Fantastic Four: First Stumbles

Fantastic Four: First Steps is a decent but extremely hollow reintroduction for the Fantastic Four in the MCU.

Fantastic Four: First Steps, as the start of the third iteration of the iconic family released in the last 25 years, has much to prove. It assembles a good cast with great chemistry, looks extremely colorful, and feels eager to please. Unfortunately, decent cinematography and acting aside, I was disappointed by how it’s written. Each main character is thinly written as the archetype you remember them as from something else, or seems included to fill space. The editing feels consistently mid-montage as the pacing makes a short time feel much longer. Vanessa Kirby and the rest of the cast keep the movie alive but I still spent most of the film irritated. Fantastic Four: First Steps is a decent but extremely hollow reintroduction for the Fantastic Four in the MCU.

A significant aspect of Marvel films is the heavy discourse surrounding how they look. I had no issue with lighting or framing regarding this film. I was pleasantly surprised by how stylish it all felt. The production design was out of this world, with every interior on Earth feeling immaculately crafted. Galactus looks pretty cool, as does Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer. The acting was good overall, with Vanessa Kirby easily being the best. Due to the subpar script, she gives Sue an incredible amount of depth through her performance that would not be there without it.

I was very disappointed with how this film was written. Initially thrilled by the movie's fast-paced beginning, I was excited to see what would happen once the pacing settled to let things breathe. That didn’t happen as the film maintains a silly yet dull tone. As the editing relies too heavily on montages, time moves forward, and things get accomplished every time you blink. Most of the time, I didn’t feel like I was really seeing and understanding how great the Fantastic Four are; I was just being told repeatedly. It would have been nice to see the depiction of the Fantastic Four as celebrities on this Earth in their own right, which would have had a thematic effect on the story that would set it apart from the central movies. It seems like a world where people like them are more popular than usual, with the flair of old television meant to make that seem fresher.

The movie flies forward after its decent opening almost on autopilot, with every character given just enough in the script to resemble ideas of character arcs without real follow-through. The idea of them as a family is well served and has a resolution, but they're lacking individually. Nearly every character outside of the core family and villains isn’t more than a brief addition to the visuals or to show up briefly without much use in the actual story. The stakes felt near nonexistent, and the lack of action was very saddening. It’s a reintroduction that lacks the gravitas required for such a big moment, as it feels more like a big-budget TV movie than anything.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is a decent but extremely hollow reintroduction to the Fantastic Four in the MCU. The cinematography and the acting from the core characters are all awe-inspiring. The production design is well crafted, as every interior feels realistically rendered. After the opening, the script lets down the movie as the plot feels bare, and the characters are very thinly composed. It builds to a satisfying initial conclusion that I think audiences and fans would love, but I felt disappointed. I hope to like future entries in the MCU with the Fantastic Four much more than this.

I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars. I hope you liked this review and like the movie more than I did! I’m rewatching it this weekend and if my feelings change I’ll certainly tweet about it. Thanks for reading!