The Fantastic Four: First Steps Movie Review: Marvel rediscovers what makes a hero fantastic
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Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Jessica Alba-Danny Ramirez dating? Who is he, what we know about their relationship
Jessica Alba seems to be enjoying single life, though that may not remain true for the actor for much longer! She has been spotted with Danny Ramirez on quite a few occasions, sending tongues wagging in Hollywood circles. Earlier in July 2025, news surfaced that Jessica Alba had traveled to Cancun with Danny Ramirez.(AFP) The Trigger Warning actor is getting out of a marriage that lasted almost two decades. Alba filed for divorce from Cash Warren on February 7, this year, and the two had tied the knot back in May 2008. The 44-year-old has three children with Warren – daughters Honor and Haven, and son Hayes. Alba was recently seen in a car with Ramirez after a dinner outing in Los Angeles, with the actor sporting a black top, and her companion going for a light-wash denim jacket with a gray baseball cap. Who is Danny Ramirez? Danny Ramirez, 32, is an American actor who plays Joaquin Torres or Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Captain America: Brave New World. He essays the same role in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Ramirez has also appeared in Top Gun: Maverick and HBO's The Last of Us. Interestingly, Alba too played a Marvel character, when she was seen as Sue Storm or Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four, but at that time, the franchise was not with Disney. Are Jessica Alba and Danny Ramirez dating? Alba and Ramirez's many outings would seem to suggest that the two are dating. Apart from the People report that they were spotted after dinner in a car together, TMZ also reported that Alba was seen kissing Ramirez outside his Los Angeles home. Earlier this month, a source had told People things were 'very new' between the two and 'they're having a good time together.' TMZ also reported that Alba had gone to Cancun with Ramirez, and at the time, a source close to the actor said 'She's been getting a lot of attention since the divorce.' 'She's flattered and definitely enjoying being single again, She's gone on some dates, but it's nothing serious — she's focused on herself and her kids. She's not interested in a relationship right now," the source added. Despite what the source is saying, TMZ obtained video also which showed Alba and Ramirez carrying a massive potted orchid plant, which has raised questions of whether the two are interior decorating together, perhaps signaling a new step in the relationship. On the work front, Alba will star alongside Orlando Bloom, for a thriller titled The Mark, which will begin filming in Australia this month.
The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Revives Marvel by Turning Idealism into a Superpower
Yes, I'm as surprised as any of you. Marvel's lacklustre run since Avengers: Endgame (2019) has meant that Kevin Feige has been looking to consolidate for a while. He's been badgered with constant firefighting that's been needed since the sudden passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020 (Black Panther), the abuse allegations against Jonathan Majors, who was playing Kang – supposed to be built up as the next big Marvel villain after Thanos – and the reality-check that Feige got for the female-led films like Black Widow (2020), The Marvels (2023), and a black Captain America (played by Anthony Mackie) – all of which turned out to be disappointments. Coupled with Marvel's strained relations with director Ryan Coogler, actors Scarlet Johansson, Brie Larson, and the two main draws – Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr sitting out (till RDJ was announced to return as Doctor Doom) – it all looked like the cinematic universe was too scattered. But that seemed to take a new turn with Thunderbolts*, which teased reinvention of the Marvel movies with almost a M Night Shyamalan-esque take on a superhero movie. In Matt Shakman's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) goes back to the comic books – something James Gunn tried doing with the new Superman movie as well. The genre seems to have junked the gritty look, in favour of colouful comic book panels. Unlike Superman – which feebly delivers some commentary on Israel-Palestine, I liked that Shakman's film makes no effort at real-world commentary, instead building an alternate version of 1960s America. By doing so it moves away from the cynicism, showcasing a world that still hasn't given up on decency. After three relatively forgettable attempts to launch the characters through two different casts, Shakman fully commits to the comic book movie look by making the indoor scenes look like a family-friendly sitcom, and rooting in something 'real': parental anxiety. A still from 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.' In the film's first scene, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) tells Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) that they're going to be parents soon. The good news, the excitement around which quadruples after the couple tell their brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and best friend, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), is followed by bouts of self-doubt. Pascal is excellent in the way he shapes Reed Richards around a person constantly grappling between cold logic and the less logical sentiments. Moss-Bachrach brings a lot of his breakout role Richie (in the FX series, The Bear) into Ben Grimm. Blessed with an atypical appearance, Grimm effortlessly plays the doting uncle, helping Sue through her pregnancy. Quinn refuses to play Johnny Storm as a dull jock, like Chris Evans did in the 2000s, instead finding a more nuanced version of the character. Quinn plays Storm in a way where he's well-aware of his reputation as a daredevil womaniser, one he constantly keeps fighting around his team-members to showcase he's more than that. A still from 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.' Vanessa Kirby is excellent and in my opinion one of the highlights of the film, blurring the lines between a female superhero and a first-time mother. It reminded me of another one of Kirby's films, Pieces