Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Marvel's First Family has returned to the big screen.....could the THIRD (or actually fourth if we're counting the Roger Corman version which never got a proper theatrical release) time be the charm?  Well it helps that they brought out the big guns: Matt Shankman (WandaVision) is directing and the all-star cast features Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as Reed Richards otherwise known as Mr. Fantastic, Vaness Kirby (Mission Impossible Fallout, Napoleon) as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (A Quiet Place: Day One, Gladiator II) playing Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, Girls) as Ben Grimm otherwise known as Thing.  This is still very much a stand-alone story mostly separate from the MCU (which this is a part of) as the Fab Four are settled in New York City but on an alternative Earth.  And THIS Earth has some scary new visitors....the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) has come calling declaring that GALACTUS (Ralph Ineson) is on his way to consume the planet....who can stop them??  Let's find out out if Producer Kevin Feige's latest big screen heroes are up to the task.....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon

Editor: Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

Transcript

FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS           2025

Directed by Matt Shankman

Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralpn Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Ada Scott, and Natasha Lyonne

Genre: Cosmic Adventure/Kaiju Disaster Film (Audio clip) 

This is definitely a pretty entertaining cosmic superhero tale which contains some good performances, some touching moments, and some truly impressive visual effects - it's the most visually stunning MCU movie I can recall seeing since Thor Ragnarok and likely the most achingly sincere episode since Black Panther. It's also by far the best PROPER Fantastic Four movie I have ever seen....not exactly high praise but it clears that bar pretty easily. ;) And it maybe works best overall...if you don't put much thought into it. 

Look the superhero genre has never been shy when it comes to taking leaps in logic - when you're spinning a fantastic tale, it can be a useful tool to stretch the audience's suspension of disbelief as far as narratively possible....

It doesn't make enough folks suspicious when Bruce Wayne AND Batman happen to appear in Gotham City for similar stretches of time? 🤔

Well this latest version of Marvel's First Family is replete with potential questions LIKE those....not to the point where it sinks the story but to a sometimes distracting degree where it sometimes impacts the stakes of what we're seeing on-screen. And that does come down to one MAJOR aesthetic choice made by director director Matt Shankman which does result in a admittedly handsome looking movie while also likely honoring the comic book roots of these characters....

Setting this story allegedly during the 1960's just does NOT make sense. Yes it results in cool retro costumes and gorgeous retro-futuristic production design and nostalgic callbacks to '60's pop culture....even on an alternative Earth....but it just raises SO many questions about these characters and the looming threat of Galactus. The utopian society which these characters inhabit is EXTREMELY technologically advanced - there are flying cars, AI exists in fully subservient robots, and interstellar travel has been mastered. 

In addition in apparently only their fourth year as now universally beloved astronauts with super powers, the Fab Four of Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby who's very good), Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal, who's solid though his character's intelligence is often betrayed by the screenplay), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bacharach doing pretty well under tons of motion capture rock make-up), and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn delivering the movie's most fun, engaging performance) have been anointed by this society as the SOLE gate-keepers of said technology. It's a stretch....LITERALLY to the point where their technical prowess actually overshadows the unique powers which are supposed to make them distinctive. 🫤 And that includes Mr Fantastic/Reed's ability to STRETCH his body which the movie treats as an afterthought....

Mastering science with equations and problem-solving is what drives their success - it drives the story for sure but it's just a weird choice. Strange choice for not only a "superhero movie" but a Marvel one as well....these folks make Tony Stark come off as a Luddite by comparison. 🫣 It makes for some fun interplay between these characters and it results in some amazing visuals but it also confuses the stakes for the narrative - if your main protagonists have the ability to outmaneuver black holes in space and travel almost as fast as the speed of light by the half-way point, how scared should they REALLY be by the prospect of having a baby? 😁

Gratefully the heartfelt performances and a terrific affecting score from Michael Giacchino go a long way of selling those stakes for the most part. Sue (who is married to Reed) IS the one who is revealed to be pregnant early on and Kirby does an adept job of portraying some one who's both anxious and excited about suddenly turning her life upsides down to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother. Reed's anxiety, the eagerness from the Sue's brother Johnny and Reed's best friend Ben to help and be good uncles to the newborn....it's nothing we haven't seen before but it's all very sweet and you can't help but get behind these folks.

