Movie Review – The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Director: Matt Shakman
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Year: 2025

Marvel fatigue is real and The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Exhibit A.

This should work. The casting is great. Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards. Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. Joseph Quinn as Johnny. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. These are talented people playing beloved characters. The director did WandaVision which was actually interesting and different.

And yet. I felt nothing.

The movie is set in an alternate 1960s where the Fantastic Four became celebrities after getting their powers. It’s retro-futuristic. Kennedy-era optimism meets Kirby cosmic. There are cute period details. Everything is chrome and optimism and family values.

The problem is that “retro” has become Marvel’s new “quippy.” They’re using aesthetic as a substitute for substance. Oh look it’s the 60s! Isn’t that fun! Please don’t ask us to do anything interesting with these characters beyond putting them in period costumes.

The villain is Galactus. The devourer of worlds. A cosmic god who eats planets. This should be terrifying. This should be awe-inspiring. Instead it feels like. Another CGI third act. Another beam in the sky. Another crisis that gets resolved because our heroes are brave.

Pascal is charming as Reed but the character is written as generically heroic. Where’s the arrogance? The obsession? Reed Richards is supposed to be the smartest man alive and also kind of an asshole about it. Pascal plays him as a nice dad. That’s fine for Joel in The Last of Us. It’s boring for Reed Richards.

Kirby is good but underused. Sue Storm should be the emotional center and the most powerful member and instead she’s. There. The Invisible Woman is invisible in her own movie. You’d think they’d see the irony.

Quinn’s Johnny is fun. He’s the only one who seems to be having a good time. His flame effects look cool. That’s about all I have to say.

Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. Look. The man is a great actor. But The Thing is tricky to pull off and I don’t think they quite did it. The CGI face limits expression. The “it’s clobberin’ time” stuff feels obligatory.

There’s a mid-credits scene that sets up Avengers: Doomsday. Of course there is. Because no Marvel movie can just be a movie anymore. Every one is homework for the next one.

I wanted to like this. I really did. The Fantastic Four are Marvel’s first family. They deserve a good movie. This isn’t a good movie. It’s a competent product designed to maintain a franchise.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆

The Fantastic Four on IMDb | The Fantastic Four on Rotten Tomatoes