‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Breathes New Life Into the MCU (Non-Spoiler Review)

 

A movie title like The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens itself up to all kinds of punny headlines:

·        The Drastic Bore: Worst Steps

·        The Plastic Chore: Missteps

·        The Bad, Sick Sore: Burst Triceps

 OK, they’re not all winners.

Fortunately, none of the above apply to Marvel Studios’ latest film, in theaters this weekend, which delivers a bright, colorful and charming family story that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel fresh for the first time in years.

Although technically, this isn’t the MCU that we’re used to. Set in an alternate version of Earth (Earth-828), First Steps introduces us to Marvel’s First Family as the sole protectors of their world, which is a retro-futuristic wonderland full of flying cars, whimsical gadgets and the occasional robot (H.E.R.B.I.E, I love you). If you aren’t up to speed on the latest MCU films or TV shows, don’t worry. This film requires zero homework.

Directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision), First Steps brings the curtain up on our titular heroes on the four-year anniversary of the space flight that gave them superhuman abilities, with the origin breezed through via a television broadcast. As revealed in the trailers, Reed and Sue Richards (Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby) find out early in the film they are expecting a baby – much to the delight of Sue’s brother Johnny Storm and Reed’s best friend Ben Grimm (Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, respectively) – but a visit from The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) heralding the imminent arrival of The Devourer of Worlds Galactus (Ralph Ineson) throws their plans of familial bliss into disarray. Galactus presents our heroes with a planet-saving proposition, and it’s their difficult decision which takes the film to its thrilling finale.

Like this summer’s Superman before it, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is unapologetically a comic book movie. Certain elements are goofy – bordering on absurd – and the film is all the better for it. I actually enjoyed the quieter moments with the titular family even more than the CGI bombast. However, given the film’s lean-for-the-MCU running time of one hour and 55 minutes, there are less of those moments than I would have liked. And the fact that we’re getting the characters’ next appearance in the packed-to-the-gills Avengers: Doomsday means that we’re not going to spend much time exploring The Fantastic Four’s family dynamics anytime soon. An additional 20 minutes would have brought First Steps from very good to … wait for it … fantastic.