I didn't know what to expect going into my local Alamo Drafthouse to see Disney-Marvel's Fantastic Four: First Steps. The company had taught me not to expect much over the past handful of years and, to be honest, the gushing reviews by the access media weren't exactly giving me high hopes.
They also taught me that they'll lick the boots of studios at their whim. It's how they keep getting the access in their namesake.
But as the film kicked up I was instantly drawn in by the setting, and as the film continued I realized I wasn't bored. In fact, I surprisingly found myself invested. Then about midway through the film, I realized that the movie had actually endeared itself to me in a way... then it got silly, but not in a way that really made me hate it.
Folks, I think we might have a decent Marvel film on our hands.
I'm going to split my review up into two parts. The non-spoiler at the beginning for those who want to see it, and the spoiler part near the end for those who have or have no desire to see it but are still curious.
*NON-SPOILER*
Fantastic Four: First Steps is, without a doubt, Marvel's most unique movie. For one, it doesn't take place in universe 616, which is the MCU's main timeline, but in universe 828, referencing the birthdate of the legendary comic book creator and father of The Fantastic Four, Jack Kirby. I think this was an incredibly wise move because it allowed the film to be a contained story.
Marvel's polluted itself with cameos and over the years, with so many characters that it becomes a slog to remember they all exist, and moreover it creates plot holes that just go unanswered. Where were members of the Avengers during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home? Don't worry about it.
With this story taking place in 828, we actually have a story that focuses on Marvel's first family, creating a tightly written film that doesn't try too hard to wow people with cameos and references. You're here to see a Fantastic Four film, and that's what you get.
I really feel like this lets the characters breathe and develop, and I'm happy to say that there's not one character in the film I didn't ultimately end up liking. Let's start with who I thought was the standout character — Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, a character I thought would be insufferable, but ended up being the heart of the film.
Let's get one thing out of the way. We were told early on that Sue was going to be the "leader" of The Fantastic Four, which ended up not being true. She's no wilting lily, and she's decisive and often bold, but she's not what I would classify as a "girlboss." In fact, for the first time in a long while, I would say Marvel has given unto us a strong maternal figure. Pretty much every action in the movie, she has revolves around protecting her child from the world outside the safety of their walls.
Ladies and gentlemen, Marvel just showed respect for the nuclear family, and I'm absolutely blown away.
The next standout for me was Ebon Moss‑Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) who, in my opinion, didn't have a wasted moment on screen. He is, in my opinion, the heart of the team. There's a real protective love from him there, which is cut well with humor. Outside of Sue, I'd say he's the most human of all the four, representing an odd normalcy despite being made up of orange rocks.
What's more, we also get to see him as Kirby intended, with the eyebrows. This oddly gives him a kinder appearance, and it works for him because The Thing is, ultimately, the one who exhibits the most relation to the people outside the group. He entertains children, buys cookies, and develops something of a romantic interest with a school teacher. Grimm grounds The Fantastic Four in reality, but they succeed in putting him on full display as well. He's known for being strong and punching things — which he absolutely does — but it was also nice to see him as the skilled pilot he is as well, which is something often overlooked in film.
Joseph Quinn plays Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and I'm happy to say he's transitioned well from Stranger Things on the home screen to Marvel on the big screen. Again, the access media gave us the impression he was going to be effeminate and possibly even gay, completely stripping the character and repurposing him for modern Marvel nonsense. I'm happy to report that what you get is Johnny Storm, a cocky and impetuous youth who loves women as much as he does fighting. The only thing flaming about him is his superpower.
However, the film doesn't make Johnny annoying about it. In fact, all his qualities shine through in meaningful ways. His attraction to women is focused on the task at hand, which is the female Silver Surfer, and I'll get to her. He's stubborn and action-oriented, which is translated not just through battle, but his desire to truly see a difficult task through to the end without the help of Reed Richards, who I'll also get to. There's also something of a buddy comedy aspect going on with him and Grimm, which works to give the team something of a realistic feel. It's not overplayed or in your face. The duo talk like actual friends who've spent too much time around each other.
Rounding them off is Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), the character I was actually dreading most. Richards had two things going against him. For one, I was under the impression that he was not going to be the leader of the team, secondly, he was played by Pedro Pascal.
Well, he is the leader and that's not ever questioned. He sets the plans and makes the decisions. He's the mind behind the madness, as he should be. I'm also happy to report that Pascal doesn't drop the ball. Reed is portrayed as a brilliant mind who is burdened, not just with the protection of his family, but the protection of the Earth. There's an exhaustion to the character that's offset by the fact that he's borderline obsessed and in love with his work. Moreover, they actually make him care about his son, constantly tinkering with machines and running tests to make sure he's okay.
I'm not a Pascal fan, but the dude can act, and he does Reed Richards justice. I still would've preferred John Krasinski to return after his unfair treatment in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, but I'll admit that Pascal wasn't bad in the role.
Then there's the female Silver Surfer played by Julia Garner and the main villain, Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson.
Galactus is well played, and I'm told on IMAX screens, he's actually intimidating. There's a real menace to him, and while he's this world-ending threat, the film does well to make that his secondary motive. Audiences have seen world-ending threats a million times, and his primary motivation makes his villainy real, in that he wants the baby of Sue Storm and Reed Richards.
