While many subtitles are a bit superfluous, First Steps has a dual meaning. That being to introduce the Fantastic Four to the MCU, while also foreshadowing the arrival of Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) & Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby). The movie begins with this revelation, as Sue is simultaneously perplexed and joyful to share the news of her pregnancy with Reed, after years of the two struggling to conceive.
But we soon learn this is only the second seismic event of their lives, as four years earlier they, along with their friend Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sue’s brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn), embarked on a fateful space mission based on the research of Reed. It’s only after encountering a cosmic cloud, an event Reed blames himself for not preventing, that the protagonists find themselves endowed with superpowers as they return to earth. Immediately upon return, the quartet form the Fantastic Four. Fighting crime against earth’s supervillains, and, by way of Reed’s inventions and Sue’s elegant leadership, ushering 1964 New York into a retrofuturistic utopia. But that utopia is threatened with total destruction by an inconceivable cosmic force.
Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four is an amalgamation of a lot of different ideas, but the film presents itself as a retro throwback to a simpler time for superheroes. The movie is a vibrant but strange beast that trusts its audience is already somewhat familiar with its titular heroes, while still being tasked with having to spoon-feed the audience an abundance of information. In many ways, this is emblematic of the consistent issues with bringing the quartet to the big screen – as the franchise’s previous failed attempts for silver screen glory can be tied to how ambitious the source material is. What makes the Fantastic Four work as a comic book, the idea that the four heroes possess such unique powers that they could conceivably exist as solo protagonists, but they come together to form an outstanding team, is part of the difficulty of bringing them to life in live action. All four characters require very different VFX work to depict their powers in grand fashion, to make nothing of their bizarre rogues gallery with their own array of unique powers and origins.
That combined with the fact that the Fantastic Four, their existence once groundbreaking, helped usher in the team-based superhero storytelling that can now be considered passe, helps explain why studios have struggled to adapt the heroes despite a whole ass superhero boom going on for the past 20 years. With that said, while First Steps isn’t perfect, it’s the most faithful and most exhilarating adaptation of these characters to date. It may be accurate to say there isn’t one definitive stand-out from the cast so much as this is an ensemble piece where the unique personalities compliment each other. Quinn gives a surprisingly understated performance as Johnny Storm, suppressing some of the character’s more aggressive ladies man reputation for a pretty boy who gets lovestruck by a space Goddess. This version of Storm is hardly the King of pranks like his comic book counterpart, but he still finds time to annoy Reed and Ben Grimm with well-timed quips and jabs. Moss-Bachrach follows in the footsteps of Michael Chiklis to portray an empathetic version of The Thing. But this Thing is pretty much resigned to his fate as a big bulky rock monster, but one with the pallet of a food critic. Yet, Moss-Bachrach still retains some of that sullen regret, as he looks in the mirror and longs for the person he used to resemble.
The plot itself revolves around Reed/Mr. Fantastic and Sue/Invisible Woman. Their anxiety around having a kid takes up much of their brainpower, until the Silver Surfer crash lands on earth, forewarning the Fantastic Four that earth will soon be devoured by Galactus, a planet-eating cosmic force of nature of a mysterious origin. The Silver Surfer speaks of being, in a previous life, forced into duty for this supreme entity. As Reed struggles to understand Galactus’ complex nature, the villain soon shows his hand on what it would take to spare earth, and rid Galactus of his unwavering hunger permanently, but it’s a levy the Fantastic Four can’t willingly accept. The dilemma the team is challenged to choose upon is true to the moral quagmires consistent with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s seminal Marvel run. The screenplay in general feels like you could transplant it into a 1960s comic book, from its straight-forward dialogue and verbal jousting amongst the team that could be easily turned into short thought-bubbles, to its frank/crude discussions of strange scientific concepts. This is somewhat of an esoteric film, that captures about 55% of the strangeness of a Jack Kirby cosmic tale… which, for Hollywood standards, is already very strange.
