The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Directed by Matt Shakman, known for WandaVision, Game of Thrones, and The Great, The Fantastic Four: First Steps gives a fresh spin on the superhero franchise, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the titular characters. The story centers on the team trying to balance saving the world with their family life, as a formidable villain threatens everything.

I liked that the film introduced new versions of these characters who hadn’t appeared in earlier movies as it made the story feel somewhat new. However, the movie started off slow, and I didn’t feel fully invested as things unfolded.

The cast worked well together and shared some entertaining moments, but overall character development was limited. This made it hard to really care about the team or what they were going through.

Some creative choices didn’t work for me, for example, the actor who played Jonny Storm didn’t really suit the blond look; I think he would’ve looked better as a brunette. Additionally, the film tried to include some diversity, but it felt more like an afterthought, and the supporting cast didn’t reflect the richness you’d expect from a fictional big city.

On the positive side, the movie looked great: the costumes and sets managed a stylish mix of futuristic and retro, almost like something out of The Jetsons. The action scenes were fine but not especially memorable, and for a Marvel movie, I expected more excitement.

In the end, The Fantastic Four: First Steps was not particularly engaging compared to all the other superhero movies out there. Honestly, it was just okay. The kind of movie you could easily skip in theaters and just catch later on streaming.