by Pauline Adamek
Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne
Intro:
… delivers the right amount of action while focusing on the emotional and ethical weight of identity, family, and interworldly belonging.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps re-introduces Marvel’s First Family as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
We meet Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Rather than an origin story, this film opens with the celebrated team embracing public life with TV appearances, talk show interviews, and PR events orchestrated by Reed, and using their fame to build goodwill.
Helpfully, the narrative lightly sketches the gang’s backstory with a swift recap that explains how the group journeyed into space, became exposed to cosmic rays, and gained their powers. We also see archival-style footage that illustrates how they defeated Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), establishing the team’s present status as humanity’s universally beloved protectors.
Adored by the public, we see them as a tight family unit of four roomies, balancing celebrity with family life, especially with the happy announcement of Sue’s unexpected pregnancy. A dramatic scene brings the arrival of Franklin Richards, the super-powered son of Reed and Sue.
H.E.R.B.I.E., their adorable robot assistant (voiced by Matthew Wood) injects comic book charm into their cosy routine.
A mysterious, silver-clad envoy appears, The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), who delivers the message that Earth’s days are finite. An intergalactic entity with an insatiable appetite named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is intent on devouring earth and its inhabitants.
The story is now kicked into high-level cosmic conflict, calling for the team’s expertise in combatting multiversal-scale threats.
Striking a balance of family dynamics and broader intergalactic stakes, the story leans into the characters’ emotional evolution rather than their powers. It’s refreshing to see themes of pregnancy, birth, and parenthood feature in a superhero movie.
The story moves along briskly, with attempts by our heroes to execute solutions – at one point, even on a global scale – capably thwarted by their nemeses until the satisfying epic showdown.
Under the efficient direction of Matt Shakman, the film delivers the right amount of action while focusing on the emotional and ethical weight of identity, family, and interworldly belonging.
The biggest joy is the delightfully 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic theme that’s rendered in extreme detail, from the fashions to the décor and devices such as flying cars and charming vacuum tube technology. The visual design is bold, colourful, and highly stylised, delivering a nostalgic tribute to its Jack Kirby comic book origins and evoking the Jetsons cartoon.
While the story’s conflicts are simplified, the emotionality and intimacy of the stakes see our noble heroes forced to balance their roles as the planet’s saviours with the commitment of their family bond. The banter amongst the four is light and often funny, with a few romantic storylines teased at but not explored. (Johnny Storm has deep conversations with the Silver Surfer while Ben Grimm seems to be holding a torch for a local schoolteacher played by Natasha Lyonne, in a woefully underwritten role.) The excellent chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby realistically conveys a loving union.
The film functions as both a fresh entry point and a foundational component of the MCU’s next grand arc, and slots into the Marvel Multiverse in a deliberate and pivotal way. While the main Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) timeline is Earth‑616, it’s neatly explained that this story is set in an alternate 1960s-themed reality called Earth‑828.
As confirmed by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the launch of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is explicitly linked to the events of the forthcoming holiday release of Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for December 2026. Interestingly, Robert Downey Jr. is anticipated to return to the MCU as one of the central villains, a version of Doctor Doom that is intentionally written as the “dark mirror” of Tony Stark.