Ralph Ineson provides the voice-work for Galactus, and it is a thunderous vocal performance that instills terror into the protagonists. Vanessa Kirby is giving one of the film’s most confident performances, having to be the voice of reason for the team while keeping the other three members calm amidst their chaotic actions and arguments. Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is a balancing act of the hero’s comic book characteristics and Pascal’s personal touches. The actor imagines Reed as a fearful man despite his standing as the smartest on earth, his lack of confidence a subversion of the ideal Übermensch ready to spring into action. But Reed explains that his hesitance is a result of anxiety due to him having to consider every single grave outcome that he must potentially combat, a trauma no doubt the result of Reed being unable to forsee the near-catastrophe that led to the team’s powers in the first place.
The film is in an unenviable position to finally sell the audience on a worthwhile version of the titular team, while having to refrain from being redundant in relation to the previous adaptations. Much like James Gunn’s Superman, the movie wants to hit the ground running to avoid burnout on origin movie cliches. However, the Catch 22 of that is it can be difficult for the audience to build a worthwhile connection to these characters since we’re meeting them after they’re already established and most of their character development is effectively done. As a result, only Reed, the Silver Surfer, and Johnny experience what could be called character arcs, and for Johnny it’s more like half an arc as he strives to validate his intelligence with his sister.
The special effects are certainly an improvement over the abysmal Fan-4-stick (2015), although there’s still some blemishes in bringing this complicated foursome to life. Reed’s stretchy powers can at times appear too rubbery, although the movie makes great use of having him utilize his powers in a variety of both big and small situations. The interactions between The Human Torch and the Silver Surfer have the unflattering burden of being compared to similar scenes in Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), the cat-and-mouse chases of the latter being one of the few bright spots of the Tim Story sequel. In the new film, there are quite a few shots of Silver Surfer and a flamed-on Human Torch that look almost flat. The Silver Surfer of the 2007 film appearing with greater clarity and a more 3D look, despite being a nearly 20 year old special effect. Galactus, however, appears how one would imagine, just the right amount of intimidating aura and cartoonish comic book presentation – a marriage of visual spectacle and tremendous sound design. The Fantasti-Car has never looked better, and the practical effects in general give the film an extra layer of Sci-fi magic, including a well-portioned use of H.E.RB.I.E.
The Thing is almost as good as he’s ever been – Michael Chiklis may still have the character’s best portrayal in the 2005 original. However, this version’s look is a motion capture marvel, at times veering into the uncanny valley, but often maintaining a magnetic presence that consistently draws attention to the character, even when the other heroes are in frame. It’s the Thing who looks the most believable here when he’s in action and moving about the chaotic landscape of New York City. He rescues a gigantic ship, and I found the water allegedly dripping off his stone physique to be more photorealistic than any super movement from Mr. Fantastic. When he’s muscling his way through the debris of a collapsing New York, he has the same weight and sense of space as the objects falling by his side. I just wish the movie had a more memorable usage of his catchphrase, built up through in-universe pop culture osmosis, but arriving with underwhelming delivery during what should be the height of the film’s drama. Invisible Woman’s powers are decently depicted, even if she seldom uses them. However, the combination of her energy force fields, and Galactus’ unique frame, make for some rather awkward CGI in the film’s climax.
By the film’s end, you feel that you like the Fantastic Four, but this movie isn’t necessarily the definitive Fantastic Four adaptation – they could go up a level. Which is encouraging, but also sobering. Ultimately, First Steps had to prove that an exciting Fantastic Four movie with actual fidelity to the comics was possible. While the movie has its drawbacks, including the feeling that much useful material was dropped on the cutting room floor, Shakman’s film is willing to try unconventional narrative techniques to efficiently tell a story of abundant detail. Its setting is that of a period piece, and it succeeds in bringing back a more subtle depiction of superhero psychology, where our protagonists are more troubled and fearful than we imagined despite their energetic outward personas. It’s in keeping with Marvel’s tradition of showcasing super beings with humanity, where their mental and internal struggles are just as daunting as the giant things they have to punch.
