'Fourth'* Time's the Charm

*This film is technically the fifth attempted cinematic adaptation of the Fantastic Four, if you count the low-budget and ultimately unreleased Roger Corman-produced version from 1994, titled The Fantastic Four.

It has undoubtedly been a long road for Marvel's "first family" leading up to Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). After three prior theatrical adaptations of the famous superhero group from 20th Century Fox without Marvel's direct involvement in 2005, 2007, and 2015 (all of which were critically panned), I believed that the closest thing comic book movie fans would ever get to a successful Fantastic Four adaptation would be Pixar's The Incredibles (2004). Does this film surpass The Incredibles as a movie? Not by a long shot, but several action sequences in this film do. More on them later.

This adaptation is set in an alternate universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth where the Fantastic Four are Earth's mightiest heroes, and the Avengers do not exist. In a similar fashion to DC's Superman (2025), this movie's optimistic tone is a much-needed escapism from the doom (so to speak) and gloom of our current reality, as well as providing an equally-needed morale boost for the MCU, which, until recently, has suffered a lull in quality and consequently, box office confidence.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps finds the titular team in 1964, four years after returning home from a space mission with newfound superpowers (Reed Richards gets an ever-elastic ability to stretch his limbs and body, Sue Storm gains invisibility and the ability to create force fields, Johnny Storm gains the ability to fly and ignite himself on fire, and Ben Grimm becomes a rock-covered being with super strength). Just as Reed and Sue are expecting a child, a mysterious being called the Silver Surfer (played by Julia Garner) arrives on Earth with a stark warning about the planet being targeted for destruction by the planet-consuming cosmic being Galactus (played by Ralph Ineson). From there, the team must confront their most imposing and existential threat yet, not only to protect the planet they call home, but also to keep their family together.

The cast is stellar, with the lead four comprising Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, being some of the strongest assets this movie has to offer. Pascal's natural charisma and screen presence, combined with his character's high level of intelligence being challenged by the threat of Galactus, make for a compelling portrayal of the smartest man in the Marvel universe, rivaled only by Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. More on that later, too.

Kirby's committed performance as Sue is the beating heart that makes the team's family dynamic work as well as it does, for there is one sequence where upon returning from their meeting with Galactus, she gives an impassioned monologue, in which she quells disillusioned protesters standing outside their headquarters, the Baxter Building, while holding her newborn son, Franklin Richards, affirming that she will not submit to Galactus' demands for the team to sacrifice her son to him for his untapped superpowers, nor will she abandon humanity amidst the imminent threat. This is especially powerful, given the historical parallels to the late Robert F. Kennedy Sr.'s famous call for unity on the night following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, along with some much-needed optimism and hope amidst those dark and uncertain days, which sadly has not gone away all these years later.

Moss-Bachrach's performance as Ben provides a rock-solid (so to speak) emotional weight to the team with his subtle emotional pathos, especially when trying to navigate a regular life as a super-powered being covered in rocks, along with his initial reluctance to fully embrace his comic book alter-ego, like saying his signature catchphrase, "It's clobberin' time!" (at least until the third act).

Last but not least, Quinn's portrayal of Johnny, who initially serves as the snarky but lovable comic relief, until he proves to those around him and to the audience that he is smarter than people give him credit for by deciphering the cryptic language spoken by the Silver Surfer, is a pleasant surprise given my limited prior knowledge of the character and the team itself, and also provides a layer of humanity that I did not expect from him.

Speaking of the Silver Surfer, Julia Garner excels in the role as a mysterious yet emotionally complex version of the character, who, in addition to being Galactus' herald, is coated in chrome silver and travels through space at faster-than-light speeds on a silver flying surfboard. Additionally, her explored backstory of formerly being Shalla-Bal from the planet Zenn-La, before being transformed by Galactus into the Silver Surfer in exchange for sparing her world from destruction, and having to confront her past with Johnny, makes for a compelling character arc towards the end.

As for the literal big bad himself, Galactus is huge in size and in menace. His booming voice will shake theater seats, and the direction of the visual scale to make him appear as large as possible compared to the team and their surroundings is impressive. His motives are basic enough, as he has a deep, unsatiated hunger to consume planets and plans to usurp the undiscovered powers of Reed and Sue's child, Franklin Richards, to free himself from said hunger. That said, the sequences where the team battles him in Times Square in an effort to distract him from Franklin are riveting and emotionally investing.

This film's visual effects are a standout, which greatly surprised me, given the horror stories that have come out from the overworked visual effects artists who worked on the recent MCU entries. Seeing the quality of these effects shots, along with the incorporation of practically-built sets and props, leaves me grateful that this film was pushed back from its original release date of November 8th, 2024, due to the Hollywood labor strikes of 2023, which halted numerous high-profile productions like this one for several months and led to their release dates being postponed. My favorite (and the most impressive) visual effects sequence is a chase and escape set in space between the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer, which is almost as visually stunning as the space sequences from Christopher Nolan's Interstellar (2014), as well as a well-directed and well-acted sequence where the team propels the ship back to Earth from a black hole as Sue gives birth to Franklin. I am not sure if there were miniature effects involved in the making of this film, but if so, I greatly appreciate their inclusion, for they were very seamless with the in-camera and digital effects.

Michael Giacchino's musical score for this movie is a winner, for it, in addition to having a large and grand orchestral sound, conveys a sense of 1960s optimism that is sorely missed from our current world. The main theme, accompanied by a chorus singing "Fantastic Four," is a real earworm, too. The fact that Giacchino also scored Pixar's The Incredibles makes his appointment to this movie all the more appropriate.

As for post-credit scenes, there are two. One of which is a lead-up to the next big Avengers movie titled Avengers: Doomsday (2026) featuring *spoiler alert* Robert Downey Jr. as the Fantastic Four's future nemesis, Doctor Doom, as directed by Anthony and Joe Russo of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019) fame. The other is the in-universe intro and theme song for the Saturday morning cartoon of the Fantastic Four, which was animated in the style of a 1960s Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon, which was a nice touch.

At this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thus far, I see Marvel and Disney's decision to bring back legacy actors like Downey Jr., who famously portrayed Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man from 2008 until 2019, to reek of sheer desperation after the last several MCU films, minus Downey Jr. and Chris Evans' Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, disappointed or outright bombed critically and at the box office, along with a seeming lack of a cohesive narrative connectivity between the related films and streaming series. To bring back several legacy actors amidst an ugly PR nightmare regarding the franchise's original big bad, Kang the Conqueror (played by Jonathan Majors), before Majors' personal troubles caught up to him and he was subsequently fired, leading to a major behind-the-scenes shuffle to deliver for the fans in Kang's absence. While Doctor Doom seems like a natural substitute for a big bad, the shocking lack of planning ahead is embarrassing for all involved at the top of this franchise.

All in all, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not entirely fantastic, or incredible like The Incredibles, but it is still a better Marvel movie than what has been released in recent years. It is nowhere near as visually colorful or well-made as James Gunn's recent Superman film, but it, too, is one of the stronger comic book films to date. Does this film tie into the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday (2026) appropriately? Yes. Will this make up for all the MCU's recent hits and misses? Probably not. Still, it is an excellent time to be had, especially for those comic book fans who had been repeatedly burned out by the lackluster adaptations of Marvel's first family.

Final Score: 8 out of 10