, are the characters and the distinctive atmosphere that lend it a sense of freshness and individuality.

Otherwise, movie explores more mature themes (in a nice way, I mean) as it presents deeper relationships, and the human side of each character. Each of them also contributes something more than just their respective superpower. For example, Ben Grimm/ the Thing is depicted as more of a friend and intellectual peer instead of just being the team's muscle and a character driven by his struggles and difficulties after his transformation. 
"Fantastic Four: First Steps" is a richer and less repetitive Fantastic Four experience. It avoids the fatigue of yet another origin story and gives viewers more meaningful character arcs, and a nuanced storyline. "First Steps" strikes me as a more confident approach on the Fantastic Four, giving these superheroes a much better, and well thought out twist prior adaptations didn't bother to do. It's not the greatest superhero movie I've seen. It's definitely the best Fantastic Four movie I've seen. But it is very much a worthwhile superhero movie. The writers decided to take quality much more seriously this fourth time around.