Fantastic Four: First Steps | Directed by Matt Shakman // Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, and Ralph Ineson
Summary (Spoiler-free): The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows Marvel’s First Family: Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. When Sue discovers she’s pregnant, the group begins preparing for their next chapter as a family, until a cosmic threat derails everything. The Silver Surfer arrives with a dire warning: Galactus, the devourer of worlds, is on his way. As the team races against time to protect their planet, they’re forced to confront impossible moral choices, challenge the limits of their powers, and rely on their bond as a family more than ever.
I remember the night before the first Fantastic Four movie came out in the early 2000s. I was so excited I could barely sleep. Not a surprise to anyone who knew me since I did the same thing for Christmas Eve until, well, into my twenties, honestly. When the lights dimmed and the movie started, I was ready to have my world rocked. And while I liked it, even my younger self could tell: something was just… fine. Not terrible. Not amazing. Just fine.
So I waited. Surely with all of these amazing superhero movies coming out in the 2010s, they would bring these four out of retirement, right? Then it was announced they would reboot the series with the director of Chronicle, a film I really enjoyed, and I got excited all over again. I won't discuss that sorry excuse for a film any more than that, but let's just say, I didn't like it.
For nearly two decades, I waited to finally get the Fantastic Four movie I had dreamed of as a kid. And now, with First Steps, I finally got it.
Overall, I really loved this movie. It was exciting, funny, charming, nice to look at, and above all, sure of itself.
Matt Shakman (who already impressed me with WandaVision) brings Marvel’s First Family to life in a way that’s both reverent to the source material and completely refreshing. Set in an alternate universe styled like a retro-futuristic 1960s dreamscape, this movie doesn’t waste time on overexplaining. The FF are already beloved heroes when we meet them, and thank god. We skip the lab accident, the endless origin recaps, and jump right into a story that matters: saving the world while preparing to welcome new life into it.
That dual storyline, planetary destruction meets impending parenthood, is what gives First Steps its emotional backbone. When Sue Storm finds out she’s pregnant, it’s not just a plot point. It’s the heart of the whole movie. Suddenly, it’s not about generic stakes. It’s about protecting a child. It’s about a family figuring out how to hold itself together when everything around them is falling apart.
Vanessa Kirby absolutely owns the screen as Sue, finally getting the spotlight (and depth) the character has deserved for decades. She's the clear standout here, which is the second Marvel movie in a row in which the female lead stood head and shoulders above everyone else. It's almost like women are bad asses in every conceivable way (they are). The message in this film is loud and clear, and I agree with it fully: the love of a mother and her instincts to protect her child is stronger than anything in this (or any) world. It can literally defeat a god. And ain’t that the goddamn truth. Kirby's Sue is powerful yet intimate, and it gives the film its deepest heartbeat. I can't wait to see what she brings to Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is exactly the conflicted genius we needed, torn between logic and love. Joseph Quinn is a delight as Johnny Storm, charming and funny without being a caricature, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s (yes, chef) Ben Grimm brings a tenderness to The Thing that floored me. He’s not just a pile of rocks; he’s a man trying to hang on to his humanity. All four actually FEEL like a family, which is what was missing in the previous iterations. The chemistry between these leads is great, and I can't wait to see more of them.
Let’s talk about the look of this movie: it’s stunning. Truly no other word for it. Every frame feels like a Jack Kirby panel brought to life, with curved chrome architecture, floating cars, and that slightly grainy color palette that makes it feel both nostalgic and new. This is what happens when someone actually loves the source material. It’s style with substance, and Shakman and his team absolutely killed it.
And yes, Galactus is here. Not as a dust cloud, not as a vague concept, but as a full-on cosmic giant voiced by Ralph Ineson, booming, terrifying, and majestic. Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer adds mystery and grace, and the whole Galactus storyline is elevated by the emotional stakes the FF are facing at home. Save the planet… or save your child? That’s the kind of Marvel moral dilemma comic nerds like me drool over.
The action? It's fantastic (and I cannot believe that's the first time I've said that word in this review). Not wall-to-wall and not the action I was expecting, but what we get is thrilling, creative, and clean. The space scenes in particular were insane. But it never overstays its welcome or sacrifices character for chaos. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded a little more of it, but I’d rather have strong character moments than empty spectacle, and this movie gets that balance right.
Ok. Now I'm going to nerd out. Sorry in advance. But... this is my favorite movie score in the last 10 years. And I need to gush over it. Michael Giacchino is no stranger to iconic film music. This is the guy who made us cry over the first ten minutes of Up and somehow turned a rat cooking pasta into a full-blown symphonic experience in Ratatouille. But with Fantastic Four: First Steps, he's delivered one of his best, most textured, fun, unique scores I've ever heard. It’s grand, it’s weird, it’s emotional, and it ties the entire film together in a way that made me feel every moment more deeply.
In one scene, it’s sweeping and triumphant, channeling that big, space-opera energy that Galactus demands. In another, it’s jazzy and retro-futuristic, fitting perfectly with the 1960s design language of Earth-828. And then, just when you think it can’t stretch any further, it quiets down into these intimate. Giacchino knows when to go big and when to hold back. It’s masterful.
There’s a central theme for the Four that feels instantly classic, a soaring, hopeful melody that plays like a mission statement for what this team is and what they represent. And the Silver Surfer has her own musical identity too, eerie and melancholic and a little mysterious, like she’s caught between duty and doubt. Giacchino doesn’t just slap music onto scenes. He scores emotion, movement, and character. You feel it in your chest. Galactus's music is huge. There’s this deep, rumbling, otherworldly presence to it that makes it feel like something ancient and unknowable is arriving. You don’t just hear it. You feel it crawling up your spine. My theater chair was literally shaking.
