Fantastic Four: First Steps
review by Bobby Blakey
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had its ups and downs since they officially took the world by storm with Iron Man in 2008. All Their flagship characters have been front and center except for one of the earliest in Marvel’s history, the Fantastic Four. Now we are finally getting to see them join the MCU as they kick off Phase six with Fantastic Four: First Steps starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic; Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman; Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, and Julia Garner as the Shalla-Bal version of the Silver Surfer, and Ralph Ineson as Galactus.
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, they are forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus' plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren't bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
I am not the biggest fan of the Fantastic Four in general, but always eager to see more comics come to life. I wasn’t a big fan of all the casting either, but as soon as I saw the first trailer, I was all in. The tone and 60s vibe pulled me in to see something more unique and different than anything we have possibly seen in the MCU. I had theories of where it was all going to go from the trailers and use of the multiverse in the MCU and for the most part was spot on but was really happy with how it all comes together.
The story doesn’t waste time with an origin story but instead does a montage
narration that catches the viewer up and even throws in plenty of easter eggs for hardcore comic fans. It also sets up who they are and what we need to know in this intriguing place they inhabit. The 60s aesthetic and vibe are a whole thing here. They fully embrace it making it a visual feast of greatness that uses the classic style sci-fi to mesh with the time and I loved it. It embraces the absurd in every way to create the perfect balance to introduce Marvel’s first family into the MCU.
One of the biggest missteps of the 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was the insulting version of Galactus. This film smacks you right in the face bringing a fully formed Galactus to epic life the way it was meant to be. He is perfect visually and brings the power of a god to the forefront truly giving this film more stakes as a villain that is essentially unbeatable. The direction they go to take him on is vintage Reed and makes total sense of how they deal with this threat without watering down the power of the character. It could have easily gotten too silly and goofy to watch, but it just works on every level.
The same goes for the heroes themselves. Despite my initial issues with some of the casting and not really feeling Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Thing voice, I was wrong. They are all excellent, bringing the comics’ personalities to life with Reed being distant and self-involved, Johnny and Ben constantly pestering each other and Sue being the voice of reason and glue to them all. They all get their own time to shine and fully match the visuals of their comic counterparts outside of Pascal’s mustache, but it’s fine too.
Of them all it was the Thing that was my favorite. They went all in with his sensitivity and own issues while still allowing him to embrace his life and family. He looks spot on even with the beard that works into the story that is kind of a silly idea but looks pretty awesome. All of their powers are executed greatly and once again fix the issues with Mr. Fantastic’s powers that were so badly used in the previous films. In a bonus element to the film is the addition to one of my favorite actors Paul Walter Hauser who is perfectly cast. While he doesn’t get as much screen time as I would have liked, he steals every scene he shows up in playing an iconic FF character.
This film may not fully fix some of the MCU’s issues as of late, but I loved this film. I think it is one of the better films in their franchise and made me love these characters that I previously didn’t care much about. I look forward to seeing more from them in the future. Per usual there are two after credit sequences with one mid-credit being important to the future of the MCU and the after being fun and silly.
In addition to the film this release offers bonus content including commentary, deleted scenes, gag reel, featurettes and more. Join the first family of Marvel when Fantastic Four: First Steps available now on digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD from Marvel Studios.
In addition to the standard release, they are also special editions from Amazon that offers an exclusive bundle featuring a limited-edition SteelBook® with a custom magnet-front variant cover, five collector cards, and a special The Fantastic Four: First Steps #1 comic making it the ultimate keepsake for fans.
Fans can also bring home the adventure with the Walmart exclusive The Fantastic Four: First Steps pop-up Blu-ray package, featuring a striking slipcover and a dynamic display that springs to life with the team soaring into action in the iconic Fantasticar. This collectible edition pop-up includes the Blu-ray and digital release along with bold, retro-inspired artwork that makes it a must-have for Marvel enthusiasts and collectors alike.
