The Fantastic Four: First Steps is very good, which makes it all the tougher to see it get close to greatness but not achieve it. Almost all the qualms would go away if the film were longer and spent more time on the characters. All the focus was on immersing the audience in the aesthetic. It’s lovely on its surface, but low on its substance.

Marvel’s first family has struggled for many years to be adapted well into the film medium. The previous adaptation has a reputation for being one of the worst films of all time, so it seemed like the only direction to go was up. This film has been under scrutiny since its announcement. From its popular casting to the retro-futuristic aesthetic to hiring the director of WandaVision (Disney’s most acclaimed Marvel streaming series), it appeared that Marvel wasn’t relying on name recognition anymore. They seemed to legitimately be trying to do justice to the beloved characters in their arsenal. Although The Fantastic Four: First Steps is close to being great, its shallow script stops it from reaching its full potential. 

The film begins with a great introduction to Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. They are public figures on Earth 818 and are beloved and adored. They are used in advertisements and are part of diplomatic relations. Instead of showing how they got their powers, their life stories are recapped on a TV show, which is an entertaining and efficient way to explain a lot of information. Around that same time, Sue and Reed discovered she was pregnant after many years of trying. They reveal their news at family dinner, and Johnny and Ben are excited to be uncles. Reed’s anxious self goes into overdrive, baby proofing not only their apartment but the entire city. He is also monitoring outer space. Although Reed and Sue have finally achieved their dream of being parents, their world shatters when the Silver Surfer arrives on Earth, heralding the end of the planet, as it will soon be devoured by Galactus, a cosmic being of immense power. Johnny chases her, and she whispers to him before pushing him away and flying back into space. This is the Fantastic Four’s most terrifying threat yet. They announce to the public that they will be heading back to space to negotiate and/or defeat Galactus and protect the planet, thus setting our family off on a bizarre and scary journey. 

Although The Fantastic Four: First Steps deserves a congratulation on its quick introduction through the characters’ backstory, that speed became a negative aspect soon after. Unlike many superhero films, there are four main characters. At most, we get a snapshot of who these characters are, but none of them have an arc. All of them end up just as talented and intelligent as they are in the beginning. Sure, Reed and Sue become parents, but there seems to be no change apart from that. They have an argument about how Sue struggles with aspects of Reed’s personality, which is an interesting idea based on genuine relationship struggles, but that is one moment in an entire film. Johnny is the closest to having a character arc, with his team members putting him down to respecting him more by the end, but it isn’t big enough by any means. In fact, the character with the best arc was the Silver Surfer, whose interaction with Johnny changed her life. As interesting as that was, our main characters should be the most affected by the story’s outcome. 

Feige and casting director Sarah Halley Finn perfectly cast the film, which did a lot of the heavy lifting the script lacked. Vanessa Kirby as Sue is the standout by far. She is given the best action and the best dialogue. She had a perfect lilt to her voice that fit in just right with the 60s era. Kirby is cool and confident, which shone through her performance. Pedro Pascal’s performance as Mister Fantastic was good, although muted. He was clearly insanely intelligent, but mostly anxious. It was a good choice to have Reed lead with love rather than arrogance. Thankfully, the writers didn’t do the “asshole genius” stereotype, which is overdone. He ended up flying a little under the radar because the story didn’t give him as much to chew on. Mister Fantastic, being portrayed by Hollywood’s most beloved actor right now, seems like the perfect combination, but they didn’t capitalize on it. Blame shouldn’t be put at Pascal’s feet because he easily could’ve brought a little more life to the role. 

As for Franklin’s uncles, it was nice to see Ebon Moss-Bachrach break from his streak of playing annoying characters. His voice was warm and comforting, the opposite of his hard exterior. I was a little unsure how I felt whenever Moss-Bachrach was cast as The Thing, but he was a pleasant surprise! His character is the most undersung of the four. He had so much potential, considering his outward appearance had changed so drastically due to the cosmic energy. They tease a romance with Natasha Lyonne, and they reference his Jewish heritage, but they do nothing with it. Our final Fantastic Four member is Johnny Storm, and as an original member of the Joseph Quinn fan club, every time I watch a film with him in it, it feels like I’ve struck gold. As much as I liked the casting, I was worried because the fake blue eyes seemed out of place on the posters. Thankfully, they fit in naturally in the film. Although he isn’t as overtly sexual as Chris Evans’s take in the 2000s, he still has all the benchmarks of a fiery, funny, and flirty Johnny Storm. All the actors nailed their characterization, but if only there were more substance on the page.