Garner's Silver Surfer is probably my least favorite character of the bunch. They made her female for a reason I'm still not entirely sure about, but they do give her something of a romantic-interest subplot with Johnny Storm that does just enough to affect the story, but not consume it. The connection between the two adds to the story, so it somewhat justifies the gender swap... but only just.
I will say that some of the cooler visual moments involve Silv-her Surfer actually surfing on things like lava, which was a neat addition to the film. Other than that, the character kind of falls a little flat. Not enough to ruin the movie at all, but I truly feel like there could've been a bit more to her.
But if I had to pick my favorite character of them all, it's the setting.
Universe 828 has a 1960s futuristic aesthetic that really makes for a unique environment. I would say it looks like the future someone from the 1960s would describe if you asked them back then, and it reminded me of the Fallout games, had the bombs never dropped. This does create something of an odd tech mismatch. The world is very analog, but they still have microprocessors for specific kinds of tech? They're still working to graduate from black and white to Technicolor, yet there's FTL travel and flying cars? It's inconsistent, but you kind of shrug it off because, frankly, the setting is kind of neat.
The visuals are stunning, but I will say the VFX work looks odd from time to time. A little more polish here and there was absolutely necessary and there are moments where the uncanny valley pokes through, especially with the baby.
Now, let's get into spoiler territory.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The first half of the film is absolutely incredible and had me engaged. As this is not an origin story, you're picking up with The Fantastic Four a total of four years into being the superhero group. After years of trying, Sue Storm manages to find out she's pregnant, and this forms the crux of the story.
Baby Franklin Richards is something of a MacGuffin in the film, and becomes the central focus for both The Fantastic Four and Galactus. When the Silv-her Surfer shows up to announce the planet is doomed to be consumed by Galactus, the team promises the people they will protect them, then hop into their FTL ride and head off to the planet where Galactus is currently. During this part of the story, Sue Storm is ready to pop, and while it's silly to think that a woman on the verge of pushing out a baby is going to travel at hyper-speeds through space, it's needed for the story to happen.
Galactus sees the child in her stomach and immediately sees him as his replacement due to his abilities — which are never fully spelled out. The villain tries to make a deal with the group to spare their planet in return for the baby, which is immediately denied. Galactus somehow induces labor on Sue Storm, resulting in an escape sequence where the gang is attempting to flee the Silv-her Surfer as Sue is giving birth on the ship.
Upon returning to Earth, Richards explains that they didn't defeat Galactus and that they couldn't negotiate Earth's safety as they refused to give up Franklin. This results in the people turning against The Fantastic Four. Richards and the gang try to find a way to stop Galactus as the public becomes increasingly hostile to the Four.
And it's about at this point, mid-way through the film, that it starts to become slightly silly and things kind of took me out of the film... kind of.
As an angry mob gathers outside of the Four's headquarters, Sue Storm decides to take the baby out into the crowd as it bays for the child's sacrifice to Galactus. No one tries to force the baby out of her arms or screams at her, and they make way for her, in fact.
Perhaps it's my time writing politics and covering mobs and riots, but this part almost made me laugh. In the real world they would've attempted to mob Sue Storm and forcefully strip the baby away from her, not caring who got hurt in the process. I wrote it off as them knowing that Sue could just activate a forcefield around herself immediately, making the gesture useless, but then it got even sillier.
The crowd actually sits and listens to a speech she gives about how she's not giving up her son, but she's not giving up the world either. This results in some stereotypical-inspired head nods and half smiles from the crowd. This movie is full of hyper-advanced tech, dangerous giant-gods, and superheroes, but the most unrealistic part of it is that an angry mob not only didn't attack the focus of their anger, but shut up to let her speak and convince them of something.
Then the film further gets laughable as the world works together to solve the Galactus problem by teleporting the entire planet away to a different solar system entirely where they can't be found. The world proceeds to effortlessly collaborate on building the tech, sacrificing resources to do so without complaint or negotiation. Then it gets even more ridiculous as the planet agrees to shut down power across the globe to conserve energy for the devices at regular intervals. The entire planet goes dark as everyone agrees to just not have their power on anymore.
They accomplish all this, however, but just as they're about to teleport away, one device after another is suddenly destroyed on the planet. The Silv-her Surfer arrived and began systematically destroying the machines, leaving only one in New York thanks to Johnny's intervention. He'd spent time learning her language, finding out her identity, and appealing to her humanity by forcing her to listen to the screams and begging of all the worlds she helped destroy.
This results in the Four finally battling Galactus using their baby as bait. This is where the film picks back up as the plan goes awry and you're actually wondering if the film is going to have a tragic end. This is where Sue Storm solidifies herself as a character I couldn't help but love.
Full of pure rage and desperation over the danger her baby is in, she pushes Galactus with her powers to the point where it kills her, and right into the last teleporter, where he's pushed into space and stranded away from his ship. He almost escapes, but the Silv-her Surfer arrives at the last moment and sacrifices herself to push him through for good.
Despite Richards' best efforts, he can't resuscitate her. The baby cries, desperate to get back to his mother, and they place Franklin on her who somehow brings her back through his own undefined power.
And that's the film. A fun ride and a well-written story that has flaws in the visual and writing department, but not so much that it absolutely kills the film.
I recommend it for those who still love the cinema.
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