The Fantastic Four: First Steps

This weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the newest film in the MCU, releases in theaters. The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows Marvel's first family, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, as they devise a plan to stop the planet-devouring Galactus from destroying the Earth. This is the first Fantastic Four film since the Disney-Fox merger, and after years of subpar Fantastic Four movies from Fox, I was hoping that Disney/Marvel would finally deliver.

All I can say is it's about dang time. We finally got a good Fantastic Four movie. This movie absolutely nails the family dynamic of the Fantastic Four. There is nothing these four won't do for each other, and the chemistry between them is top-notch. There are a lot of similarities between this film and the new Superman movie, such as the more comic-booky style and preestablished world. In this film, we get thrown right into the action with a preestablished Fantastic Four that has been defending the Earth for four years. Doing this trims the fat of an origin story and uses half of the movie to get the team up to snuff. Fantastic Four: First Steps is also one of the most comic-booky movies in the MCU. I like how the movie embraces the more obscure comic book references and characters, such as Mole Man, The Wizard, and Herbie. This movie feels like Jack Kirby's comic book storytelling come to life. The movie is also the first to finally get Galactus right in live action. There have been multiple films that have turned him into an evil space cloud. However, this movie does it right, portraying him in his signature outfit as a giant guy trying to eat planets. I also liked the retro-future aesthetic in that the movie is set in. It feels like a Jetsons 1950s-style future, which fits with the tone of The Fantastic Four. I also thought all of the elements in Space were cool. There were some nice interstellar references as well. The movie also has some of the best visuals from the MCU in a while. The CGI looks good, especially with Galactus and The Thing. It just feels like Marvel took extra care to make sure every aspect of this movie was just right. Finally, I like how this is a standalone story in the MCU. You don't need any prior knowledge of the MCU to watch this film, as it is set on an alternative Earth.

I don't have any big issues with this film. The only thing is that I felt that Pedro Pascal was too big a name to play Reed Richards. The other three actors, you just see them as their characters because, while they all have been in other stuff, they haven't led in anything big but with Pedro Pascal, he has been in enough other big things (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, as well as like 8000 movies in the last few years) that I couldn't totally embrace him as Reed Richards and just saw him as Pedro Pascal. He was good in the role, but I just thought that it should have been a lesser-known actor.

Overall, this is a great superhero film from the MCU, and I am so happy that we can actually get a good Fantastic Four film.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A- Recommendation: This is a must-see film