The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Review by Mark Woodring
I have made it no secret that, for me, Marvel’s entire future existence hinges on the Fantastic Four movie. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Kevin Fiege is trying to undo an overall run of mediocrity since the halcyon days of Avengers: Endgame.
Finally, it’s here. Is The Fantastic Four: First Steps the “first step” back to glory for Marvel or is it just another step to the end of the most lucrative IP franchise in the history of entertainment?
Fingers crossed. Let’s go.
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below, then listen as he and Ryan discuss the film further. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
115 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan
Directed by Matt Shakman
Synopsis:
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.
To remind you of a couple of my initial concerns back when The Fantastic Four: First Steps was first announced and castings were being made:
I thought Pedro was a bad choice due to overexposure; he’s in EVERYTHING lately.
Joseph Quinn was announced in the fallout of his unfortunate experience at a Fan Convention, and felt a bit like what I call “stunt casting,” designed more to generate buzz than anything else.
The absolute certainty that the movie could not be allowed to fail. After 2 previous iterations that ranged from “acceptable” to “garbage,” Marvel could not, once they reacquired the first to their “First Family,” make a movie that wasn’t well on the side of Good.
Clearly, the film had some (perceived) issues to overcome for this longtime fan.
Thankfully, what I can say after taking a day to consider the film is that, overall, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a solid entry for the MCU to build off moving forward.
Did I still have some problems with Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards? Yes. But his performance certainly didn’t derail the film for me.
The rest of the cast? Very good. Even Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm wasn’t hamstrung by certain pre-release rumors about his personality. Quinn doesn’t an admirable job of making Johnny mature (but not too mature, lol), smart (but not super-smart), and generally an asset to both the team and the family while still being a bit quick to act without overthinking a situation.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm/Thing is really well done. The effects are great and his voice really humanizes this version of the thing. He’s much more comfortable in his rock/skin, than previous versions, but not so comfortable that he doesn’t still wear the classic overcoat/hat combo most times while he’s out and about. I feel like that might be more geared toward him wanting to be left alone rather than being afraid of ridicule.
I mean, the Fantastic Four effectively run the world on Earth-838, with Sue organizing an updated United Nations called the Freedom Foundation, in which all the world’s countries are enthusiastic members.
Except for one, obvious and beautifully revealed, exception.
The first 20 minutes of the film are spend building this pseudo-60s Earth before Shalla Bal arrives and sets off the chain of events which drive the remainder of the film.
Far too much material was exposed in the trailers and various other media, so I won’t rehash it all here, but let me say that the special effects are very well done. Galactus is beautifully rendered and fits Ralph Ineson’s voice work incredibly well. Even Reed’s stretching powers look good, unlike some previous renderings. That might be due to the fact that they’re not OVERused, but sprinkled in opportune spots to enhance the rest of the action.
While I could find some things to pick on about this one (like the underuse of Natasha Lyonne and the absolutely waste of Paul Walker Hauser’s Mole Man), overall, I’m easily on the right side of happy about this one. Marvel managed to put together a version of the team that fits with the feel of the comics, the choices they made while world-building were easily the most appealing part of the film, which makes every other choice they make that much more palatable.
There are two credit scenes, including one at the very end, which aren’t super-necessary in terms of anything, but there we are…
The Fantastic Four: First Steps should easily win the box office this weekend, and carry that for a few weeks before being challenged, as it should be for a Marvel film of this importance.
I wouldn’t go so far as to use the incredibly cliche “Marvel is back!” because one film is not enough, but after Deadpool & Wolverine and Thunderbolts* as quality entries, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is another step in the right direction for Marvel.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps rockets into theaters on Friday, July 25, and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Natasha Lyon, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, and Mark Gatiss.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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