REVIEW: “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (2025)

(Courtesy Disney) 

Well, here we are. 

After a few “unsuccessful” attempts to bring the team of Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing to the big screen, Marvel’s “first family” is finally brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From early reviews and trailers, not to mention a retro period production design, they may finally have gotten these characters right. The good news: they did. 

Like James Gunn’s Superman, the self-contained Fantastic Four: First Steps is not an origin story. (We’ve seen that before.) Director Marc Shakman and his team make a bold and fearless choice to get right into action, setting this episodic story in the 1960s (when the original comic book series by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby debuted), and four years after the four scientists/friends launched into space and encountered cosmos rays that gave them each unique superpowers (via pre-encounter Super 8 archival footage a la the Apollo 11 space mission of the time, as well as audio recordings). What we do see, on the other hand, is a montage of the adversaries they’ve fought (including Paul Walter Hauser’s Mole Man), as well as the examples they became for their city and for the world. 

My memories of the Saturday morning cartoon from the early 1990s were in the back of my mind as I went into this. But I think it’s fair that this flick not only resembles its comic book origins, but also the Sixties cartoon adaptation (of which there are clips shown throughout). More than that, First Steps benefits from clever, witty humor, smart and nuanced characterizations, and spectacular action and design. (All of these look great in IMAX.) Balancing large scale set pieces and practical effects with CGI, the results are spectacular. I believe this is only the third period film in the MCU (following Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain Marvel), although this narrative may reportedly be set in an alternate universe. This summer tentpole may also be a rare case where, in a way, the score is the star of the movie. And what a score it is, thanks to the brilliant Michael Giacchino (who also wrote the music for The Incredibles, which ironically was inspired by the Fantastic Four). With a catchy theme, this stands out as one of the MCU’s best compositions, alongside Alan Silvestri’s Avengers theme and Ludwig Gorannson’s score for Black Panther. 

As for the cast, they are . . . well, fantastic. Pedro Pascal (Reed), Vanessa Kirby (Sue), Joseph Quinn (Johnny), and a motion-captured Ebon Moss-Bacharach (Ben) all bring their A-game. The sight of the enormous, planet-eating invader Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his massive ship (emphasis on MASSIVE) has real scale, weight, and presence; they certainly got the physics right with this one (a la Pacific Rim). Some may gripe about the fact that there’s a female Silver Surfer here, although actress Julia Garner emotionally reveals more than what seems like a one-note performance. (She’s like a T-1000 version Mystique from X-Men, but without the shapeshifting.) Did I mention that Doctor Doom is not the villain of this story? (We’ll have to wait until Avengers: Doomsday next year. Although, one gasping moment prepares us for that.) And we can’t forget H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot, who is Rosie to this team’s Jetsons (a popular Hanna-Barbera cartoon that, interestingly, exemplifies the decade’s perceptions about the future). 

While First Steps is undoubtedly exciting and thrilling, it all feels contemporary and resonant without feeling dated or cheesy. Reed and Sue (now married) are taking on parenthood for the first time, despite “cosmically compromised DNA” (perhaps a pro-life message here, with an X-ray of a baby in the womb?), even as the arrival of a planet-eating invader is imminent. Things can get physically and emotionally intense, revealing each character’s vulnerability and sacrifices as much as (if not more than) their respective superpowers. But this also leads to universal themes of family and community, worldwide efforts, and even shining spotlights on everyday heroes. (The main cast of the unreleased 1994 movie makes cameo appearances as such characters.) It is profound almost ethereal when they’re all together. 

Lee and Kirby would be proud. 

#bereel #bekerianreviews #21stcenturycinema #marvelstudios #mcuphase6 #marcshakman #thefantasticfourfirststeps2025 

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