Fantastic Four: First Steps is the franchise’s way of saying, “Hey, Kang is out of the picture, let’s move on.” The new big bad on the multiversal block is none other than Victor Von Doom, a name that is absolutely not mentioned in the film, but ya know… if you know, you know. Anyway…
Taking place in an alternate universe on Earth-828, Marvel’s first family is faced with an extinction event that will result in their planet being gobbled up by a giant god-like being with a bad case of the munchies. Despite this, Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben, band together to try and find a solution with the help of every nation on the planet, save for one (Latveria).
There is a lot to like here and a few missed opportunities. Still, I enjoyed and I am glad I got to see this in theaters. However, by the time I got up to walk out, I could not help but think that we as Marvel fans, we deserved just a little more. I mean, we are introduced to the iconic Fantastic 4, who face of against one of earth’s greatest threats, in a completely new universe with a unique style of its own, only to have everything wrapped up nice and neat in under two hours? There is just a few things there that bother me.
Now, about the movie itself: this ain’t your typical Marvel rollercoaster where every emotional beat is undercut by a joke and every problem gets punched in the face until it submits. No, this one takes a breath. It simmers. It spends actual time showing the Fantastic Four as, get this, a family. Like, one that talks. And works together, communicates. And uses science. SCIENCE! Not just technobabble and a glowing USB stick, but real, full-blown equations and problem-solving. I swear, somewhere, Neil deGrasse Tyson is clapping.
Joseph Quinn is the breakout star here, proving that he can do more than cry in a demogorgon-filled hell dimension. Pedro Pascal is… well, Pedro Pascal. Which is to say: effortlessly magnetic, effortlessly charming, and perpetually looking like he just rolled out of bed in the most attractive way possible. The chemistry between the four leads is strong and not just because there’s a family dynamic involved. They all click extremely well and anyone concerned about the casting choices before seeing the movie should rest easy knowing that it pays off in the end.
But let’s talk tone for a second. This movie feels like it was written by someone who’s been actively avoiding Marvel movies since Endgame — in a good way. The humor is measured, not manic. I chuckled, sure, but I didn’t break any ribs laughing. And that’s fine. Because the movie didn’t need to constantly wink at the camera or slap you with a one-liner every 20 seconds like it’s trying to one-up Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. Thank god.
What it did need, however, was better CGI. And here comes the part where I turn into the human torch of criticism. It is not quite “Sega Genesis cutscene” bad, but certainly “PlayStation 4 tech demo” bad. Mr. Fantastic’s stretchy limbs looked like cursed spaghetti and Galactus — oh, poor, poor Galactus — looked less like a god of cosmic destruction and more like a rejected Power Rangers villain rendered in a rushed VFX internship program. Some CGI looked good like Sue’s light-bending barriers and occasionally Johnny’s flames looked all right but other times, you had to wonder how this stage in the CGI rendering made it to the final cut. Especially Galactus.
Speaking of Galactus, let’s address the other cosmic elephant in the room: his motivations, backstory, and general presence are about as filled in as a Mad Libs page with one word. He’s here, he’s hungry, and… that’s about it (there is slightly more but we won’t spoil that bit). For a villain of such literally planet-sized importance, it’s frustrating how little he’s given. I’m not saying I wanted an origin monologue delivered via interpretive dance, but some kind of deeper insight would’ve been nice before we chuck him into the Multiversal back pocket ahead of Avengers: Doomsday.
Which brings me to another point: this movie ends by basically telling you “Enjoyed that? Good. Now forget this universe because we’re tossing these people into another one soon.” It’s like hosting a dinner party, spending hours on appetizers, and then kicking everyone out before dessert. Earth-828 is fascinating, stylish, and bursting with potential — so of course we’re probably just gonna yeet it out of relevance after one movie. Cool.
All that said… I liked it. I really did. It tried something different. It slowed down. It focused on characters, not cameos. It told a (mostly) self-contained story without needing three flashbacks, two time jumps, and a surprise Nick Fury hologram. But for a movie called First Steps, it feels like it wanted to walk before it could crawl and kind of stumbles a little along the way.
