Marvel’s first family finally makes it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but it comes at a time when Marvel has been struggling to regain its footing. After the mega successful Deadpool and Wolverine, Thunderbolts struggled to find an audience, despite favorable reviews. Now, the first MCU film to be produced from start to finish in a post-Chapek era Disney has arrived. The magic is finally back with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
To be clear, First Steps is not the best non-Avengers movie in the MCU. It’s debatable if it’s even the best MCU film in the Multiverse Saga. However, it is a return to form for Marvel. Love it or hate it, The Fantastic Four: First Steps feels like it belongs in the fun-filled Infinity Saga of the MCU, not the troubled Multiverse Saga. If this was the first film released after Avengers: Endgame, no one would be questioning Marvel’s plans going forward, or the quality of the Multiverse Saga films.
Table of Contents
The Story
The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows the first family in an alternate timeline that feels like a modernized 1960s era Earth. This isn’t the main MCU timeline, which means the writing team can play around with things and not have a big impact on the broader MCU. In fact, this film barely touches the rest of the MCU, and feels very much like a self-contained story. It’s not quite an origin story, but it’s certainly close enough. It provides everything you need to know about how the first family got their powers, and what they’re all about, but you won’t need to do homework to understand the broader story at play.
The First Family
At the center of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Marvel’s first family. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) will make you believe they’re an actual family. They have chemistry that isn’t easy to find these days, and are much more of a family than anything you’ve seen in a Fast and Furious film.
While the four main characters certainly feel like a family, they’re far from perfect. Reed may be the smartest man alive, but he sometimes lacks societal and relationship cues. Sue loves her husband, but they still fight. Unlike previous Fantastic Four films, Ben Grimm’s self-loathing isn’t plastered all over the walls. It’s certainly a part of the film, but it’s a subtle touch that adds to a fully fleshed out character. Johnny Storm is still a ladies man, but he’s dependable, and tries to be his own man outside of his family’s shadow.
Pacing
First Steps comes out of the gate swinging. The first 45 minutes are thrilling and highly entertaining. Then there’s a bit of a lull toward the middle of the film. This is also where things begin to get predictable. There were definitely ways around these issues, but with multiple rewrites, the story just seems to get lost a bit before bouncing back strong in the final act.
Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) help with some of the pacing issues, offering formidable antagonists for the first family to combat. While this is a much better rendition of Galactus than we’ve ever seen on the big screen, it still may not be enough for comic book purists.
Visual Effects
For the most part, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has solid visual effects. Unfortunately, there are a few times where the CG isn’t as solid as most Marvel fans would like it to be. While these scenes are few and far between, they stand out enough to potentially cause some concern. It won’t take away from most people’s fun, but it’s difficult to make a stretchy man look good in live-action. Mr. Fantastic isn’t the only visual effects hiccup, but he stands out the most.
The Final Verdict
A lot of Marvel fans with knowledge of the Bob Chapek issues at Disney have been waiting for The Fantastic Four: First Steps to see if Marvel could bounce back without the tyrannical oversight of the former Disney CEO. The answer is yes, but it still won’t appease everyone. This isn’t the huge win that many were hoping for, but it is a win. There’s a lot of fun to be had in First Steps, so much so that it stands alongside the quality of many of the early Marvel films, but it’s not without its problems. Many Marvel fans will enjoy The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but some will inevitably nitpick all the fun out of the film.
About The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Synopsis: Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.
Director: Matt Shakman
Writer(s): Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Kat Wood
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 Hour, 55 Minutes
Releases: July 25, 2025
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
