Our four superheroes must face off against the evil planet-eating cosmic being Galactus and its helper, the Silver Surfer.
There have now been four attempts to bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen, and it seems that in this franchise, the fourth time’s the charm.
First Steps is set in a ’60s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, four years after a disastrous trip to space leaves its crew with unusual superpowers.
There’s Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), a gifted scientist who can stretch his body, his wife, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), who can become invisible and create force fields, her brother, Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), who can fly and engulf himself in flames, and their friend Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a super-strong rock-like creature.
When they encounter the evil Silver Surfer (Julia Garner via motion capture technology) and her master, the planet-eating cosmic being Galactus (Ralph Ineson, likewise), the foursome are forced to decide between making a personal sacrifice and letting Earth be consumed.
Director Matt Shakman wisely skips the well-told origin story – he presents those facts in a brief news report for the uninitiated – and delivers a Marvel film that stands on its own and requires no prior homework.
The film’s standout strength is the retro-futuristic design, which sets The Fantastic Four apart from other Marvel movies visually. The sets and inventions are stylish and clever and deserve to be up for contention for the Best Production Design Oscar next year.
There are many other positives too, such as the spot-on casting, the amusing dynamics between these characters (and their robotic helper H.E.R.B.I.E.), and the human themes of motherhood and family.
However, First Steps is another superhero film that stumbles when it comes to its villains. It’s hard to take Silver Surfer seriously, especially when the CGI isn’t quite up to par.
Galactus is formidable in size, and his appearance is loyal to the comics, but he is yet another giant monster destroying a city in the climax of a superhero film. We’ve seen it many times before.
Another niggle is that the movie doesn’t quite deliver the amount of laughs we’re used to with Marvel. It has some amusing moments, but there aren’t as many quips, gags and one-liners as usual.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps may not be perfect, but there are enough promising elements in here to signal a new dawn for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Easily the best Fantastic Four film yet.
In cinemas from Thursday 24th July
By Hannah Wales.
© Cover Media