The first family of the Marvel Universe finally makes their MCU debut, in a wonderfully realised retro-inspired movie set in the 1960s. Scientists Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) step up and accept the challenge to go into space, where a freak accident infuses them with special super-powers. When an intergalactic threat named Galactus (the voice of Ralph Ineson) selects Earth as its next planet-devouring victim, The Fantastic Four must leap into action.
After a very brief glimpse of The Fantastic Four at the end of ‘Thunderbolts’ (aka ‘The New Avengers’), you can safely expect that ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ leads directly onto next year’s big ‘Avengers’ movie. ‘The Fantastic Four' is a film that has a very definitive sense of its own visual style – something that is brilliantly realised on the big screen (especially IMAX). Setting the film in the past enables it to stand out from any of the Marvel films that have come before it, giving ‘The Fantastic Four’ a good foundation to build something new upon.
The cast are all as good as you’d expect. Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm is the beating heart of the film, and she leads the line very well. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch) also has a good character arc. ‘The Bear’ star Ebon Moss-Bachrach gives Ben Grimm a lot good, emotionally relevant scenes and his chemistry with Natasha Lyonne’s Rachel Rozman is nice to see play out.
Julia Garner is fine as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, a comic-accurate character that spars with Johnny Storm very well onscreen. Paul Walter Hauser absolutely steals his scenes as Harvey Elder, aka the Mole Man. In fact, ‘The Fantastic Four’ does a great job in nodding to some great side characters and comic events in the opening montages of the film, giving fans a knowing wink to (such things as a wonderful live-action homage of the infamous Fantastic Four issue #1 comic cover).
I’m a huge fan of Galactus, and ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ does its best work in bringing this mammoth threat to tangible life. Having been disappointed in the past, it’s so good to see Galactus finally command the screen in such an imposing, terrifying way. Ralph Ineson, who is best known as Finchy from ‘The Office’, has a sensational voice. He brings to Galactus an imposing presence that gives the movie a real sense of danger. He is also brilliantly rendered onscreen, embracing his awesome comic look, and his scale being used exceptionally well in the film. Again, IMAX really is the best way to witness the majesty of Galactus on a cinema screen.
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is a different take on the character than we’ve seen before onscreen. Much more timid and unsure of himself, it’s an interesting way to go for the role, but I wasn’t a big fan. He comes across as too meek and powerless in this iteration, and Mr. Fantastic’s abilities and superpowers were not used nearly enough onscreen, leaving the audience a little underwhelmed.
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is a nice change of pace to what’s come before, and definitely one of the better Marvel Cinematic Universe films we’ve had since ‘Avengers: Endgame’. It certainly ushers in an exciting time ahead for the MCU. The mid-credits sequence is also great, and teases something big for the future. ‘The Fantastic Four’ is a visual treat and a very enjoyable superhero movie on its own merits.
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne Director: Matt Shakman Writer: Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Kat Wood Certificate: 12A Duration: 115 mins Released by: Disney Release date: 27th July 2025
