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Time Magazine
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Sorry, 'First Steps,' But No Fantastic Four Movie Has Lived Up to 'The Incredibles'
The critical consensus on The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that, finally, they made a good Fantastic Four movie. The previous attempts to bring Marvel's First Family to the big screen—a low-budget unreleased Roger Corman movie, a pair of middling films in the '00s, and Josh Trank's universally panned 2015 movie—were all failures, and while First Steps isn't by any means perfect, it's the closest thing we've gotten to a great Fantastic Four movie. Except, that's not really the case, because there was an incredible Fantastic Four movie just over 20 years ago. It just wasn't technically a Fantastic Four movie. The argument that Pixar's 2004 masterpiece The Incredibles is not-so-secretly a Fantastic Four film is hardly a new one, though it seems especially relevant in the wake of the original foursome making a high-profile, high-stakes, and warmly received (or at least warmly enough) entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The similarities between the Incredibles and the Fantastic Four are obvious; both are families of four people who all have superpowers, including one person with the ability to stretch, another who can turn invisible and make forcefields, and a big strong guy. It's not a one-to-one match; Fantastic Four have the Human Torch while The Incredibles' Dash has superspeed. The relations are different, too, as The Incredibles focuses on two parents and their two kids while the Fantastic Four consist of a husband, his wife, his brother-in-law, and his best friend. Brad Bird, who wrote and directed the Pixar film, didn't set out to explicitly make a movie about the Fantastic Four with the serial numbers filed off, and indeed The Incredibles is much more than just that. The Fantastic Four, one of the most famous superhero teams around, are an obvious influence, and there are shades of the X-Men, James Bond-esque spy antics, and Alan Moore's seminal comic Watchmen. (Bird claims he hadn't read Watchmen prior to penning The Incredibles, making it a coincidence that both plots involve superheroes in hiding after the government outlaws vigilantism.) To call The Incredibles a knock-off of any specific superhero story rather than a broad homage is to do the Oscar-winning movie a disservice, especially considering it came out four years before the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the truly modern era of superhero cinema as it exists today. Still, it's the Fantastic Four who seem like the most natural point of comparison to the Incredibles. The makers of the 2005 Fantastic Four movie certainly thought so; there were reports that they had to reshoot the ending of the live-action movie because they worried the cartoon had already outdone them. First Steps almost seems like it's copying The Incredibles; the movie is set in its own corner of the MCU's multiverse on a retro-futuristic world that very much resembles the stylish mid-century modern vibes of The Incredibles. Composer Michael Giacchino provided the music to both films, and in an interview Giacchino admitted that it was a challenge for him to differentiate the two scores. The Incredibles is the secret benchmark that Fantastic Four films need to try to live up to, and it's an incredibly high one. Certainly in the conversation for the title of "Pixar's best film," The Incredibles is a rollicking superhero adventure that also digs deeply into familial dynamics, touching on fears of infidelity, the way marriages change, and the way kids fight with their parents (and each other). Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) misses the thrill of crime-fighting so he goes behind his wife Elastigirl's back and accepts a moonlighting superhero gig. But when his employer, Syndrome (Jason Lee), reveals himself to be a spurned would-be sidekick who now wants to make it so no one is super (except him, of course), Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their kids Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Spencer Fox) must come to his rescue—and get the whole costumed family doing good together. The Incredibles is a remarkably standalone story. All of its influences are just that, influences, rather than homework. You basically just need to know that superhero fiction exists and have the vaguest awareness of the core tropes to enjoy The Incredibles, and even then you'd probably be fine going in with a blank slate. Compare that to The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is going to great lengths to attempt to be a standalone story. Despite being the 37th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—a franchise that is clearly straining under the weight of its own continuity—First Steps takes place in an alternate reality. There are no shared characters, previous plot developments to be aware of, or even any Easter eggs connecting First Steps to the main MCU, and even though the foursome will eventually join the rest of the Avengers in Doomsday, out next year, the film ends without any multiversal voyages. Instead, we meet Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn) four years after they got their superpowers and watch them save the planet (and Reed and Sue's newborn son) from a powerful planet-eater known as Galactus. It's a grander plot than The Incredibles and it's executed more sloppily, but the focus is clearly intended to be on this family rather than a larger cinematic universe. And yet the looming specter of a continuity and questions about how the Fantastic Four fit into the MCU loom over First Steps. Even more oppressive is the sense that, for as much as First Steps tries in its aesthetic and with its marketing to tell audiences that it's a breezy, new kind of superhero movie, First Steps is sweaty. Fantastic Four needed to be good and do really well at the box office to help the MCU recover after an ongoing fallow period in the wake of Avengers: Endgame. It's a crucial pivot for the biggest franchise in the world, a superhero movie that's all-but explicitly tasked with reversing superhero fatigue. Meanwhile, The Incredibles is a breath of fresh air; a superhero movie made before costumed crime-fighters reached total cinematic and cultural saturation. (It helps that The Incredibles was made by Pixar during the studio's golden era that saw some of its best creative output. Marvel Studios, meanwhile, is tired and on the backfoot.) To mix superhero metaphors, the kryptonite of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that it's following in another movie's footsteps. First Steps is a fine enough movie that's under a lot of pressure and scrutiny; The Incredibles is an unburdened masterpiece with similar characters, a similar look, some similar themes, and a similar score. Maybe that's OK, though—another similarity they have is that they're both owned by Disney. You'll be able to watch either of them on Disney+ soon enough.