By the end of the movie, I realized that Giacchino’s score wasn’t just supporting the story... it was the story’s heartbeat. It brought that extra level of magic, momentum, and meaning that make the best superhero films transcend the genre. I left the theater humming the main theme, which is always a good sign. This is a soundtrack I’ll be listening to on its own for years to come.
Ok, sorry. I'm done.
I mentioned it earlier, but the action here was much different from what I was expecting, and I liked it a lot. It wasn’t wall-to-wall fights or mindless destruction, but it was purposeful, clean, and visually awesome. I would have loved to see these four use their powers a bit more, though. What we got was so cool and looked amazing: Johnny blazing through the sky, Sue bending light and throwing up force fields, Reed stretching in ways that actually looked good (finally!), and Ben throwing down with that perfect mix of weight and heart. It just left me craving more. Not because it was lacking, but because what was there made me realize just how fun and inventive these powers can be when done right.
The final battle, while amazing in design and execution, felt like it ended a little too quickly. I was hoping for more buildup, more teamwork, more spectacle. I think in future films, especially if they scale down the villain from “cosmic god” to something more street-level or grounded, there’s a real chance to stretch (no pun intended... ok, yes it was) their powers even more.
You could feel the fingerprints of a studio edit here. The movie is tight and every scene serves the story, but some things may have been trimmed that would’ve made it even better. For example: John Malkovich was reportedly cast as a villain in an opening set piece that was cut. Starting with a bang like that might’ve elevated the whole experience. You could just sense that the final cut leaned a bit more toward studio notes than the director’s vision.
Also, there were moments when the CGI baby looked... well, like a CGI baby. I know the movie had a lot of visual effects to juggle, Galactus, cosmic energy fields, whole environments built from scratch, but somehow the thing that took me out of it the most was the baby. How is it that studios can render a black hole, but we still can’t get a digital infant that doesn’t look like a character from a PS3 cutscene? It’s a nitpick, sure, but for a movie that gets so much right visually, it’s a surprisingly noticeable fumble.
The FILM has nothing for this section. However... I want to talk about movie critics for a second. I read some reviews for this movie and other similar Marvel or DC movies, and some of the reviews feel less like film criticism and more like performative cynicism dressed up as analysis. First off, can we stop clutching our pearls every time a superhero movie… does superhero things? A recurring line in reviews of Marvel movies these days is that it “starts strong, but devolves into typical comic book territory.” I'm sorry, did you not see the title of the film? This isn’t Manchester by the Sea with stretchy arms and fire powers pasted on. This is a comic book movie. You bought a ticket to a comic book movie (or more likely, got to see it for free). You got comic book movie stuff. Why is that suddenly a knock?
Second, there’s a fine line between not needing to know the source material and just being willfully uninformed. I don’t expect every critic to have Galactus posters on their bedroom wall, but if you’re going to write a paragraph lamenting the “shallow villain who needs to planets and has no other backstory” maybe do a half-second of research. Galactus eats planets to live. That’s it. That’s his whole deal. He’s not some mustache-twirling megalomaniac. He’s a force of nature, like a hurricane with a helmet. He just IS. He's inevitable. Calling him “underwritten” is like saying a black hole lacks depth. You’re missing the point.
And lastly: when did “it looks and acts like a Marvel movie” become shorthand for mediocrity? Is cinematic cohesion and tone suddenly a bad thing? Has success become boring? Look, Marvel has had its stumbles (looking at you, Brave New World), but let’s not pretend this studio hasn’t revolutionized modern cinema. They’ve kept theaters afloat. They gave half of these critics a whole new beat to cover. Yet now every movie is met with this exhausting condescension.
People lament about Marvel-fatigue. Maybe the fatigue isn’t driven solely by the movies themselves but by the critics trying so hard to sound above them. Find that inner child, y'all.
It was my dad's birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you and can't wait to celebrate many, many more.
Marvel needed this to work. The next few years are going to be built around the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men, Marvel’s true cornerstone franchises. With a new Spider-Man movie in two years and an X-Men movie within five, the pressure to reignite the MCU’s fire is real. And guess what? They stuck the landing. This was different than most Marvel movies, in a good way. It was smart. It was heartfelt. The cosmic stuff looked incredible. And I can’t wait to see it again on Sunday.
For years, I would always say that the best Fantastic Four movie is The Incredibles. And I wasn’t trying to be snarky, I meant it. Brad Bird’s animated classic captured everything those earlier live-action FF attempts missed: the family dynamic, the blend of superhero spectacle and real emotion, the sense that these weren’t just powers, they were extensions of who these people were. It was witty, heartfelt, and actually knew how to juggle multiple superpowered characters while keeping the relationships front and center.
But now? First Steps has finally done what I thought might never happen. If The Incredibles was the best unofficial Fantastic Four movie for nearly two decades, Fantastic Four: First Steps reclaims the title with authority. It’s funny, emotional, stylish, and most importantly human. It doesn’t just throw powers and explosions on screen and hope that’s enough. It digs deeper. It’s a movie about love, about legacy, about what we pass on and who we become when everything is on the line. It understands that saving the world and protecting your family don’t have to be separate goals. In fact, they’re often one and the same.
And that kid who couldn’t sleep the night before the 2005 movie? The one who desperately wanted to see his favorite comic book team done justice on the big screen? He finally got the movie he was dreaming of. But this time, he got a great sleep the night before.*
*He did not. He was too excited.
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