The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a shiny, well-made step in the right direction for Marvel that unfortunately is slow, boring, and shockingly light on action.
This new Fantastic Four, which is by far, and by default, the best FF movie ever made, is a paradox of cosmic proportions.
On the one hand, director Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) has made a polished piece of Marvel filmmaking set in an alternate universe that looks like something out of the Jetsons. The world is cleverly constructed and amusing to look at, and the 60s-era retro aesthetic feeds into the filmmaking style as well. It’s all around a gorgeous thing to behold, aside from some just-okay CGI. Early on, as Shakman montages through the family’s escapades since becoming superheroes, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is fun, energetic, and brimming with life.
And then the rest of the movie happens.
Written differently than other Marvel films, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is refreshingly light on the Marvel quips that no longer land with intention; there is plenty of banter, but it’s more organically interspersed through the many interactions the four leads have with each other. Kudos to the cast for making it feel like these four mutated, disfigured, horrible people love each other, care for each other, and like being in each others’ company. The chemistry is real, and it elevates the material.
The problem is the material is dull as hell. More of a family drama than superhero action movie, Shakman miscalculates wildly the tolerance we have for hearing these four people work through their issues, argue about the best course of action, and nerd out about science experiments.
After a fairly intense action sequence in which the four encounter gigantic villain Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, across the galaxy—-and everyone who has seen Interstellar questions how many decades have passed as they edge near a black hole—The Fantastic Four takes a nosedive in energy level. It’s not that the movie is poorly written—it isn’t—but boy does Shakman spend a whole lot of time where very little happens.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps ends with a pretty fun climax, but the damage has been done. Worst, it reminds you that up until this point you really haven’t seen the family fighting together at full strength (or even Mr. Fantastic go stretch mode). Aside from the montage at the beginning, the movie only has two real action scenes.
It doesn’t help that Galactus, as big and intimidating as he is, is yet another underplayed Marvel villain. There’s not much to him at all. He arrives, they fight, the world is saved (that’s not a spoiler, come on!), and a mid-credit scene sets up Avengers: Doomsday. We’ve seen it all before.
There are other things I liked, however. Pedro Pascale is likable. Vanessa Kirby operates at another level than the rest of the cast. The theme music is memorable. Even if the movie itself is far from fantastic, at least Shakman has created characters we want to see again.
But when all is said and done, being the best Fantastic Four movie ever made isn’t saying much—and that statement isn’t even accurate. That honor goes to Disney-Pixar’s The Incredibles, a far superior depiction of a super family with great (and similar) powers.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t without its merits, but it sacrifices excitement for style, action for family banter. It’s a step in the right direction, followed by a massive stumble.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.