Jay Rohr
The Fantastic Four: First Steps can’t quite find its feet. There’s a strong cast who could’ve conveyed the emotional depth the film wants to have. Most of the special effects are high quality. This is especially true when it comes to the movie’s retrofuturism that provides a marvelous aesthetic. Yet watching it, one starts to wonder how something so carefully crafted is full of cracks.
Audiences join the story already in progress. The Fantastic Four have been a functional group of global protectors for years. The intrepid astronaut quartet who set out into space, only to be altered by cosmic rays, have settled into their lives as superheroes. Reed Richards and Sue Storm (Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby) are about to endure the trials and tribulations of parenthood. However, before that adventure can begin, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) declares Earth is next on the menu for the planet-devourer Galactus. There seems little hope for the world unless the Fantastic Four can figure out how to defeat this cosmic entity.
Starting in media res feels like a great idea for these characters. It should allow the film to hit the ground running. The problem is a combination of audiences being unlikely to fully know the backstory going in on their own as well as filmmakers being obviously aware of that. The Fantastic Four: First Steps doesn’t so much skip the origin story so much as shave it down to an extended montage at the beginning.
This would be great if it were visually consistent. However, it’s a combination of faux news footage and what seem like cinematic flashbacks. This allows for some tasty easter eggs as the movie speeds through backstory. Yet, it also introduces the main problem with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Most of the movie is composed of montages leaping through time. The result is the sense of watching a compilation of the best parts from a longer television series. The Fantastic Four: First Steps keeps skipping to the next setup, sometimes months later, rather than letting a moment turn into any worthwhile payoff. Consequently, there’s the impression of ideas for bigger themes which never carry any emotional relevance throughout the overall film.
Part of this stems from the movie beginning in what is essentially the middle. Whatever dramatic baggage is motivating the characters at this point is implied rather than explored. Comic book fans familiar with the material will automatically add these details on their own. Casual viewers may wonder what the point of anything is, other than setting up material for the next MCU movie.
This negatively affects the action as well. Though the few small action sequences the film delivers are wonderful eye candy, they rarely have any engaging stakes. Each event has an obvious outcome on the horizon, and nothing exceptionally thrilling occurs. The result is as bland as a bad fireworks display at a high school halftime show. That said, at risk of spoilers, I do commend this comic book movie for not having any kind of sky beam.
Aesthetically the movie is absolutely wonderful. Retrofuturism really gives The Fantastic Four: First Steps a unique look that marvelously sets it apart from other MCU pictures. There’s an attention to detail that is spectacular, implying a wider world at every turn. The only downside is how little the film lingers on some of these aspects. Sometimes director Matt Shakman doesn’t even bother to put these elements fully in frame. Having cut his teeth primarily on television programs like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and WandaVision, maybe he’s too locked into the aspect ratio for smaller screens to realize he could include more of the surrounding imagery.
Still, The Fantastic Four: First Steps does come across as a vibrant, lived in world. That’s why how little it’s explored seems like a lost opportunity. There’re hints of grander themes the movie never comes anywhere near utilizing effectively. For instance, this world, specifically Earth-828, is presented as abundantly optimistic and there’s a suggestion that stems from the actions of the Fantastic Four. The main crux of the current story then touches on what happens when the idealists holding up the world falter — the loss of faith in superheroes.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps goes nowhere with this idea except for the setup to a patronizing monologue delivered by Vanessa Kirby. Notions of what it’s like to be a superhero in the public eye, to be new parents, to go from smartest man on Earth to not having all the answers — nothing gets much more than a wink and a nod. It’s like the themes are screaming fans at a rock concert begging for attention, believing the icons on stage are waving right at them, but they’re not. Welcome to the show; nobody cares you’re here.
The cast is solid throughout given the little material they’re supposed to deliver. None of the characters really have any personalities. Each is basically one or at the luckiest, two notes played from start to finish.
Vanessa Kirby (Hobbs & Shaw) probably gets the most character depth which she handles well enough when she isn’t vamping. Pedro Pascal (Freaky Tales) is mostly just strained pensive throughout. Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) adds nothing to Johnny Storm except a physical body. Meanwhile, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) sounds like someone at a table reading halfheartedly rehearsing rather than giving the role enough feeling to care about anything he says. Although, I do like his choice to play Benn Grimm as a softspoken rather than gruff individual. Paul Walter Hause (Queenpins) steals his few scenes as Mole Man, easily the best character in the whole movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps delivers some amazing montages. Unfortunately, that’s all the movie is. It’s mostly this collage of clips that want to be funny but aren’t scrambled together with serious moments that induce more yawns than emotions. This film will likely appeal to comic book fans the most, but it’s hard to envision anyone else caring.
