Review by C.J. Bunce
Phase VI of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began this summer with the fourth theatrical outing and third cast for the sci-fi superhero characters Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and The Thing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will lead into the big eagerly awaited team-up and crossover Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. The story features yet another Silver Surfer story (see Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) and the big screen premiere of classic comic villain Galactus, but even more than that it’s a dive into the retro-futurism of Walt Disney’s Tomorrowland re-envisioned, updating the mod look of Jack Kirby’s original style for his sci-fi superheroes. Mixing The Jetsons, The Incredibles, and an alt version of Mid-century Modern futurism and the Atomic Era, it lands as one of the better entries in the MCU. Released in theaters this summer, it’s now streaming on Disney+.
The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal takes on the role of Reed Richards, played previously by Ioan Gruffudd and Miles Teller. Fast & Furious’s Vanessa Kirby takes over Sue (who also goes by Susan) Storm from Jessica Alba and Kate Mara. Stranger Things and Overlord’s Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm, replacing Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan. Michael Chiklis and Jamie Bell are replaced by The Punisher and The Dropout co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm aka The Thing. And Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne’s Silver Surfer is now played as a new incarnation by Julia Garner.
If you didn’t catch the subject matter from the title, those “first steps” refer to the Fantastic Four engaging Earth’s next threat while Sue is pregnant with baby Franklin. The audience has already seen the first steps aka origin story of the FF in those first three movies, although it’s summarized here. It’s sort of a prequel to all those events in the two The Incredibles movies, where part of the fun was watching a baby with superpowers. This movie is more plastic-coated. Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben are more insulated than in prior movies, to the extent that we rarely see them engaging with anyone except some kind of marketing handler. Audiences have seen a later version of this era in a fantastic way via Ron Howard’s adaptation of the Apollo 13 space mission. In that movie what was clear was how many scientists were involved. Here Reed carries the entirety of the missions on his shoulders. But this is the comics, so maybe that’s Disney’s justification. And it’s Earth 828, a world where there never was any Apollo mission and no Neil Armstrong.
Of the four FF movies, this entry falls in second place, not as well handled with the cast and script as the version starring Ioan Gruffudd but maybe better than its sequel. Its success is creating a new world for the MCU as was necessary for the space fantasy Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead of re-creating New York City of the 1960s, director Matt Shakman (WandaVision) places this setting in the world of the 1960s as artists envisioned the future via paintings, marketing, and other art. So this is closer to Alex Ross’s Fantastic Four: Full Circle than vintage Kirby. But it owes everything to the Atomic Era, especially the family tale in The Jetsons animated series and their robot. H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot is one of the high points of The Fantastic Four: First Steps–he looks like the real modern movie robot of the 21st century with the adorable nature of Five from Short Circuit.
Reliance on computer-based imagery is noticeable. This Ben Grimm works fine, but isn’t as three-dimensional as the practical special effects in the Ioan Gruffudd movies. Galactus looks right, but he’s also distant and cloaked in darkness, so he also looks like the Watcher of the animated Marvel series. I was hoping for one or more spaceship launches that evoked Ron Howard’s seat-shaking realism in Apollo 13, but that doesn’t happen. A false defeat featuring a twist on the movie adaptation of Carl Sagan’s Contact was heading in the right direction.
As for the cast, Pascal and Kirby are just fine as Reed and Sue. If they have chemistry I’m not seeing it. Pascal conveys the technobabble dialogue but Gruffudd seemed to add passion to his science knowledge that this version lacks. The same can be said for Ben Grimm, who, outside his humorous banter scenes with H.E.R.B.I.E. and Johnny, really is sidelined. These three characters seem stuck in their comic book incarnations with little room for growth, especially Sue, relegated to only have a plot about being a pregnant mother with a Rumpelstiltskin bargain. On the other hand Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm steals every scene. Ultimately Quinn’s Johnny Storm is the reason to sit down and enjoy this movie. The Stranger Things breakout star is just that charismatic, that brand of charisma we saw from Robert Downey, Jr. a long time ago. Crazy enough Quinn acts and looks like Downey throughout this movie. The five script writers manage to give Johnny more interesting things to do than any of the others, and his use of LPs and recorded alien languages is a key piece of the film. They left behind Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer, who is relegated to being another Ronan the Accuser. In fact no woman character gets more than minimal handling, which is unusual for the MCU after Captain Marvel. And that’s unfortunate. Disney can do better.
This must be the smallest cast of any Marvel movie. Watch for cameos by Doctor Who and Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss, The Naked Gun’s Paul Walter Hauser, and Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne. Hard to recognize like Ebon-Moss Bachrach as the voice of Ben Grimm is Ralph Ineson as the voice of Galactus. Matthew Wood provides the voice of H.E.R.B.I.E.
Michael Giacchino’s musical score is a nice addition to the Time Warp soundtracks of sci-fi’s past. The set design doesn’t match the eye-popping retro visuals of The Incredibles, but it’s still unique and intriguing. The ship conjures the vibe of the spacecraft from the original Planet of the Apes, and the end credits scream Lost in Space–both good sources to tap for old visions of the future. Alexandra Byrne kept in step with the production designers and art director vision with her new twist on 1960s spacesuits and in lieu of authentic mid-century dress for civilians her use of loud era colors nicely resets the style for a retro-visionary world. It’s going to be fun to dig into the book about the making of this movie–no doubt this production is the result of some great concept artwork by an army of artists.
Right upfront the movie reveals this is not the Earth we are accustomed to in the MCU. This New York City is very cartoony. It features those villains from the 1960s Fantastic Four stories, a different but still fun take on the MCU. The alt version of ABC TV and marketing is interesting if not surreal. So how will this story merge into Avengers: Doomsday? We’ll find out next year.
Wait around for the mid-credits coda.
A unique MCU entry with great visuals, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now streaming on Disney+.
