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As audiences sit down to watch the awaited “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” there is doubt about the film among audiences across the world. Over the past 41 years since their comic debut, the Fantastic Four have had multiple appearances, including an animated series, an unofficial film in 1994, a two-film series from 2004 and 2007, and an abomination of a reboot from 2015. So, when Marvel Studios announced that they would make their own version of the Fantastic Four, there was skepticism. But upon its release on July 25, the film shattered its reputation — and it was fantastic.
Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the Fantastic Four made their first appearance in 1961, and have continued to be a key part of Marvel Comics as a superhero team. The alliance consists of Reed Richards as Mr. Fantastic, Susan “Sue” Storm as Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm as the Human Torch and Ben Grimm as The Thing, who each gained their powers after a space mission went wrong.
The plot of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” follows the family living on Earth-828, an alternate universe of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) timeline. Having established themselves as heroes, the four must conquer the difficulties of familyhood as Reed and Sue expect their first child, Franklin. However, new challenges come to light with the arrival of the Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal, who heralds the Earth-eating god Galactus.
One of the best parts of the movie was the 1960s-retro-esque aesthetic that was portrayed. Despite none of the other Marvel films including this perspective, it was perfect for the four and this movie. The set pieces were insanely immersive. For instance, the rooms in the family’s penthouse at the top of the iconic Baxter Building, which elicits a modern midcentury aura, portrays retrofuture technology and colors. In Reed’s lab, each study is divided into three sections represented by a primary color, with red equivalent to research, yellow equivalent to thinking and blue equivalent to monitoring. The set pieces were gorgeous and made the audience feel as if they were living in the film.
What also stood out was the cast, which consisted of Pedro Pascal as Reed, Vanessa Kirby as Sue, Joseph Quinn as Johnny and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben. Overall, their acting showed amazing chemistry and really gave off the family feel that was shown in the Marvel Comics. This was severely lacking in previous adaptations and made this version so much more entertaining. With high expectations for actor Pedro Pascal from his previous roles, fans anticipated seeing his portrayal of Reed. However, the immediate star of the film was Vanessa Kirby as Sue. She channeled the emotions and determination of her character amazingly, showing how the love of a mother can simultaneously coincide with the love she has for her planet and its people.
What really downgraded parts of the film, however, were some of the visuals. For instance, in scenes with Reed and Sue’s child, Franklin, he looked very obviously edited, which was humorous and distracted from the experience. However, their use of effects for the appearance of The Thing, the silver form of Shalla-Bal and Sue’s invisibility can be applauded. Based on their previous films, the bar was pretty low for questionable computer graphics. Still, the effects utilized for this adaptation were amazing despite these expectations. It felt natural to see Ben in a rock-like appearance, and Shalla-Bal in complete silver form was flawless. The coolest effects, however, were Sue’s ability to turn invisible and allow other objects to disappear alongside her. For instance, when the team is in space investigating Galactus, Sue made their entire ship turn invisible, which was a phenomenal effect.
As always, it wouldn’t be a good Marvel film without an iconic post-credits scene. Although there were previous expectations for what this scene would look like, it was still flooring when the scene played in theaters. The scene follows four years post-movie as Sue reads to Franklin, but as she goes to obtain a new book for him, she senses someone or something is in their home. Upon her return to Franklin, she sees who we know as Doctor Doom, marking his first on-screen appearance in the MCU. This shows a deeper connection between Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four, and perfectly ties into the future storyline for Avengers: Doomsday.
Although this film had slight flaws, it was an amazing movie from beginning to end. All components of it worked together perfectly to create an immersive experience for the viewers. The expectations are high for upcoming movies as the opening film to the MCU’s phase six. The family feel of strength and love throughout the movie was impressive, and there is a lot of anticipation to see more of this core four in future MCU movies. Although films of the Fantastic Four have historically failed audiences, this portrayal cements the family’s place in Marvel history.