of a Woman (2020) – a bleaker look at a woman expecting her firstborn. I loved the energy of a mother willing to do everything to protect her child, harnessed into The Invisible Woman – a more cliched, but still a classical storytelling trope imbued into Kirby's character. It was a more defined character than the versions played by Jessica Alba and Kate Mara. What I truly enjoyed about The Fantastic Four: First Steps is how it didn't seem to be trying to cater to the larger Marvel universe, with unnecessary Easter Eggs (except for a mid-credit scene). It tells a coherent story, which doesn't need to use the MCU as a crutch for its own muddled telling. The four superheroes are already hailed and celebrated when Shakman's film opens, and through a superb stretch even beginners are told about how they came to be. A team of astronauts sent to space after being exposed to cosmic rays, develop superhuman ability. They use these powers to save the world against extra-terrestrial entities. Until one day, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) shows up to tell them that Earth has been chosen by Galactus (Ralph Ineson) as the next planet he's going to feed on. I loved Garner's mournful delivery, making her Silver Surfer almost this reluctant ally to this space God with an insatiable hunger. Ineson, who has spent his career playing characters from the beyond in The Green Knight (2021) and Nosferatu (2025) more recently, is adequately intimidating as Galactus. A still from 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.' It has the usual Marvel contrivances in its climax, something I've come to expect from such films. But to my surprise, it doesn't overstay its welcome at 116 minutes, and deftly moves from one plot point to the next. As hard as it is to take sermons from films cynically propped as a part of an assembly line to deliver manifold profits, I was surprised to find myself moved by the idealism in Shakman's film. By harking back to an era, when the world was on the brink of space exploration, the film recreates the wonder of a time when the future looked promising. There were challenges even then, but somehow we were naive enough to believe that we could break out of our cyclical lust for power. The film reiterates American author Margaret Mead's lines: 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world' during a key scene. If nothing else, The Fantastic Four: First Steps pictures a world when we're still kind to one another, and apathy hasn't taken over. The hope hasn't been extinguished, even if it's in a fantasy superhero film in 2025.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
The Fantastic Four First Steps box office collection day 3: MCU film scores Rs 20 cr opening weekend in India, can't match up to Superman, F1
After James Gunn's Superman, Matt Shakman's The Fantastic Four: First Steps proves superheroes are here to stay. The Marvel film earned Rs 20.1 crore over its opening weekend at the Indian box office. While it opened on Friday at Rs 5.5 crore, it saw an increase on Saturday at Rs 7.35 crore and a slight dip on Sunday at Rs 7.25 crore across all four languages — English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. The opening weekend collection of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in India isn't bad, but it pales in comparison to that of other recent Hollywood tentpoles. Superman, starring David Corenswet as the titular DC superhero, earned over Rs 25 crore, whereas Joseph Kosinski's action thriller F1 collected over Rs 21 crore at the Indian box office in its opening weekend. The first film about the Fantastic Four made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co, also earned $118 million in North America during its first weekend. That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, and Superman, and the biggest Marvel opening since Deadpool & Wolverine grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, Fantastic Four made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut. The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's Superman, which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically in the US. Jurassic World Rebirth landed in third place in its fourth weekend with $13 million, followed by F1 with $6.2 million. The Brad Pitt racing movie also passed $500 million globally. Smurfs rounded out the top five with $5.4 million in its second weekend. First Steps is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lacklustre performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhumans from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission. The family is made up of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal(, who can stretch his body to incredible lengths; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who transforms into a fiery human torch; and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who possesses tremendous superhuman strength with his stone-like flesh. The movie takes place four years after the family gained powers, during which Reed's inventions have transformed technology, and Sue's diplomacy has led to global peace. The once towering Marvel is working to rebuild audience enthusiasm for its films and characters. Its two previous offerings this year did not reach the cosmic box office heights of Deadpool & Wolverine, which made over $1.3 billion, or those of the Avengers-era. But critically, the films have been on an upswing since the poorly reviewed Captain America: Brave New World, which ultimately grossed $415 million worldwide. Thunderbolts*, which jumpstarted the summer movie season, was better received critically, but financially is capping out at just over $382 million globally. Also Read: Fantastic Four post-credits scene was directed by Russo brothers on Avengers Doomsday set, director Matt Shakman reveals Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four characters had been under the banner of 20th Century Fox for years. The studio produced two critically loathed, but decently profitable attempts in the mid-2000s with future Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch. In 2015, it tried again (unsuccessfully) with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. They got another chance after Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets in 2019.
