‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Review: The First Family Hits New Heights

Marvel’s first family, The Fantastic Four, finally take their first steps into the MCU in the final comic book film of the year; Read our full review below.

After years of mishandling and a long, long development period, Marvel’s iconic quartet make their MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The first attempt at a Fantastic Four film was infamously made in 1994 with the sole purpose of retaining, never getting an official release as was promised to the creatives involved. It took another decade for the characters to make their way to the big screen when Tim Story’s Fantastic Four hit theaters in 2005, alongside a sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer, in 2007. Both of these were panned by critics and just when it looked it couldn’t get any worse for these characters, Josh Trank’s bona fide 2015 stinker, Fantastic Four  (often stylized as FANT4STIC), was thrust upon us and was hailed as “a Thing that nobody wanted,” to quote the movie. It wasn’t until Disney bought out 20th Century Fox in 2018 that the possibility of The Four joining the MCU was even possible. Now, 6 years after it was revealed that Marvel Studios was working on a Fantastic Four film, we are finally here.

And it is, for the lack of a better word, fantastic. 

Director Matt Shakman and production designer Kasra Farahani drop us right into this brand new alternate universe, one oozing with style and beautiful 60s retro-futurism. The whole world is so unique for a film, and is personally an aesthetic that I have been waiting all my life to see actualized on screen. At the top of the film is a very beautiful intimate moment between husband and wife duo, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) that really sets the stage for what you can expect in this blockbuster. Yes, it has jaw-dropping set pieces and exhilarating action (we will circle back to that later), but at its core is a family drama about the fears of bringing a kid into a dangerous world.

The whole cast works so well together in every scene and you can feel the years of friendship, camaraderie, and love. Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards really feels like they ripped the character straight off the page. Pascal sells the burden of constant calculation flawlessly, but shines even brighter in scenes where he is at a loss and can’t figure out a way to solve the problem at hand. Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm was the one casting I was apprehensive about when the announcement in February of 2024 came. I couldn’t be happier to report that I was wrong about my initial assertion. Quinn’s portrayal of Human Torch was great. This iteration of the often overly cocky hero brings a new, more ambitious layer to the character that is executed great on screen.

The only character that feels a little underserved than the rest of the cast to me personally was Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. That’s not to say Ebon is bad in the role; he certainly embodies the character with ease and is very endearing, he just unfortunately has the weakest and more undefined arc of any of the main characters. Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm for me was the standout of the film. This iteration of the character finally moves past the overly misogynistic early 2000s adaptation and the completely void of personality 2015 portrayal, bringing us a Sue Storm that is multi-layered, fully defined, and sometimes one that may even exceed the source material.

The early parts of the first act move along a little quick, but the movie really finds it’s footing once The Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), arrives in Times Square to spell doom for our heroes, catapulting us into a breathtaking second act that features some of the best sequences in a comic film ever, including the introduction of Ralph Ineson as the towering world-eating space god, Galactus. These characters aren’t in the film for a significant portion of the runtime, but the looming threat is felt throughout the falling action of act two and the lead up to the final confrontation. Visually the film is breathtaking, sans a couple of overly ambitious shots of The Thing holding a baby, the aforementioned second act space set piece in particular gives Interstellar vibes (as has been said by numerous people online). This is all just accentuated and brought up to another level by Michael Giacchino’s transcendent score. In my opinion, this ranks as one of the greatest soundtracks to a comic book film of all time and will most likely become synonymous with these characters. 

Overall, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a worthwhile endeavor and is the film to finally crack the code on these long-slept-on characters, bringing a new level of respect and care to the iconic creations of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The film shines brightest when it is focused in on the interpersonal relationships between its main leads, while still providing enough high-stakes action to make the danger feel present. My issues with the film are pretty minimal compared to most superhero outings in the past five years, and it feels good knowing the first family got a good film at last.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters and stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as The Silver Surfer, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, and Natasha Lyonne. The film is directed by Matt Shakman and produced by Kevin Feige with Louis D’Esposito, Grant Curtis, and Tim Lewis serving as executive producers.

Thanks for reading this review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. If you liked this article, make sure to check out more reviews and news on the MCU here at Feature First.