Get ready for the family that may just be making Marvel Marvel again. While THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS isn't perfect, and isn't on the same level as Marvel pre ENDGAME, it does have merit that makes this one of the better Marvel films since ENDGAME.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
Thankfully, the movie quickly goes to keep the audience up on who The Fantastic Four are. We don't have to go into a whole new thing that will take forever to learn. We have seen The Fantastic Four before. We all know how they gained their powers and became to be. So it's refreshing that we don't have to spend a whole movie watching something we already know.
The development between Reid and Sue is something they should have focused more on during the movie. While, yes, we needed to learn about Johnny and Ben too, it seemed like anytime the story between Reid and Sue got interesting, something else would get in the way to then changing the whole development we were just learning about.
There are also a few parts in the movie you want to see more. Without spoiling, they are being chased in this dark scene, and you want more, want to see a longer chase. You want to see more excitement from this journey. Or to save the earth, they have this grand idea working together and doing something no Marvel movie has done before, but in two seconds that grand idea is dead. That idea would have been amazing to explore and see how it develops.
So, while THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS isn't perfect, it's a fun movie with the retro-futuristic vibes that make the movie feel good. The short runtime is a bonus as well. You will enjoy the movie on the big screen. Seeing all the bright vibrant colors reminds you of how Marvel used to be.
Make sure you get your largest popcorn bucket and just surf in the under two hour movie and enjoy yourself.
As you know with Marvel, make sure you stay after the movie ends. The mid-credit scene is super important. The very end credit scene is skippable.
Marvel Studios’ THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS opens in theaters July 25th, 2025.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Billy Joynt (Editor) - Billy has seen many movies over the years. He enjoys comedies and anything action, including the summer blockbuster movies. You can follow Billy on Twitter here.Click Here to check out Billy's Articles.