Fantastic Four First Steps – A ’60s Throwback Done Right

I’ve just finished watching Fantastic Four: First Steps, so here’s my review of the movie. This was a fantastic 9.1/10 for me, and overall it was a great film, and the king of the 2025 summer blockbusters in terms of quality (Superman is a close second). It finally does the Fantastic Four justice after all (four) of Fox’s failed attempts, and does something which Fox never could: Make Galactus an actual villain rather than a stupid space cloud. One of the most notable aspects of the film is its ‘60s aesthetic and tone, which director Matt Shakman fully embraces to create an unique entry into the MCU that serves as one of the most visually distinct and stunning films in the franchise. The film also moves at a very brisk pace, jumping straight into action with the Fantastic Four as already established heroes and blazing through its admittedly short 1 hour 55 minute runtime. This film also carries the burden of serving as the main setup for Avengers: Doomsday, which it handles very well by dropping hints towards that movie’s plot without detracting too much from its own story. The entire cast is great as well, and the family dynamics between Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny were incredible to witness. This film manages to stand out through its spectacular visuals, amazing cast, unique story and premise, and its overall importance in the MCU’s storyline, making it a must-see for both fans and casual audiences. 

As stated previously, I absolutely loved this film, and there are many positives to it. Firstly, I am a huge fan of the ‘60s retro aesthetic,and Matt Shakman succeeds at really delving the audience into this beautiful alternative world that’s different yet similar to our own. Earth 828 is brimming with life and identity, which allows this film to stand apart visually from the rest of the MCU’s offerings. Frankly, this is what the Multiverse Saga should have been about from the start: Crafting stories of different heroes set inside different worlds, which would have created many more distinct MCU projects, and allowed the MCU to diversify into different forms of storytelling. The score also complements this movie well, recreating that Silver Age sense of wonder that’s quite reminiscent of the feeling that Superman made me feel.

However, it’s ultimately the characters that drive this film forward, and unlike previous iterations, this Fantastic Four team does not disappoint. All four of them get a chance to shine (some slightly more than others, but that’s a tiny nitpick that I’ll get into later), and we get to see what each member brings to the team. Whilst previous iterations have always depicted Reed Richards as a super genius, it’s Pedro Pascal who nails the nuanced portrayal of Reed as being both a family man, and a scientist burdened by knowledge and righteous duty. While he originally wasn’t my first choice to play Reed (John Krasinski was always my top pick, and I hate how he was butchered in Multiverse Of Madness), I’m now confident in his capability to carry Doomsday and Secret Wars as the main lead. Vanessa Kirby’s Invisible Woman is the emotional core of the Fantastic Four, and puts on an incredible performance as a supportive wife to Reed and a protective mother who is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her child safe. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm puts on the greatest performance of the film in my opinion, serving as the film’s main comic relief while simultaneously feeling like a strong character who’s very capable in his own right. Unlike previous iterations, this version of Johnny goes from a simple womanizer to a character with actual nuance, with his familial bond with his sister and the rest of the team, as well as his intelligence, being highlighted. Here, we actually get to see why Johnny was chosen to go into space with the other three: It’s not just because he’s Sue’s brother; he’s an incredibly capable scientist in his own right, as seen when he manages to decode an entire alien language from a single sentence spoken by Shalla-Bal. Finally, here’s the Thing. Ebon Moss-Bachrach does very well, with the VFX team capturing his expressions and movements perfectly. He also serves as the down-to-earth perspective that we see this world from, with his interactions with regular citizens giving us a glimpse into life in this retrofuturistic world.

In addition, the antagonists of this movie are some of the best in any Marvel project ever, with Ralph Ineson embodying the gravitas of Galactus perfectly, making him the most threatening Marvel villain since the High Evolutionary. In this film he genuinely feels unstoppable while not feeling like a genuine villain at all. Instead, he’s much more akin to a natural disaster, wreaking havoc as you’re powerless to stop any of it. With Galactus being the looming background presence of the film, it allows Shalla-Bal to take center stage as the main opponent to the Fantastic Four, and Julia Garner delivers a great performance that captures both the threatening and tragic aspects of both Silver Surfers (the same applies to Norrin Radd). She manages to steal the show thanks to her voicework, which was granted incredible nuance thanks to the special effects team, her striking design, and her gorgeous action sequences, which are, dare I say, the best in the entire MCU (the black hole chase sequence was absolute cinema). The CGI and VFX teams absolutely cooked with this movie, and every scene, every character, has such a dope design that’s ripped straight from the comics. The Fantastic Four all look gorgeous using their powers. Reed’s stretching looks natural, Sue’s light-bending powers are actually explored more and given a distinct shimmering look, Johnny’s flames are perfect, and the use of both CGI and practical effects for Ben’s look give him that signature comic-booky look while not veering too much into the campy side of things. Shalla-Bal’s design looks incredible, and sets itself apart from Norrin’s in Rise Of the Silver Surfer, while Galactus’s darker, more mechanized look contrasts perfectly with the bright ‘60s aesthetic of 828’s Earth, making him seem more eerie and alien. Another thing that I really loved about this movie is how it paid tribute to the Fantastic Four’s expansive rogue’s gallery, with the Mad Thinker, Diablo, and Red Ghost all being mentioned by name (John Malkovich’s part was unfortunately cut), Dragon Man being seen in the cartoon post-credits scene, and Mole Man, the first ever super villain, being shown in the opening sequence, and even playing a crucial role in evacuating the citizens of New York during the final act. 

While I loved this movie as a whole, I’d still like to address a few small issues that I have. The most glaring one is the runtime, which for some reason was cut from 2 hours 9 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes. I feel like that extra 14 minutes could have gone a long way to giving some characters a chance to shine, in particular The Thing, who didn’t really have a chance to exhibit his full potential or delve into the same amount of nuance as Michael Chiklis’ version. H.E.R.B.I.E was likely another unfortunate casualty from the cuts too, with him being reduced to simply Reed’s butler, rather than a member of the team. Galactus also didn’t get as much screentime as I would have hoped, with his intimidating presence amounting to very little payoff, as he was defeated in an underwhelming fashion. This segways into my next problem, which is that this film, like many others, has fallen victim to the MCU third act trap, where the third acts of MCU films devolve into CGI fests or generic fights. While I loved how the film made use of Reed’s brainpower to defeat Galactus, his ultimate defeat at the hands of Sue Storm ultimately felt unearned. While Sue summoning the strength to push Galactus into the wormhole could be seen as a demonstration of her true power, it felt like a very lazy and underwhelming way to defeat such a big recurring threat, which would have the consequence of diminishing his threat level in future appearances. 

On the whole I really enjoyed this movie, and aside from a few fixable issues here and there, this is a film that I would highly recommend you check out simply because it’s unlike any other Marvel movies before it (and also because without watching this, you won’t understand a lot of Doomsday and Secret Wars). With the release of both Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four, I think it’s safe to say that Marvel is BACK!