Aaron Ploof
Coming on the back of the excellent Thunderbolts*, I wondered if The Fantastic Four: First Steps could replicate the former film’s success. After watching the movie, my fellow movie goers and I all agreed: While The Fantastic Four managed to tell a successful story in its own right, it didn’t quite manage to reach the heights of the previous MCU film. We mulled our ideas around in our drive home in the car and reached the conclusion that the movie felt emotionally flat. It had action, drama, and stakes, but none of these ever seemed to capture our feelings. The Fantastic Four is a fantastically above average superhero flick, with some interesting characters and engaging performances, but for some odd reason that we couldn’t quite place our finger on, it fails to completely deliver.
Somewhere in a Different Universe…
The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place on an alternate Earth, Earth 828, to be exact. It’s the 1960’s and Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife Susan Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her brother, Johnny (Joseph Quinn), and Richard’s best friend, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moos-Bachrach) have returned from space with superhuman powers. Reed has gained the ability to stretch. Sue can turn invisible and use energy-like force, Johnny can turn the blaze on and go full “Human Torch,” and Ben has transformed into a rock-like monster with super-human strength.
Four years pass, and the family has become worldwide celebrities as the sole protectors of Earth. They live in a high tower building in NYC and are enjoying the good life. Though Reed is a bit afraid of his life changing with the incoming birth of his and Sue’s baby boy, everything seems to be going swell. That is, until The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives on the planet and announces the imminent arrival of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a god-like entity dead set on devouring Earth and all the people who live on it.
Naturally, The Fantastic Four gear up and head back out into space to attempt to stop and/or negotiate with Galactus. When they finally reach him, they receive an unexpected offer. If Sue and Reed give up their newborn child, then Galactus will spare their planet. It seems Reed’s worst fears have come true. Change has indeed come to The Fantastic Four’s family.
Everything Changes
That fear of change, ultimately the fear of the unknown, is what drives the main plot of The Fantastic Four and what its main theme centers around. How do you prepare for the unforeseen? How can Sue and Reed be sure their baby won’t be a super-powered eating God, like Galactus foretells? Is Ben sentenced to a life without romance?
As hinted in the above paragraph, the characters feed into this theme. Out of all of them, I enjoyed Pedro Pascal’s portrayal of Reed Richards the most. Pascal has crafted an honorable yet flawed character. He’s filled with integrity, but he is also weighed down by an extremely intelligent mind that hypothesizes and assumes the worst outcomes. Not only does this cause conflict between his character and Sue’s, but it also becomes a point of worry in relation to his son, Franklin. Of course, Reed does not want to pass his burden onto his baby boy. In his heart, he yearns for his son to be normal.
The Rest of the Team
Vanessa Kirby’s Sue is an emotionally intelligent character with a fierce love for her husband and her unborn child. She navigates unforeseen territory with skill and grace. Her main emotional arc centers on her unwillingness to let her family be torn to pieces by the threat of Galactus and to hold onto her relationship with her child.
Quinn’s Johnny Storm is surprisingly smart in this take and a bit of a ladies’ man. His own desire for attention and his yearning to help come into play late in the movie’s arc and make a significant difference.
Lastly, we have Ben Grimm as The Thing. While not as complex as the previous characters, Ben is kind and caring and is wholly likable. He’s burdened by the realization that his physical appearance may be a roadblock to finding a romantic relationship.
And in the Other Corner
When it comes to the villains of the film, Julia Garner as The Silver Surfer is the standout. She plays solemn and regretful extremely well, which makes sense when her backstory is explained. I hope her character returns in future installments.
Ralph Ineson captures all the soul-deadening and imposing character of Galactus. He spent time ruminating on the top of tall buildings to prepare for the role, and it shows. Ineson doesn’t consider Galactus evil, but rather just a god, a “cosmic force” that eats planets. He comes off very machine-like in the film, which is appropriate, given that Galactus’s body is tied to one.
Even With All That…
And yet, even with those interesting characters and themes, The Fantastic Four: First Steps struggles to be a highly entertaining watch. It may be because of the predictability of the plot, or the action scenes that curiously come off dull rather than exciting. I just couldn’t get rid of the feeling of “flatness” that the film had. As mentioned before, it didn’t reach the emotional heights of Thunderbolts*, my recent favorite outing in the MCU franchise.
The conclusion of the film sets viewers up for the eventual release of Avengers: Doomsday. This film is an introduction to the characters of The Fantastic Four, who will feature heavily in that particular installment. If it can reach the heights of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, then I’ll be seriously impressed, though I’m not holding my breath.
A Few More Steps
The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t a terrible entry in the MCU; in fact, it’s above average. But it just doesn’t hit the feels where it should, and the highs and the lows aren’t there. It’s going to fall slightly below Thunderbolts* and earn an overall score of:
Score: 7.5/10
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theatres nationwide.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official Trailer | Only in Cinemas July 25
Together. As a family. Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in cinemas July 25.
