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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Review: An Instant MCU Classic
The Fantastic Four hasn't been able to catch a break. They were the first Marvel superhero team created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and with a comic legacy this 'fantastic,' you'd think it would be easy to create a good movie about them, especially during the 21st-century boom of superhero cinema. For decades, filmmakers have tried to make a great movie about Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, but whether it's 1994, 2005, 2007, or 2015, it seems like critics will always ridicule these movies…until now, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Matt Shakman, who previously stepped into the MCU to direct WandaVision, brings us back to the Baxter Building for a charming reimagining of this family of superheroes. Since the Fantastic Four movies we've gotten up until now haven't been hits with critics or audiences, it's about time that we get an FF movie that's really good. First Steps manages to be a stunning reboot of the Fantastic Four series, set in an alternate universe named Earth-828 and nestled perfectly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A new set of actors step into the shoes and spandex of this stupendous superhero team in a movie that manages to be an instant Marvel classic. After an old-timey Marvel Studios logo, we meet Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. Sue has just discovered she is pregnant, and we watch this married couple react to this news. Pascal and Kirby have a natural chemistry that you instantly buy into. We're also introduced to Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Much like this year's Superman film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not an origin story. We enter this world at a point where the characters have already gone to outer space and received their superpowers, and they've been Earth-828's mightiest heroes for four years. It's a wise choice to start with our heroes at this stage. We get an expository recap of how they got their powers, what their first few years as heroes look like, and we move into our main story. It's a lot quicker, and since we've seen their origins before, it's best to dive right in. The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives and heralds the arrival of the planet-devouring cosmic being, Galactus (Ralph Ineson). The Fantastic Four must protect Earth from his wrath, but Galactus drives quite a hard bargain. Firstly, this is a wonderful cast. When Pascal was cast, some had their reservations about him. People felt like he was miscast, and others were simply tired of seeing him. In the past three months, he's appeared in Freaky Tales, The Last of Us, Materialists, and Eddington, which was released merely a week before The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But he's a booked and busy actor for a reason; he's really good. He's a perfect Reed Richards. Every bit of his performance demonstrates Reed's intelligence and his constant stress, getting pulled in endless directions both figuratively and literally. Kirby has been around action franchises for years, with her work in Mission: Impossible and Fast & Furious. She brings an exceptional amount of humanity to Sue Storm, playing her with a lot more depth than previous film adaptations allowed her. She's a new mother who cares so deeply for her child, and she also happens to be incredibly powerful. Quinn has been making his mark on Hollywood lately with his roles in A Quiet Place: Day One, Gladiator II, and Warfare. He brings the right amount of humor and swagger to Johnny. Moss-Bachrach, who audiences will recognize from The Bear, Girls, and Andor, won me over right away with a scene in which he lifts up a car to entertain some schoolchildren. I also want to talk about the production design because it's genuinely phenomenal. We first got a hint of what a Marvel movie set in an alternate universe would look like in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But that movie only pushes it as far as, 'you go when the traffic light is red.' The Fantastic Four: First Steps builds a retro-futuristic world that you want to stay in. It perfectly combines mind-blowing sci-fi inventions with analog tech. It's like stepping into the world of The Jetsons with a Marvel-ous twist. Something I want to give Marvel praise for is that they're not afraid to shake things up. This year, we've gotten a political thriller in Captain America: Brave New World and a ragtag team of misfits in Thunderbolts. This movie also feels wholly unique. It's not as action-driven as many other superhero films. While there are a few fun action sequences (the final act is a standout), this movie is mainly driven by the characters. Our villain, Galactus, isn't on screen for most of the film, but the main conflict comes from the choices the characters need to make, and their goal to get the entire world to unite and fight for their survival. While The Fantastic Four: First Steps does a good job with its characters, I think they could have pushed the character conflicts a bit further. There's one scene where Reed and Sue are standing outside with their baby, and a tough choice awaits them both. It's snowing, and the scene is visually beautiful. They share a tender moment, and it would have been the best