Fantastic Four: First Steps Review

Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place on Earth-828, a universe with a retro-futuristic look. Four years after astronauts Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm became the superheroes known as the Fantastic Four, the team must face their toughest foe yet, Galactus. Galactus wants to devour Earth or take Sue and Reed’s son to satisfy his insatiable hunger. 

I’ve been a bit wary of Marvel movies lately, but I was interested in watching this film after I saw the trailers. The movie seemed promising based on the feedback I read. And to be honest, I really enjoyed watching it. 

I’m not excessively familiar with Fantastic Four. I haven’t read their comics. And, honestly, the first image of them that comes to mind is the Sony movies from 2005. So, I’m not too confident in my ability to say if they adapted the superhero family well. 

Personally, I believe that some aspects of the characters were well-portrayed. I had trouble picturing Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards. I think he could have had more gray on the sides of his hair. However, I thought they did a good job of depicting his intelligence and leadership. 

From my perspective, Johnny Storm is the least like the character in the comics. He wasn’t very much of a playboy or ladies’ man. He wasn’t cocky or very reckless, like how I felt he should have been. Instead, he seemed more like the playful, fun uncle. The writers did give him some interest in the female Silver Surfer at least, but even that seemed like it was played for laughs among the other Fantastic Four members.  

Still, despite Johnny feeling unlike his comic counterpart, I did enjoy his character in the film. He was fun, and it played well with the family dynamic. I think it’s a personality that worked well with the obvious message from this movie: family. 

My only other criticism of the character portrayals is that I felt the Thing’s voice should have been a little deeper. However, perhaps I am simply too used to Michael Chiklis’s portrayal of the Thing in the earlier films and his gravelly, deeper voice. 

What I loved about this movie, though, was the heavy lean into family. It was honestly a wholesome movie that you really could take a whole family to. The Fantastic Four aren’t just a group of superheroes. They’re family, and I loved how much this movie emphasized that.  

Reed and Sue are already married and Sue is pregnant with their son. Johnny and Ben genuinely felt like Reed and Sue’s brothers. Yes, I know Johnny is Sue’s brother, but I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say. They were the fun uncles once the baby was born. 

And I really did love the strength they gave Sue as a mother. Despite what you might hear from some people, this film wasn’t “all about Sue Storm.” It was about the whole family. However, she does take a prominent role in the fact that she’s a mother who wants to protect her baby as all moms should.  

Sue becomes stronger because of a mother’s love for her child. She wants to protect her son, and that makes her stronger. That is something that really does happen in real life, and as a woman, I thought that was beautiful. I also saw it as well-written, because instead of getting strength because of “strong women,” we get it because of something that legitimately can make a woman strong: being a mom. 

And, honestly, I know we’ve already seen a mother in Marvel with Wanda, but I enjoyed this one because Sue wanted to protect her baby and her home. She refused to pick one, which was a more loving and stronger portrayal of a woman in my opinion. 

I thought the movie visually looked good. CGI hasn’t looked so great in movies lately, and that’s why I think the combination of CGI with practical effects really helped make this movie look good.  

Good or bad special effects can really make or break a movie, especially when you have a bad guy as giant as Galactus. They did a good job with the suit the actor wore. I loved all the detail in it. And the miniature sets were an excellent choice rather than just using CGI alone.  

I do think the Silver Surfer from the 2005 movies looked better, though. There was just something crisper and clearer about how he looked and more intimidating. But the backstory they give to this Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: First Steps, at least, does a good job justifying why it’s the woman version instead of the man everyone usually expects.  

Overall, I wouldn’t say Fantastic Four: First Steps is a perfect Fantastic Four adaptation. It’s clear they made some changes to the characters that some fans might dislike, and others might just not care about. But it’s still a good movie, and I enjoyed it.  

I really like how heavily it played into the idea of family. I think everyone did a good job acting as the character they were given with this script, all of whom were very likable. And as a woman, I like seeing a strong woman character actually done right for once in modern entertainment. 

This Fantastic Four movie was much better than the previous attempt in 2015. I had a good time watching it. Nothing felt too slow or too fast. I do think they could have explained Galactus more. You don’t get much information about why he’s always hungry and how he’s able to eat whole entire planets. There are things that they could have done better, but it’s an enjoyable family movie that I do recommend Marvel fans watch. I think most of you will enjoy this one too. 

Check out my other Marvel movie reviews as well.

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