The Fantastic Four: First Steps

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on August 7, 2025.

(PG) ★★★★

Director: Matt Shakman.

Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson.

"We can't float here all day playing Frogger, you know?"

So they finally made a good Fantastic Four movie.

The reasons the previous films failed are varied but they're particularly obvious when you look at this slick MCU entry. The characters are compelling and share chemistry, the retro-space age production design sparkles, the zippy story wastes no time doing what it does, and the large-scale stakes feature a fascinating moral conundrum at their heart.

You can probably shave a star off this review if you're not a hardcore comic-book nerd or you're suffering from a severe case of "superhero fatigue". But even with that star gone (devoured by Galactus perhaps), this is still a fun romp that leans into its old-school vibe in a very contemporary blockbuster way.

A very short set-up condenses the origin story into an easily digestible clip show, before the film launches us into the FF's reality - there's a baby on the way, but so is the world-eating Galactus. It's up to the Fantastic Four to save the day, but it won't be so easy this time.

As with the best of the MCU, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is simultaneously true to the source material while also playing fast and loose with those same sources. So we get a version of the original Coming Of Galactus arc, but with plenty of enjoyable twists, including a baby, a variation on the traditional Silver Surfer, and a neat ethical dilemma. It keeps things fresh and interesting for the hardcore Marvelites, while bringing in plenty of good fodder for newcomers.

In fact, First Steps is purpose-built for newcomers. Unlike other recent MCU entries (especially Thunderbolts* and to a lesser degree Captain America: Brave New World), no prior watching is required. The film stands alone, making it a perfect re-entry point for people who lost track of/interest in the MCU anywhere between Iron Man 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. 

Compared to the other FF films, Sue Storm and Reed Richards have actual chemistry for the first time,  courtesy of Kirby and Pascal, who make for a believable couple. The added bonus is that Sue is finally the truly powerful badass and Reed is the flawed genius the comics books have turned them into.

Meanwhile, Johnny Storm (Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Moss-Bachrach) are surprisingly low-key, almost to the point of being underwritten. Grimm gets a love interest sub-plot that goes nowhere, and his quiet moments also feel kinda pointless. Arguably the most complex of the Four, the explorations of his character are too subtle, bordering on non-existent. Michael Chiklis' version from the 2005/2007 films proves much more interesting. Lesser versions of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm aren't deal-breakers, but it's an intriguing choice to downplay two such characters, who are more like bickering brothers in the comics and the '05/'07 movies.

The biggest criticism overall is that the film could do with taking a breath every now and then. It's a fast-paced, compact two hours of cinema, which is a relief in these days of bloated blockbusters, but First Steps feels relentless at times. 

Still, there's a lot to love about this '60s throwback. It sparkles where other FF adaptions haven't, most notably in its power couple of Reed and Sue, but its script is sharp and makes the Four feel like they're really part of a bigger world. Maybe there are a couple of mis-steps along the way, but this is one of the more fun and inviting MCU entries in a long time.