scene in the entire film if it had lasted a bit longer. The dialogue always gets the job done, but like many MCU movies, they don't always leave the strongest impact. It's always great to see these four heroes teaming up to fight a villain. This movie takes on a similar conflict as the 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which also featured the Silver Surfer and Galactus as antagonists. This movie does a much better job, particularly with Galactus. Ineson's performance is magnificent, and this villain truly feels massive. You can't miss this movie in IMAX, particularly for his scenes. You feel the scale of this villain, unlike many other superhero villains. He's so much larger than our heroes that you have to wonder how the hell they're going to survive taking him on. With Jess Hall's stunning cinematography and a pitch-perfect musical score from Michael Giacchino, Marvel has a hit on their hands. This is a grand, marvelous movie that feels wholly unique. It's uncharted territory for the studio, and even if it is another superhero movie with some of the classic humor and action you expect, it feels like a new flavor of MCU that we haven't tried yet. If I were to judge this movie like a character in the 2015 Fantastic Four movie, I'd say The Fantastic Four: First Steps is…fantastic. Say that again? It's fantastic. SCORE: 8/10 As ComingSoon's review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to 'Great.' While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact. Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our The Fantastic Four: First Steps review. The post The Fantastic Four: First Steps Review: An Instant MCU Classic appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Solve the daily Crossword
UPI
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Movie review: Confusing tone hinders 'Fantastic Four: First Steps'
1 of 5 | From left, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn are the new "Fantastic Four," in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Marvel July 22 (UPI) -- The Fantastic Four: First Steps, in theaters Friday, is a confusing reintroduction of the comic book superheroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Failing to balance its tone, the movie is just no fun. The movie opens with Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) already four years into being The Fantastic Four. So it is not their "first steps" at all. The title also alludes to Sue and Reed's baby, but it's hardly more relevant to him. In fact, a TV montage of the team's past adventures features scenes that look like they're from a much more fun movie. It also covers how a space accident rendered the four team members with super powers. On Earth 828, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) brings word that Galactus (Ralph Ineson) will devour the planet and nothing can be done. So the Fantastic Four try to figure out how to negotiate with and/or stop Galactus. It appears to be the 1960s on Earth 828, although a date is never given. It could be that the world just features '60s-style architecture and technology, and that those rock n' roll oldies are the current top 40. Most of the Marvel movies take place on Earth 199999. The idea of a retro-futuristic Fantastic Four sounds fun. Reed has a robot assistant named Herbert, uses reel-to-reel cassettes, and their Times Square has a bunch of fake movie and Broadway billboards, paired with the real Coca-Cola and Pan Am. It's not really a period piece though, because the setting is not the actual historical '60s. It's just the Marvel aesthetic with some retro veneers. The plot of First Steps rarely has fun with these concepts. The main story is about, once again, the fate of the entire world and the pressure on the Fantastic Four as the only Earthlings powerful enough to possibly stop Galactus. Ben and Johnny's occasional good zingers don't balance out the fact that the film strives to be epic, monumental and important. Galactus' plot involves Reed and Sue's baby. Say what one will about Star Wars' Darth Vader, but when he blew up an entire planet he didn't single out any babies. Of the four iterations of The Fantastic Four on screen, only the 2005 movie and its sequel seemed to realize the franchise is supposed to be fun. They might not have always succeeded, but the intention was correct. Even the unreleased Roger Corman production can be forgiven for working with what they had. The last two reboots had all the resources of major studios and went for a gravitas that doesn't work in either of those adaptations. When Galactus reaches New York it's far less impressive than a Godzilla or King Kong movie. He lacks the animalistic personality of those creatures, so he's just generically going through the motions. The cast commits to what little they've been given. Reed is burdened more with his vast intellect than his stretching abilities. Ben just wants to be friendly despite his girth and power as a rock monster. Quinn's Johnny is much tamer than Chris Evans' depiction in the 2005 version, which he reprised in a Deadpool & Wolverine cameo. Perhaps Evans pushed the PG-13 too far for Disney's comfort so they held Quinn back. As the Human Torch, there are no consequences for Johnny flaming on indoors. The Silver Surfer has the most presence, not just because of her alien appearance but due to Garner's body language too. Sue is left mostly to scolding the boys, unfortunately, so Kirby is the most underserved. This iteration of Fantastic Four will appear in The Avengers: Doomsday, as confirmed by a mid-credits scene set four years later. Maybe these characters will play well with the others, but on their own the clash of tonal elements brings down the vibe. Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
