#REVIEW: “THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS”

Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong

Forget everything you know about 17 years of MCU lore. Fantastic Four: First Steps pushes all of that to the side with a single subtitle: “Earth 828″. For the first time in ages, we’re swept away to a world that isn’t swarming with untold numbers of superheroes. Just four! It’s a refreshing dynamic that inherently raises the stakes. Spider-Man isn’t going to appear in a Deus Ex-style cameo. There will be no references to an overarching, multi-movie subplot about secret Skrulls or Hydra double agents or blah blah blah. We’re even sidestepping an origin story, in line with Superman. Just a quick news reel this time around. The Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), The Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) are fully established in this charmingly retro-future world. After all the multiversal, multi-phased, tv-augmented mythos, it feels good to return to such an elemental story. And Four wastes no time setting up the central, world-ending conflict: Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on his way to devour the whole planet! How will the team use their wits, wiles, and stretchy limbs to stop him?

Fantastic Four‘s greatest strength–a fresh and uncomplicated world all its own–also turns out to be its biggest weakness. There’s a weary, ‘been there done that’ quality to the engine that drives the story. Good-hearted heroes try to stop a giant man who threatens to destroy everything. It’s about as black and white as you can get. Fantastic Four is boilerplate Marvel that begs the question “why?” Aside from introducing another four heroes that haven’t been integrated into the MCU already, why do we need this throwback in 2025, particularly in the shadow of Superman (a movie I also have plenty of issues with, but at least it’s trying something)? Mr. Fantastic is rightfully emblematic of First Steps as a logical, low-energy presence. He cares about his family, and he’ll never stop scribbling on chalkboards to solve any given problem. Why does it feel as though he’s been mandated to have next to no personality?

First Steps isn’t without its charm. Ebon Moss-Bachrach gives a surprisingly warm performance as The Thing, even behind a digital face made of rocks, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) brings a needed, enigmatic quality to Galactus’ arch, planet-chewing villainy. Herbie’s a cute little robot that makes WALL•E sounds and fist-bumps Johnny Storm. There’s an adorable baby. And Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser) is probably the most charismatic character in the Movie—take that for what it’s worth. But at this point in the long and winding history of Comic Book movies, there simply isn’t enough there there. The sum of Fantastic Four feels like a first act, an entre–another promise of a larger, more epic adventure still to come. It doesn’t live up to its intended goal of standalone awesomeness. While it technically ticks-off the boxes of a two-hour heroic battle against a world-ending conflict, I didn’t leave the movie clamouring for more of these four. Fantastic? Maybe not. Fine? Yes.

Walt Disney Studios Canada release THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Friday, July 25, 2025.