This standalone Marvel adventure is a fun and vibrant breath of fresh air that should win back viewers who’ve drifted away from the MCU, while also providing an exciting new direction for long-time fans.

Premise: The Fantastic Four – astronauts Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) – have been protecting their retro-futuristic parallel Earth for four years, since an accident during a space exploration mission left them with unexpected superpowers. But the arrival of a mysterious silver alien (Julia Garner) heralding the approach of a planet-destroying entity known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson) tests the team to its limits.

Review:

It's not much of a compliment to say that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the best Fantastic Four film so far. The 2005 Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (which, ironically, covers some of the same plot threads as First Steps) both had their moments, but they were generally quite corny and one-dimensional, while the less said about the terrible 2015 reboot "Fant4stic", the better. But First Steps isn’t just a great film in comparison to those earlier versions – it’s a fun and vibrant new take on the material regardless of whether or not you’ve seen the earlier versions (which I have) or read the original comics (which I haven’t). The film is also, in effect, a completely standalone movie within the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe because it’s set on its own, separate, parallel Earth – which means that viewers who feel that the MCU has become too bogged down in backstory can jump on board this accessible ride with absolutely no pre-knowledge required.

One of the best decisions that director Matt Shakman (who directed one of Marvel’s best TV shows, WandaVision) and the other filmmakers made was to make the world of the Fantastic Four – Earth 828 – so visually distinct from the main MCU world (Earth 616). Although Deadpool & Wolverine was also (largely) set in its own parallel world (Earth 10005), that world (like Earth 616) was all but indistinguishable from our “real world” – but in contrast, the Fantastic Four’s world could not be more different. Adopting a 60’s-style, retro-futuristic sci-fi design aesthetic for the whole movie, the world building in First Steps is incredible, and while certain aspects can perhaps feel cheesy when seen out of context in some of the marketing (such as the flying “FantastiCar”), everything works brilliantly in the context of the movie itself.

“…the performances blow all of the previous versions out of the water…”

The other stroke of genius on the part of the filmmakers is the casting. Now I don’t want to throw shade on any of the actors involved in the previous Fantastic Four films, because they’ve all done great work elsewhere, and the problems with those films almost certainly lay with the scripts – but the portrayals of the Fantastic Four in this version blow all of the previous performances out of the water.

On paper, Reed Richards can sometimes come across as an uninteresting, overly-perfect character (he’s acknowledged to be ‘the smartest person in the world’ in the comics) – but Pedro Pascal makes him a complicated, interesting character by drawing out his various personality flaws. This version of the character is still ‘the smartest man in the world’, but that’s a burden as much as a gift, because Reed Richards feels personally responsible for every wrong that he’s unable to right. At points he’s nearly crippled by his sense of guilt and responsibility, and he also lacks the emotional intelligence to interact with people and the public in the way that he means to (although never explicitly mentioned, I was definitely left with the impression that Reed was played as being neurodivergent and on the autism spectrum), all of which makes him a fascinating and surprisingly sympathetic character.

“…Vanessa Kirby is allowed to showcase Sue Storm’s leadership qualities…”

Sue Storm, on the other hand, has often felt underserved in previous versions, especially as her powers are arguably the least visually dynamic. But here, Vanessa Kirby is allowed to showcase Sue’s leadership qualities, to the extent that she’s not only portrayed as an important political figure (in the opening sequence, it’s explained that she helped to broker a critical peace agreement), but in my mind, she’s also the de facto leader of the Fantastic Four. Reed may be the scientific brains of the operation, but Sue has all of the leadership abilities that Reed is lacking.

Similarly, Johnny Storm has previously been shown as little more than a wisecracking ‘hothead’, and I was often left wondering why (outside of straight-up nepotism!) he would have been selected for the original space mission that gave them their powers. But Joseph Quinn‘s version of Johhny is given opportunities to show off his brain as well as his brawn, and while there’s still the core playfulness that’s fundamental to his character, he’s also shown knuckling down to the hard work and putting his life on the line without hesitation when needed.

“…Ebon Moss-Bachrach brings his character to life in his quieter moments…”

The toughest character to play in any Fantastic Four movie is Ben Grimm, because you’re either under a mountain of prosthetics or you’re a CGI character, but Ebon Moss-Bachrach manages to bring the character to life in his quieter moments, whether that’s around a family dinner table with Sue Storm, or during a heart-to-heart conversation with his best friend Reed Richards (which was one of the highlights of the movie). He’s also the only one shown interacting with the people in his local community, establishing him as the most grounded member of the team. Whereas other versions have, at least to some degree, focused on Ben’s sense of self-loathing at being trapped with his monstrous form, the decision to set this film four years after the accident in space means that Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s version of the character is much more at peace with himself, which was a nice difference.

The rest of the supporting cast shine in small but interesting roles. Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson play the largely CGI characters Shalla-Bal (aka the Silver Surfer) and Galactus, but both do a great job of bringing those characters to life – Shalla-Bal is central to one particularly tense sequence, and the onscreen depiction of Galactus had (thankfully) not already been spoiled in any trailers. In fact, the marketing for this film did a great job of teasing without giving too much away, as there were several developments and sequences that I was not expecting. Natasha Lyonne also makes her live-action MCU debut as Rachel Rozman, a school teacher from Ben Grimm’s neighbourhood, and Paul Walter Hauser has a fun cameo as the (slightly ridiculous) classic Fantastic Four villain, Mole Man.

“…gets ‘Phase Six’ of the MCU off to a fantastic start…”

The CGI in this movie is very impressive for the most part – particularly in terms of the depictions of the Fantastic Four themselves, the Silver Surfer and Galactus – but there are a couple of greenscreen composite shots and CGI elements that didn’t quite work. But this is such a small niggle, in an otherwise excellent movie. Delivering far more character depth than I was expecting, and a plot that unfolded in interesting and unforeseen directions, The Fantastic Four: First Steps gets “Phase Six” of the MCU off to a fantastic start.

As has become tradition, First Steps features two credits scenes – a mid-credits scene that looks like it connects this movie with 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, and a jokey, non-essential final end credits scene.