The Fantastic Four: First Steps Movie Review
The very foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe lies in its superheroes. But what are heroes without the nemeses who challenge their power and question their authority? Back in 2008, when the MCU kicked off with Iron Man and marked the beginning of Phase One, villains like Obadiah Stane, Abomination, Whiplash, and Red Skull came and went, only for the Avengers to eventually unite and take on Loki’s thirst for power, wielding the Tesseract. As the origin stories and their formulaic villains began to wear thin, Marvel upped the ante with the nearly indestructible Ultron. Then came Dormammu, Ego, and Killmonger, each armed with distinct strengths that tested the very definition of what made our heroes “super.” These antagonists paved the way for our saviours to earn their victories and their pride again and again. After Thanos, the multiverse cracked wide open, raising the stakes higher than ever. In a way, the MCU owes as much to its villains as it does to its heroes. Without them, what exactly are the Avengers avenging? The most recent names in this growing list are Void from Thunderbolts* and Mephisto from Ironheart, the latter already sparking debate as perhaps the deadliest of them all. So many movies, so many villains, and yet, Marvel still manages to shake things up. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps, they’ve unleashed Galactus, a marketing goldmine they didn’t even have to flaunt. And maybe that’s all the bait they ever needed.
Like for anyone else, third time’s the charm for Marvel too (and yes, I choose to pretend the 2015 Fantastic Four never happened). Don’t get me wrong; the 2005 film and its 2007 sequel were no failures. In fact, they’ve aged surprisingly well, thanks largely to the cast and their easy chemistry. But when you retell a story that’s already been told, not once, not twice, but three times, there’s the challenge of staying one step ahead of the audience. By now, expectations are ‘Excelsior’-level high. The Fantastic Four: First Steps wipes the slate clean, ignoring all past versions and starting fresh. There’s no time wasted on a by-the-book origin story. Instead, we’re given a clever workaround through a Ted Gilbert show that plays like a documentary flashback, covering who they are and how they became Fantastic. And so the story begins not with a bang, but with Sue Storm’s long-awaited and unexpected pregnancy, a quiet, human moment that grounds the narrative. In the flashback, Dr Doom is apparently absent, a step Marvel carefully takes to create more momentum for Avengers: Doomsday. But it does not entirely steer clear, with references to Latveria and a don't-you-dare-miss-it mid-credits scene.
Director: Matt Shakman
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
With a runtime five minutes short of 120, Marvel packs enough, quite efficiently too. There's a bit of foreshadowing here and there, with references to the Mole Man and a seemingly insignificant experiment carried out by Reed, which later pave the way for formidable moments of wonder and excitement. As promised by Pedro Pascal and director Matt Shakman, the film establishes Reed's superpowers, attributing them to the brain rather than his elasticity. When Marvel first started out, we hooted and screamed when Tony Stark made his way out of a terrorist camp by building a suit in a cave. However, the adrenaline rush arose out of the brilliance of Tony, not his iron suit. Here too, Matt Shakman does not go for easy solutions. There’s no shortcut through Franklin Richards’ cosmic powers here; no deus ex machina. With every conflict, mostly Reed, and sometimes Johnny, Sue and Ben, find plausible solutions. Yes, they're superheroes, but also humans who rack their brains when faced with trouble. And that, more than anything else, is what makes this retelling truly fantastic.
Beyond the screenplay’s success lies the visual world the makers have carefully crafted. Matt Shakman, who proved his prowess with the retro setting of Wandavision, strikes a neat balance here between the retro and the futuristic. The leading four have a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. (cuter than even Franklin Richards), but the news media still uses cameras from the 60s. Times Square is dotted with giant TV-like screens, while the Excelsior rocket enables faster-than-light travel. Even the Baxter Building is renovated and aesthetically fantastic. With all this and more, it is the introduction of Ralph Ineson’s Galactus that truly takes the film forward. The imagining isn’t exactly novel, but it is awe-inducing nonetheless. As Galactus attempts to take over Earth as we know it—the climax, featuring his gigantic form waltzing through New York City, steals the audience’s breath, even if not the world.
If narrative structure, visual appeal and performances are the three pillars of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the fourth pillar holding it erect is messaging. The theme of family above all, almost echoing India's own ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ is a recurring message throughout. Sue beautifully monologues her way into convincing the common people around her that nothing can be achieved without a fight “As a Family”. Uncles Ben and Johnny do all in their power to protect little baby Franklin, even though he is duped into being the most powerful of them all. When the four barely escape Galactus and Shalla-Bal the first time around, Sue goes into labour. And even as a superhero, she wants her husband by her side as she brings their child into the world. All of Shalla-Bal's actions (portrayed fantabulously by Julia Garner) are motivated by the love for her family. And by the very end of the film, it is proved that a mother, and her love for her child, can unlock the strongest superpower of all.
Ever since Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has tried to make every single film fantastic or fan service. For the first time in a long while, The Fantastic Four: First Steps focuses on brain over brawn, emotion over exposition, and storytelling over spectacle, instead of endless cameos and old-film references. Turns out, all it took was four to make Marvel feel fantastic again. As the first steps for phase six, this film gives a clear view of what is to come: grandeur nonetheless, but not without stories that excite. As we pin our hopes on Marvel to chart a stronger future, we walk out of theatres not just with spectacle, but with forever memories of what made these heroes truly fantastic.