A review on Hollywood feature length film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). The feature length is directed by Matt Shakman. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) is the third reboot of the characters of Fantastic Four on the silver screen and the first time they have been integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
+ Crew
- Directed by Matt Shakman
- Screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer
- Cinematography by Jess Hall
- Edited by Nona Khodai and Tim Roche
- Music by Michael Giacchino
- Produced by Kevin Feige
- Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
+ Note
After the conclusion of the ‘Third Phase’ of Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios has struggled to maintain its box office dominance that it once had. With the introduction of the new streaming service ‘Disney +’, the output of Marvel content dramatically increased which directly led to decrease in quality of the content. On the other hand, Fantastic Four had been a movie property of 20th Century Fox and the studio has tried twice to make the brand a viable movie franchise. In order to regain the rights of their Marvel characters, Disney ended up purchasing 20th Century Fox altogether (which included the X-Men and Fantastic Four properties), ready to be used and integrated in their cinematic universe. And thus, we have this year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
After many mediocre attempts, Marvel Studios is desperate to regain the trust of its core and casual audience by placing a lot of care and attention to the first modern Superhero family of comics.
+ Main Cast
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch
- Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer
+ Plot
In Earth 828, the Fantastic Four protect the Earth and its inhabitants. They are already an established force with the support of the US government and its people. But when an alien lifeform visits New York City and warns them of the inevitable destruction of their entire planet at the hands of a cosmic entity named Galactus, the Fantastic Four must do everything to ensure that they are capable of protecting the earth and its people.
+ High Points
i – Fantastic Four, on the silver screen, has always spelled disaster. Whether its the non-released Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four (1994), the clunky, comedic 2005 film or the disastrous, ultra dark 2015 film by Josh Trank. It was proven time and time again that Fantastic Four cannot be adapted to the big screen. Until now…
Yes. The Fantastic Four: First Steps accomplishes what others failed to do so. Kevin Feige (the producer) and Marvel Studios took their time and attention to adapt the charm, goofiness and the adventurous nature of Fantastic Four to their cinematic universe. As a long time fan of Fantastic Four from the comics (especially the Lee/ Kirby era), I was relieved to see the characters faithfully portrayed without overstepping their boundaries.
ii – As mentioned above in the Plot section, the film takes place on Earth 828. I believe this was a smart move as this led the writers to not carry the “baggage” of previous 15 or so MCU films. No questions can come up like “Why doesn’t Iron man or Avengers come and help?” or “Where were they when Thanos was whipping half of the earth’s population?”. It’s a self contained universe with Fantastic Four being the only Superheroes. The film obviously gives a very “1960s vibe” but doesn’t specifically state it out loud. Most likely a “Fantastic Four meet the Jetsons” look. The superhero team has an established headquarters, has the faith of the US government and its people and fights monsters and super villains on a regular basis. Which is why I’m glad that they kept the Fantastic Four universe separate from the rest…. At least for now. Eventually, we all want them to interact with the other superheroes but for now, they need to have their own separate adventure.
iii – I found the plot and the pacing of the film quite different from any other Marvel film I have seen before. The film takes its time to introduce the brand new world to the audiences, no constant quips or jokes that undercut a dramatic scene, the three act structure itself plays very “low key” and forgoes the importance of forced universe building over focusing on the central plot of this film alone. It clearly shows that Marvel did finally listen to its criticisms and tiredness of the “Marvel formula” being forced into each and every one of their films and acted upon it.
iv – The characterizations of all four protagonists was well executed. Whether it’s the brilliant but complex thoughts of Reed Richards, the down to earth approach of Sue Storm, the cocky yet heroic Johnny Storm or the loveable yet tragic figure of Ben Grimm; none of their character traits were ever forced or overstayed their welcome. They all played their parts well and had a reason to be there. The character that the audiences were most skeptical about was Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards and honestly, I think he did a much better job than I would’ve hoped for. Ultimately yes, it does seem like Pascal is holding a lot of his “charm” but that was not required for this role. Reed Richards as a character is an anomaly of this world. His brilliant mind alienates him from the rest of his family but at the same time, Reed knows that he cannot live without them.
I also thought that Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm was incredible who went beyond the stereotype of “the only girl of the team” by having no real motive in the plot of the film. She actually had some of the biggest setpieces of the film centered around her which was great. Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm was of course, cocky and head on but never overplayed his role. His quips and comedic antics were lowkey and fit perfectly to the tone of the film.
v – As mentioned above, the futuristic 1960s aesthetic of the film is very charming and pleasant to watch. The addition of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot from the cartoon show was a great move which cemented the “Jetsons’ vibe “ even further.
vi – One aspect that is almost always mediocre in superhero films (especially Marvel films) is the score of the film. Every dramatic set piece of the film was accompanied by Michael Giacchino’s outstanding music that elevated the scene even further. It’s perhaps comical to even mention this but while watching the film, I actually noticed the music being played in the background! Hallelujah!
vii – Speaking of setpieces, the second act of the film when the Fantastic Four visit outer space was amazing and truly, one of the best scenes of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. It captured the essence of the source material so perfectly.
+ Low Points
i – Because of the film’s unusual pacing, some viewers might find the film “dull” and I can understand it to some extent. The tone of the film is deliberately sombre and lowkey. The emotions do not flare up and the superhero team discusses its matters in a more calm and collective way (at least for the most part). So if you’re a fan of previous MCU films, watch this film with an open frame of mind. It is a stand alone film and refrains from any previous MCU events.
ii – Even though I liked that they mostly skipped the “origin story” aspect and replaced it with newsreels explaining the characters and their backstories, I felt like it was a bit too short for my liking. A little more explanation of these characters and their superpowers would’ve been welcomed. The first half of the film is at times, rushing through the plot points and would have preferred if the film stopped and took a deep breath before moving forward.
iii – Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm was not as much explored as I would have liked. In the earlier comics, the fact that Ben was the only one in the group who got turned into a hideous monster tears him emotionally apart. He is the only member of the group dissatisfied with his new found powers and questions his own mortality. In the film, we get to witness that very briefly before moving on with the storyline. Maybe a lot of such character building scenes ended up on the cutting room floor but they could have kept some of it as the film is less than 2 hours (including credits!).
iv – I’m not sure if having Galactus as the antagonist in the very first film was the right choice. Having a cosmic entity leaves very little room to “humanize” the villain so there’s almost nothing that the Fantastic Four can bounce off of when it comes to interacting with the enemy (so to speak). Its well known fact that the MCU is saving Dr. Doom for the upcoming Avengers films so they couldn’t work with him either I suppose.
v – Julia Garner as Silver Surfer also felt “underexplored”. I realise that Silver Surfer was transformed into a woman for the film so that Johnny could have someone outside to interact with but we never really get to understand her backstory until this brief scene near the end of the film which also felt rushed and unsatisfying.
+ Overall
This film is exactly what it says in the tagline: ‘First Steps’. And these steps are essential in making Fantastic Four a doorway to Marvel’s greatness in superhero films once again.
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