Our two antagonists were Ralph Ineson and Julia Garner as Galactus and Silver Surfer, respectively. Ineson’s face is so well-suited for Galactus, and his voice has the perfect amount of gravitas. Garner’s Silver Surfer is a surprisingly sympathetic character. Despite being limited by the metallic texture, she manages to create a lovely performance. The quality of the sound work in the film is best highlighted in their vocal performances. Their voices resonate in a way no other character does, and it lends itself to make them as terrifying and commanding as they are supposed to be. These two are given better treatment than the Fantastic Four. 

The other nitpick of the script is how the plot is structured. This is the same issue as another Marvel film, Black Widow, whose screenplay was also written by Eric Pearson. These two films both have stories that build and build and never give their protagonists a chance to genuinely fail. While Black Widow hops from location to location to get the gang back together and then wraps up at Dreykov’s sky lair, The Fantastic Four: FirstSteps goes from solution to solution with so few barriers. The Fantastic Four had their world invaded, but the status quo returned to normal shortly after. Also, the public easily falls in line with The Fantastic Four to an unrealistic level. Although it was inspiring, it’s a tad unbelievable. Having an external conflict and internal conflicts within themselves would have tested them on two sides, but the four of them sail by pretty easily on both. I never once believed that they were out of their depth. A longer movie would solve both the character arc and the plot problems by giving the film a chance to breathe. It’s astounding how fast it moved. The one thing that the MCU universe (616) has going for it is its characters all in one unified world, so it doesn’t need to take the time to set as much up. Anyone with a basic familiarity with the MCU can get a hold of what’s at stake. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, taking place in an entirely different universe, gives it a reasonable excuse to do more exposition.

While the script is the weakest aspect, at least The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a visual feast. The choice to set the film in the 1960s was brilliant because the original comic premiered in 1961. The retro-futuristic 60s theme looked stunning from the lab, to the apartment, to New York City. The costuming of our four leads also contributed to the aesthetic. Marvel choosing to embrace the goofiness rather than be embarrassed by it made everyone look better for it. The team seemed comfortable in their suits, and yet they were still functional. Nearly everything they wear is branded Fantastic Four, even down to their shoes. Also, the visual effects looked spectacular. The Thing is a hard look to get right, but the visual effects team managed to make him look realistic while still giving him an expressive face. Mister Fantastic’s stretching and the Human Torch’s fire looked nice, but the star of the show was the Invisible Woman’s powers. The way director Matt Shakman and the visual effects team showed her powers was so brilliant. Force fields and invisibility might not seem like the most dynamic of powers, but they captured everything she could do so well. It seems Shakman’s experience with the Scarlet Witch’s powers helped them visualize Sue’s much better. The Silver Surfer’s metallic skin was beautiful, especially whenever you saw the reflection of Johnny in it. But the best visual effect by far was Galactus. He is a planet eater, so he is a monstrous size, and they managed to consistently show how massive he is. The only time the visual effects looked shaky was on baby Franklin, who, at moments, had the same strange look as Renesmee in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Michael Giacchino’s score for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the cherry on top of the craftwork. It somehow encompassed the more electronic sounds associated with space with the time period-appropriate score. There were moments when it elicited a desire to explore the unknown, to dream big and shoot for the stars. It’s magical how a score can transport you into the movie. Not only is it beautiful, but the main Fantastic Four theme is ridiculously catchy. Including the words “Fantastic Four” put it over the edge. It can easily stand alone outside of the film.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is very good, which makes it all the tougher to see it get close to greatness but not achieve it. Almost all the qualms would go away if the film were longer and spent more time on the characters. All the focus was on immersing the audience in the aesthetic. It’s lovely on its surface, but low on its substance. The next time we will see these characters is in Avengers: Doomsday, where they will likely play a crucial role. It’s unfortunate there isn’t a second standalone movie in between, because now the Fantastic Four will likely, once again, not receive adequate character arcs. Marvel Studios shouldn’t waste these perfectly cast, utterly charming actors, but there’s a terrifying chance they are going to. 

Grade: A-

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Visual Effects
Should Be Considered: Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score

Where to Watch: In Theaters