Scotsman
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: 'a blast'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Fantastic Four: First Steps (12A) ★★★★ Every Marvel movie these days seems to inspire a referendum on all Marvel movies, so with The Fantastic Four: First Steps the studio has smartly gone back to the drawing board, leaning into Jack Kirby's original iteration of the titular superhero family in a big way to eliminate the convolutions of the 36-film-deep Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Fantastic Four: First Steps | MARVEL STUDIOS In other words, it's set in a completely different timeline from the previous films, one that resembles Earth – specifically 1960s New York – but doesn't have the likes of Captain America running around forcing viewers to try to remember which bit of mythology lines up with which plot point (the timeline is actually announced as Earth 828, which comic book aficionados will know is a reference to Kirby's birthday and the name he gave this parallel universe in the comics). If that already sounds confusing, though, just know that the film stands on its own two feet as it deftly sketches out the backstory for Marvel's first superhero team and, in the process, ends up feeling like the first Fantastic Four film that actually understands the characters (there have been four previous attempts, including a never released Roger Corman cheapie). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fuelled by the optimism of the 1960s moon shot, the film's opening salvo, for instance, is a sparky bit of superhero myth-making that quickly explains the astronauts-hit-by-radiation origins of the Fantastic Four's superpowers while a montage of news-clips – beautifully rendered in the kind of fuzzy 16mm film stock style familiar from countless NASA documentaries from the time – shows how quickly Dr Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) have embraced their respective superhero alter-egos as the elastic Mr Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the fiery Human Torch and the rock-like Thing, to become protectors of the people. Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four: First Steps | MARVEL STUDIOS Like DC's recent Superman reboot, it doesn't waste time explaining every aspect of their transformation either; instead it makes sly use of the the actual 1960s Fantastic Four cartoon show to provide a neat contrast between their idealised public image and their more complicated private lives, upping the personal stakes by having Reed and Sue realise they're going to have a baby. This is the film's plot kicker. Secretly worried their unborn child will have genetic anomalies they won't be able to control, their parental anxieties are exacerbated by the arrival of classic Fantastic Four villain the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and the imminent threat posed by the planet-gobbling villain Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) when he takes an undue interest in the super-baby growing in Sue's womb.
CNET
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Review: Phenomenal Visuals and Heart-Centered Story Will Satisfy Fans
Welcome to Phase 6 of the MCU, Marvel fans. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is finally here with impeccable visuals that feel like a hymn to Jack Kirby's original vision for this universe and its characters. From the opening credits sequence to its retrofuturistic style and immersive deep space scenes, the imagery is vividly brought to life, directly from the pages of the Galactus comic book trilogy and the early aughts of Kirby's Fantastic Four cartoon run. The Fantastic Four: First Steps officially hits theaters on July 25 as a prerequisite-free story set on Earth-828. Heavy on the sci-fi and tender family dynamic, the film gives us just a little something different in a genre that coasts on the fate-of-the-world-hinges-on-the-decisions-of-its-heroes trope. Kevin Feige has made a point of reminding us that Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ben Grimm/Thing, and Johnny Storm/Torch are Marvel's First Family, and this movie delivers on the authenticity of their bond that makes this a fun -- though sometimes imperfect -- watch. They are connected. And Galactus and the Silver Surfer are treats for comic book fans who worried about their live-action rendering. Serving as an introduction to the Four, the film opens with married couple Reed and Sue having a very human, very everyday conversation in their bathroom, where the pair shares a sweet moment about Sue's new pregnancy. Pedro Pascal is a mature and thoughtful Reed whose combination of scientific genius and a guilty conscience makes him more than the stoic character he's typically known to be. Vanessa Kirby plays a confident and emotionally intelligent Sue, who's equal parts sister, wife and kickass superpowered astronaut/mama bear. Once Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) learn the baby news, it's clear this is a family who loves and protects each other. First Family also means family first. Establishing the family's stakes is core to the narrative because when Julia Garner's Silver Surfer drops down to Earth to herald "his beginning" and mark the planet for death by Galactus, everyone is, and should be, alarmed. What does that mean for the world, its designated protectors and the baby? Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal, aka Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Marvel Studios No one knows much about Galactus, and the audience is along for the ride as the team works to figure that out. You've undoubtedly heard some references to The Jetsons, and the technology in this movie -- and H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot -- is intriguing and used to tackle mundane problems and harder stuff like learning about the universe and Galactus. No, it's not like what you've seen in Wakanda or Loki, and the '60s vibes allow for some cool gadgets and the First Family's vehicle. This version of New York City and the rest of the planet is excitingly unlike anything we've seen in the MCU, and you'll appreciate that. Though the Fantastic Four's backstory is quickly highlighted through vibrant flashbacks and discussions about how they obtained their abilities on a mission gone wrong, it's not clear if there were any global threats and villains (like Red Ghost) before they became superheroes and Earth's assigned guardians. That's a sticky point for me. What is evident, however, is that they've never encountered anyone like Galactus, and he's frightening enough to warrant an emergency trip back to space. It's a trip worth taking for viewers. The sights and sounds of the cosmos are abundant and beautiful, and honestly, my favorite scenes in the film are in space. Traveling through stars and wormholes in this MCU story felt immersive, and the Four's attempt to reason with a planet-eating god saw them step into his turf. It's vast, eerie and beautiful. But the first shot of Galactus is both colossal and comic-book accurate. Their first meeting doesn't go as one would hope when Sue and Reed refuse to hand over their child in exchange for sparing the planet, and a cascade of lively action sequences and urgency soon follows. Watching the Human Torch set things on fire and the whole gang take on Silver Surfer -- in outer space -- not only gives us a taste of the danger they face, but also lets each character shine as part of a family of intelligent superhumans who care deeply about each other. The Invisible Woman and the Silver Surfer are not to be toyed with, and you will know that. But what about their decision not to give up their baby to save the world? Is it selfish? Is it right or wise? Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. Marvel Studios It's nice to see heroes admit that they don't know how they're going to handle impending doom -- the possibility that the world will be obliterated. Like every other human on Earth, Reed and Sue want themselves and their baby to be healthy and safe. Everyone is on edge, and for a while, you're on edge, too. Science and cooperation underscore the events leading up to the film's climax and battle of battles. What we know is that Galactus wants to snack on the planet, and this is next on the list. We still don't learn much about his origins or motivations, but it serves as the great big bad for this story and gives these charismatic, heart-first heroes a chance to show off their powers and humanity. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a safe, PG-13 movie that the whole family can watch that doesn't offer up the levels of violence, sadness or dread we've experienced in releases like Daredevil, Guardians of the Galaxy or Multiverse of Madness. Though the plot sometimes ventures into predictability, the 1960s aesthetic set in a world separate from the saga of Earth-616 is a welcome and solid addition to the MCU that helps chart the way for what's to come in Phase 6. Make sure to watch the post-credits scenes for some more Marvel hints and Easter eggs.
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie review – Marvel's original superhero team returns
4/5 stars 'I will eat your planet slowly while your child watches.' So says Galactus, the world-destroying entity – and enemy – of The Fantastic Four in Marvel's latest offering. As lines go, it is one of the better put-downs in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) history, and Galactus – aka The Devourer of Worlds – is arguably the best villain since Thanos clicked his fingers . All this adds real bite to this big-screen return for the superhero team created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a stylish work from director Matt Shakman, who brings the same retro-cool aesthetics to this as he did to the Marvel TV show WandaVision. Play Far superior to the two Fantastic Four films from the early aughts, as well as 2015's previous reboot – all of which First Steps overrides without a thought – this new reboot/restart brings us a whole new cast, one that is destined to become integral to next year's anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. Set on Earth 828, an alternate to our own planet, the film begins with a rapid-fire intro that reveals it has been four years since a quartet of astronauts returned from a space mission, their DNA changed by a cosmic turbulence that has given them superpowers.