And you DO buy their fear of an even BIGGER looming threat headed to consume their planet....that would be the robotic space kaiju known as GALACTUS who is effectively voiced by Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Creator) and even more impressively rendered as a uniquely TOWERING threat on-screen! Galactus even has its own hype man....sort of....in the form of the Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal, played by Julia Garner (Wolf Man, The Assistant) and I gotta say that I was digging this saga the MOST when either of these two were on screen. :) 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

The Music Man from Riverside, New Jersey is BACK – his track record on some big franchises recently like Jurassic World and Star Wars has been mixed as far as I’m concerned but when he delivers, he REALLY delivers among the best.  I’m referring to Oscar-winner Michael Giacchino who last killed it just a few years ago with his surprisingly affecting score for The Batman.  On paper, he makes even more sense as one of his TRUE breakout scores was what I STILL consider to be the best on-screen version of this first family of superheroes….his heavily John Barry-influenced playful score for Pixar’s The Incredibles. (Audio clip) 

Now he doesn’t go quite that route this time around but I LOVE the music he delivers which works perfectly in tandem with the retro-futuristic aesthetics.   Just a wondrous, rousing score filled with brass, fast percussion, and choral vocals sprinkled throughout.  Genuine fun stuff which is heard throughout the movie and SO hummable, may I present you with the MAIN THEME to this Fantastic Four. (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Oh yeah Natasha Lyonne is in this….big fan of hers as the star of Peacock’s “Poker Face.”  She just has such a unique look, charm, and VOICE of course…always a delight to see her on-screen.  Well here, she plays Rachal Rozman the teacher at a local synagogue whom I THINK Ben Grim/The Thing is striking up a romance with?  Well I say I think because they have a couple of nice moments together but she’s HARDLY in the movie….and unfortunately, Grimm as a character just isn’t given much depth either.  Would MAYBE five minutes of them bonding over black & white cookies at the local deli have been a nice addition to this story to flesh him out?  You bet….alas Lyonne is pretty much wasted here. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

The third act climax taking place in a mostly evacuated alt-world Manhattan involving Galactus' siege on the island certainly delivers the goods and takes the story where it needs to go. Not only do we get see each member of the F4 truly cutting loose with their powers but there is ONE moment which just took my breath away right after Galactus has touched down in New York harbor. As this massive estimated 2,000 foot high (?) space conqueror takes his first step on the island, he glances back behind him to the Statue of Liberty - which is well below him - with a quizzical, almost intrigued look as if to say, "Hmmm...I'll have to check YOU out later." 😆 Just SUCH impressive scale and detail is given to this super-villain that it makes the whole theatrical experience worthwhile. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

So yes along those lines…..logic be dammed, the sequences of the 'Surfer zipping around the frame though a cityscape OR outer space, are just a joy to witness. AND Galactus wrecking shop in the third act? The absolute pinnacle, probably the most impressive setpiece for any MCU movie since the Korean train smash in 'Age Of Ultron. Obviously Marvel has received much criticism in recent years for shoddy or rushed CGI....well they apparently busted out the checkbook to get top-flight work done by some of the best including ILM and WETA, and it shows! 

This is nothing against the cast, most of whom acquit themselves well nor the writers who DO adhere to a clearcut three act structure which is always something I tend to really appreciate in movies of this scale.  At the end of the day however, it’s the spectacle which pushes this over the finish line.  I have heard some criticisms of the effects, SPECIFICALLY the Silver Surfer and how FAKE she looks?  Sorry I’m just not seeing that….I mean HOW do you visualize a silver humanoid SURFING through SPACE?  There’s just no real reference point for that so I found her to be rendered very well, especially her reflective surface which is used effectively in one key moment.  Now obviously the visual effects were a MASSIVE team effort not only including the two vaunted VFX houses I just cited but also Digital Domain, Framestore, and RISE.  Though apparently if there was ONE person who stands out, it’s the overall visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk….and this guy has an IMPRESSIVE IMDB as he hasn’t worked on that many movies over the past thirty years but the ones he HAS?? Groundbreaking stuff for their time period….Titanic, Hollow Man, The Fifth Element….previous episode Starship Troopers which I think had INCREDIBLE visual effects of those swarms of arachnids.  Oh and the last superhero movie her worked on?  Um he won an Oscar for Spider-Man 2….and DESERVEDLY too, for that rendering of Doc Ock and that amazing train sequence!  Bottom line give this guy MORE work because he KILLED it here – Scott Stokdyk is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 3.4 stars out of 5 

Overall this movie likely works best if you can JUST thread that needle of viewing more as a cosmic adventure/kaiju disaster picture taking place during an alternative future utopian society which just happens to have a retro '60's aesthetic AND focuses on four well-meaning mutated wealthy scientists of varying expertise (I THINK....though Sue Storm is more a politician) who control all of the technology.....yet are still flawed, fragile people just like the rest of us. Oh and they each have special powers which they can bust out on occasion especially the cute, single one who can both burst into flames AND even fly. ;) I'm not completely sure if that description matches up 100% with what the director or writers intended....but it mostly works for me!

Now Playing In Theaters

And that ends another COSMIC RETRO-FUTURISTIC review!