Movie Guy – “Fun,” but not quite “Fantastic Four” movie

Published 4:11 pm Friday, July 25, 2025

“Fantastic Four: First Steps”

Marvel Studios

Directed by Matt Shakman

Starring Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson

Rated

3 Stars

Marvel Studios has a lot riding on the release of their new movie, “Fantastic Four: First Steps.” This is one of their most cherished comic book teams, but it’s also the story that has proved most difficult to adapt to the silver screen. Adding extra pressure is that it arrives in theaters in the wake of a very successful “Superman” release, leaving Marvel at risk of being perceived as the second-place studio.

Not to be too much of a fan boy, but I am pleased to report that “Fantastic Four: First Steps” is a lot of fun. I’ll stop short of making the obvious “fantastic” quip, but I did have a great time at this movie. More importantly, the all-ages crowd around me also seemed to be having fun as well.

The film plops us down in the middle of the story. The world in this movie has already met this team of astronauts who have been mutated into superheroes. There’s the married couple, Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm, aka Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), plus her brother, The Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). They are already beloved heroes and major pop-culture icons when the story begins.

They are also thrilled about the news that Sue is pregnant. But their happy world will be thrown into turmoil by the intergalactic herald known as the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) who tells of the arrival of the world-eating monster known as Galactus (Ralp Ineson). Our team of heroes must now fight to save the world, as well as their budding family.

I realize that this is a lot of new information for those who are unacquainted with this comic book series, but the good news is that the story is easy to understand, even for those who are new to the franchise. We are presented with a loving family, a huge crisis, several exciting action sequences and then a tease for further adventures. Yes, it’s over-the-top stuff, but that’s par for the course in many of these movies.

My critiques of the film (and they are quibbles) come from the characters. The acting performances are good, but the problem is that these have always been mature, thinking heroes. It can feel odd to see reasoned debate about a crisis when the movies have taught us that heroes usually leap into action; the consequences be damned. There’s an emotional distance to the characters in this movie, which can be off-putting.

I also had a bit of a problem with the movie’s villain. I’m happy that Galactus is more than just a cosmic cloud this time around, but despite its enormous size, the character is still a bit silly to me. The Silver Surfer falls into the same category.

On the other hand, I absolutely adored the film’s retro-futuristic production design and the wonderful musical score by Michael Giacchino. The family-first vibe is endearing, and the film has some very exciting action and special effects sequences.

All of which means that “Fantastic Four: First Steps” is fun, but perhaps it’s more “fine” than “fantastic.” Still, long-suffering fans of the comic series should be very pleased by the film’s retro-cool vibe and engaging story.

General audiences should enjoy the movie as well, which is great news for Marvel Studios and their plans for inevitable future adventures. It’s nice to see Marvel Studios making these types of crowd-pleasing adventures once again.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published each week in The Port Arthur News and the Orange Leader. Sean welcomes your comments via email at sean@seanthemovieguy.com You can get more of Sean’s reviews by subscribing to the 2 Movie Guys podcast.