'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Review: Superpowers Are Cool, But Have You Tried Family Therapy?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

In theaters

Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson & more

Directed by: Matt Shakman

Produced by: Marvel Studios

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is no longer in its golden age. It’s in its IKEA-instruction-manual phase. Complicated, bloated, and full of screws you’re not sure belong anywhere. Each new film feels less like a chapter and more like a footnote to a multiverse textbook nobody asked to read.

Once upon a superhero era, a Marvel release was an occasion. Now, it’s just Friday. So when The Fantastic Four: First Steps showed up, most assumed it was yet another swing at a franchise Marvel has failed to crack, again and again and again. But here’s the kicker: they might have finally landed something that doesn’t feel like a total reboot disaster.

No More Lab Accidents, Just Alternate Earths

Instead of trudging through yet another tired origin montage, this version wisely drops us into the action already in motion. On Earth-828, the Fantastic Four are already up and flying. There are banners in the streets. Kids wear merch. Politicians smile for selfies with superheroes. The vibe is weirdly utopian. And yes, that means it won’t last.

The film sidesteps all the usual cosmic-radiation tropes. There’s no lab gone boom. No crash course in superpowers. What we get instead is world-building that feels oddly refreshing. The Fantastic Four aren’t figuring out who they are. They know. They’re a functioning unit. The tension comes not from discovering powers but from trying to maintain peace in a world that already reveres them.

Then along glides the Silver Surfer. Julia Garner brings a stillness to the screen that’s eerie, not theatrical. There’s no evil monologue. She’s not a villain. She’s a siren. A whisper from the stars. And that whisper spells one name: Galactus. The big one. The planetary buffet monster. Only this time, Marvel doesn’t treat him like a cutscene. He arrives with real presence, and for once, the threat feels less like a plot device and more like a ticking clock.

Family Over Franchise

This is where First Steps earns its footing. The team feels less like a batch of heroes and more like, well, a group chat. Reed Richards, played by Pedro Pascal, isn’t all-knowing or arrogant. He’s careful. Understated. You believe this guy can solve quantum puzzles before breakfast, but he never throws it in your face.

Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm is all pulse and purpose. Her scenes don’t just carry weight. They center the story. She’s not the team’s emotional crutch, she’s its spine. Their connection, Reed and Sue, isn’t written in speeches. It’s in glances, pauses, and shared silence. That chemistry matters.

Joseph Quinn, playing Johnny Storm, turns the flame on high without going full cartoon. He’s impulsive, yes, but also quietly observant. His sarcasm doesn’t bury his sincerity. And Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm is the grounding force. Gruff but not a grump. There’s a sweetness under the stone.

Together, they have rhythm. There’s no single show-stealer, which is kind of the point. Their dynamic is the movie’s fuel. Arguments flow into action. Banter masks genuine care. It feels like a team you want to watch not just because they save the day, but because they make it weirdly personal.

Marvel Fatigue? Not Here… Until It Is

For a good stretch, First Steps avoids the pitfalls that have plagued recent Marvel entries. There’s no rush to introduce twenty characters. No desperate attempts to glue itself to five other projects. The film feels like it breathes on its own.

But then, midway through, the seams start to show. You begin to notice the shift. The movie you were enjoying as a fresh take on a familiar formula begins tilting toward setup territory. You can almost hear the gears shifting from “story” to “strategy.” The plot begins opening doors it never planned to close. Multiverse breadcrumbs sneak in. You feel it not as excitement, but as distraction.

By the time the climax rolls around, the film is juggling emotional tension, global stakes, cosmic horror, and a few cameos that are clearly designed to ignite social media more than serve narrative payoff.

The pacing doesn’t collapse, but it does wobble. And in trying to be both standalone and springboard, the movie does what many Phase Six titles have done, it forgets to stick the landing.

Downey Jr. Returns, But Not How You Think

There is no point pretending otherwise. The first post-credits scene is an explosion in a bottle. It hijacks every conversation after the film. A familiar face appears. A new role. A reality-bending twist that exists solely to be discussed. It’s bold. It’s bizarre. And it’s brilliant marketing.

The twist isn’t just a gimmick. It’s a signal. Marvel is done playing it safe. They’re pulling wild cards. It’s a meta move, a nostalgia grenade, and a continuity roulette all in one. It works, but it also proves a frustrating point. The most memorable moment in First Steps has nothing to do with the Fantastic Four. Again.

That’s the recurring wound in Marvel’s recent slate. The movies work, sometimes even really well, but the biggest buzz comes from what’s next. And that undercuts what you just watched.

The Galactus Problem That Isn’t One

For a change, Marvel does not oversell its villain. Galactus, teased as the end-all cosmic force, doesn’t explode into the story like Thanos. He looms. He creeps in. And when he finally makes his presence felt, it’s overwhelming without being loud.

The film makes a bold narrative decision. The Fantastic Four do not defeat Galactus. They delay him. That’s it. There’s no last-minute power surge. No magical artifact. No speech that saves the universe. They retreat. They regroup. They live to plan again.

It’s risky, especially in a franchise that often confuses explosions for emotion. But here, that retreat feels earned. There’s dignity in survival. Not every win needs fireworks.

Still, that choice creates a peculiar aftertaste. You walk out with more questions than satisfaction. Which might be the point. But it also feels like an expensive preview for a battle yet to come.

Who Shines, Who Simmers, Who Gets Shortchanged

Pedro Pascal brings the kind of calm that keeps a film centered. His Reed Richards never shouts his intelligence. He wears it like a quiet coat. You trust him to figure things out not because the script tells you he’s a genius, but because his every reaction proves it.

Vanessa Kirby, though, owns the movie’s core. She doesn’t need a grand monologue to prove her power. Every time the camera lands on her, the scene tightens. Sue Storm finally gets the respect the character has always deserved. And Kirby delivers without overplaying a single beat.

Joseph Quinn could’ve easily gone full frat-boy with Johnny Storm, but instead he balances flash with genuine depth. His banter with Ben Grimm is snappy without being smug. There’s a soul under the swagger. And when he confronts the Surfer, there’s a moment of real emotional charge that reminds you this guy isn’t just fireballs and jokes.

If anyone gets the short stick, it’s Ben. Not for lack of performance, Ebon Moss-Bachrach nails the texture, but because the script only half-commits to his subplot. There’s a budding story involving Natasha Lyonne’s character that fizzles out before it can matter. It’s not a miss, but it is a missed opportunity.

A Reset That Works… Sort Of

In a landscape filled with franchise fatigue and superhero sameness, The Fantastic Four: First Steps feels like a partial course correction. It doesn’t burn the formula, but it tweaks the ingredients. The cast clicks. The world feels lived-in. The tone balances humor and heart better than many recent Marvel titles.

But just when it starts feeling like its own thing, it can’t resist jumping back into the bigger machine. The multiverse leaks in. The teases resume. The focus blurs. It’s a better film than it needed to be, but not as bold as it wanted to be.

Marvel’s famous Phase One had hunger. Phase Six has habit. But if First Steps is anything to go by, maybe, just maybe, they’ve remembered that no matter how cosmic the scale, it’s still the people who matter.