Everyone wants to keep saying ‘comic book movies are back’, ‘the mcu is back’ and so forth and when everyone keeps saying it every single time a new superhero movie comes out, it sort of loses its meaning. Does this mean that Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four: First Steps is not good, absolutely not – because it is in fact great – but so was Thunderbolts so they’re certainly not ‘back’ they just changed the formula they had going for so long to something different, and frankly refreshing, which makes the new Fantastic Four movie the *best* Fantastic Four movie thankfully, only took them four iterations which is hilariously coincidental.
Thankfully, Fantastic Four: First Steps does not give us a back story of character’s we’ve had two first features for and a television show – we know who the Fantastic Four are, we don’t need to see them nearly blow up in space again. The movie takes place on Earth 828 (not the Earth the rest of the MCU is based in, but also it’s a clever play on Jack Kirby’s birthday). The core four, Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon-Moss Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn respectfully) have been doing the superhero shindig for 4 years now and they got it down pretty well, they have their nemesis but they’ve earned the trust of New York City and there isn’t much they cannot handle, even with the intrepid and dastardly Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser).
Eventually we find out that Reed and Sue managed to accomplish something that they thought was seemingly impossible, they got pregnant and they’re nothing shy of overjoyed. However, this celebration comes to a screeching halt when the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) comes to Earth and informs the planet and the Fantastic Four specifically that their planet has been marked for death by the God Galactus (Ralph Ineson) which sets off a interstellar race between the Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and Galactus to ensure that humanity is saved, but Galactus proves to be the largest threat against humanity and the Fantastic Four ever seen before.
What makes Fantastic Four: First Steps work is having Matt Shakman directing, and Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Ian Springer and Jeff Kaplan penning the script. Shakman who directed Wandavision proves he can do period pieces again and brings to life characters that are beloved and gives them a new vision, direction, and not held down by MCU world boundaries as this movie takes place in a different world on a different universal plane. While Friedman, Pearson, Springer and Kaplan create a world for the Fantastic Four to finally flourish in, giving them their biggest challenge to date, and ensuring that the biggest threat to humanity is not going to be the end all of humanity. This is all thankfully balanced by the best ensemble for these characters to date.
Now, there is no arguing Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd were not great in their roles nearly 20 years ago, but the movie still lacked something. The chemistry shared between Quinn, Bachrach, Kirby and Pascal is simply electric, these are four people who just get each other, are there for one another through thick and thin and whatever tribulations they’ve been through have been resolved because their chemistry and ability to work with one another is undeniable. Bringing forth a strong ensemble is critical to make a movie like Fantastic Four work, and while these may not be their official first steps as a team, this is one giant leap in the right direction for a new age of superheroes to take the thrown and eventually battle the incomparable Doctor Doom.