Geek Tyrant
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Breaks Rotten Tomatoes Curse for Marvel's First Family — GeekTyrant
Marvel Studios just scored a major win. With 130 reviews counted, The Fantastic Four: First Steps holds an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, officially earning the coveted Certified Fresh seal. This marks a huge moment for the MCU and a much-needed victory for the superhero genre. Recent Marvel releases have had mixed results. Thunderbolts* was a critical hit but underperformed at the box office, topping out at $382 million. Captain America: Brave New World faced harsh reviews and barely crossed the $400 million mark worldwide. Against that backdrop, First Steps is a breath of fresh air for the studio. What makes this milestone even more cool is the history behind it. Every previous Fantastic Four film has been critically panned. Tim Story's 2005 take earned a dismal 27%, while its 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer managed only 37%. Then came Josh Trank's infamous 2015 disaster, which crashed and burned at 9%, making it one of the lowest-rated superhero movies of all time. Even Roger Corman's unreleased version, which somehow made it onto Rotten Tomatoes, sits at 33%. This new chapter changes everything. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the first entry produced by Marvel Studios and the only one to score Fresh, let alone Certified Fresh. It's a monumental turnaround for a franchise long considered cursed. The critics' consensus sums it up perfectly: 'Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack at The Fantastic Four does Marvel's First Family justice.' I loved the movie, and I'm looking forward to watching it again! The movie was visually awesome and there area couple of badass action sequences that fans are going to flip over! Galactus was also incredibly cool! You can read my review here. Marvel has actually figured out how to bring Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm to life in a way fans and critics can enjoy and appreciate. This is definitely the beginning of something epic for the MCU as it sets up Avengers: Doomsday , which is going to be insane.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fantastic Four Alum Kate Mara Shares A Lovely Take On Why She's Open To Seeing First Steps
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Kate Mara might have a few regrets about Josh Trank's panned Fantastic Four film. However, she isn't haunted by the 2015 flick, not even a little. A decade after playing Sue Storm in the box office disappointment, the actor is leaning into the future of upcoming Marvel movies and the First Family's 2025 movie schedule entry, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. To that point, Mara shared a sweet take on the notion of seeing Marvel Studios' reboot when it comes out. Kate Mara caught up with THR, during which she opened up about her love of movies, her excitement for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and why the upcoming superhero film doesn't stir up baggage from her time in spandex. When asked if she has any interest in seeing the MCU movie for herself, the former Sue Storm actress responded enthusiastically: I love going to the movies. It's my favorite thing to do, especially with my husband Jamie [Bell] and our kids. We have an 11-year-old. So I'm sure we'll go, especially for a movie like that where you want to see it on a big screen with an audience and popcorn. Absolutely. It's totally different than ours [2015's Fantastic Four], so why not? I really love the cast. I love Pedro Pascal. Yeah, I would totally see the new Marvel. (Laughs.) The House of Cards alum's comments come one month before the 10th anniversary of her film's release and the debut of the latest iteration of the team. First Steps boasts a fantastic cast, including Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who are stepping into the roles of the Fantastic Four. It's sweet for Mara to lend her support to the franchise's newcomers. Kate Mara and husband Jamie Bell -- who played Ben Grimm a.k.a. The Thing -- helped bring these characters to life in the 2015 Fox-produced version of the franchise. However, the Shooter star's response to the new film isn't based on comparison. Her comments to THR suggest that the past doesn't influence her view of the latest movie. What truly matters to her is her love of going to the movies. That's not nothing, especially when you consider how much Josh Trank's Fantastic Four became defined by behind-the-scenes chaos: clashing visions, reshoots, and a director's cut that never saw the light of day. But, through it all, Mara met Jamie Bell, whom she married and started a family with. That chapter has a silver lining for her that has nothing to do with the abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score. Disney+: from $9.99 a month w/ ad-supported planStream 2015's Fantastic Four and other Marvel films using Disney+. There's an ad-supported tier that starts at $9.99 a month, and there's an ad-free option that costs $15.99 a month. Users can also save 16% by paying a total of $159.99 for a whole Deal Kate Mara's perspective is also especially refreshing in a genre that too often eats its own. Superhero actors who don't make it into the Marvel canon usually go quiet or go bitter. The former Sue Storm does neither. It's also easy to understand why Mara would express an interest in seeing the film. The Fantastic Four: First Steps feels like a fresh start for the classic property. With Matt Shakman, who directed WandaVision (streaming with a Disney+ subscription), at the helm, this movie seems set to bring Marvel's famously dysfunctional family into the MCU in a fun way. Expectations are pretty high, especially with Kate Mara giving it the thumbs up (even i it wasn't exactly needed). Still, it adds a nice touch as fans get excited for this reboot. Fans can flock to their local cinemas to see The Fantastic Four: First Steps when it's released on July 25.
