The Fantastic Four: First Steps Movie Review – Marvel’s Clobberin’ Time

Please be aware that this review will contain spoilers for the film!!!

Marvel’s first family has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is a 2025 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Fantastic Four. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the second reboot of the Fantastic Four film series.

Overview

When Marvel first announced that the first family of Marvel would be joining the MCU, I, along with thousands of others, was excited for the movie. While we didn’t get any information on the film for a long time, we were given the first leaks of castings, and people were excited.

Slowly but surely, the cast was revealed, and honestly, it was with some big names at first. Bringing in big names can make or break the movie and franchise, in all honesty. I mean, look at the original DC universe. Bringing in big names ruined that…

When you look at Reed Richards being played by someone as talented as Pedro Pascal, coming off a huge couple of years from The Mandalorian, The Last of Us TV series, Gladiator 2, and more. You then throw in Ebon Moss-Bachrach coming off a huge run on The Bear TV series.

You then add in Joseph Quinn, who was busy in his own right coming off the backend of Stranger Things, and Vanessa Kirby as well; all four were big names when they were announced. Even myself I questioned if Pedro would be the right choice for this role, but I was proven wrong.

Story

The story was pulled from multiple comics, including the story where the team has to go and retreive something from a different dimension for Sue giving birth, just changed around to being Galactus coming from the child instead.

The story speeds over the origins of the team, it skips over them going into space in 1960 and receiving the powers from the cosmic wave. The story is also set on a different Earth. This time the Earth is named “Earth-828”.

The story is sort of told differently from what we’re used to. The Fantastif Four have fought villains and become celebrities from having their own cartoon show to appearing on TV on shows, etc. The story also showcases Reed’s and Sue’s personal lives to as Reed has created inventions which has progressed technology for the world, and Sue has led the world to global demilitarization and peace.

The story then goes into Galactus coming to eat the child so he can “die” after living for literal billions of years. The story then progresses further into the action and introduces the most powerful character in the MCU… Franklin.

Characters

The characters within this movie were perfect, and they were cast… fantastically. I’ll speak about each character separately in this section.

Reed Richards, portrayed by Pedro Pascal. Initially, I was hesitant about this casting. Throughout this movie, you got the sense that Pedro played Reed as the awkward, nerdy guy who is still having issues moving on from the accident that gave the four their powers.

Sue Storm, portrayed by the incredible Vanessa Kirby. This was Invisible Woman done absolutely magnificently. It showcased so incredibly well and showed just how powerful she really is. I’m glad she was a badass in this movie.

Johnny Storm, portrayed by Joseph Quinn. I’m so glad they nailed this character. While the OG Johnny Storm in the early 2000s movies was decent, you know the joke-cracking woman lover, this was more smart, more laid back, and family first.

Ben Grimm, portrayed by Ebon Moss-Bachrach. It’s safe to say going CGI for this character was the right decision. The previous incarnations of this character were, well, bad. In the early 2000s, The Thing was practical, and it didn’t look like a comfortable suit; the 2015 version was CGI but was designed horribly. This is ripped straight from the comics in this movie.

Shalla Bal, portrayed by Julia Garner. She was absolutely fantastic. I think doing this version of the Silver Surfer was the best choice. It felt like we, as fans, did not need to compare it to the previous incarnation of the character.

Galactus was done right. There isn’t much more to say. We actually got the big guy himself instead of a cloud. He was menacing, he was powerful, and he was a tank.

For the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.

Hype

The hype was definitely real. I would be on social media everyday and people were just consistantly talking about this movie, what they were excited for, and more. Generally, The Fantastic Four took over the internet for the last week.

Favorite Moments

1. The opening scenes showing early broadcasts into the mission to go into space, I do like how it sped over that and didn’t truly show us the origins, but skipped ahead to the Fantastic Four becoming celebrities.

2. I loved Shalla Bal’s entrance into the movie. Her coming down to Earth through a meteor strike and her opening line, “I herald his beginning, I herald your end, I herald… Galactus.” Seeing how easily the Fantastic Four made the decision to go into space after Galactus was.

3. When the team meets with Galactus and tries to bargain with him about destroying the Earth, Galactus senses the baby in Sue and how powerful he is. He offers to spare the Earth in return for the child. Johnny immediately attacks Galactus, leading to a space chase with the Silver Surfer.

4. I do like the end battle. I loved seeing the entire team use their powers. I do like how this end fight scene showcased them all and how powerful they truly are as a team. I loved how powerful Sue was, and ultimately leading to her death, and I especially loved seeing how easily Johnny was willing to sacrifice himself.

5. That end credit scene. He’s officially here. I can not wait to see what Doctor Doom does.

Dislikes

I have zero dislikes within this movie. Everything was done so perfectly.

Recommend?

Simple answer is yes. Definitely go see this movie. Marvel has finally nailed The Fantastic Four in live-action. They have finally stepped into the category of the perfect cast.

Verdict

Honestly, as a debut movie, this was absolutely perfect! Marvel’s first family joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe and absolutely killed it in their debut. Each member of the family was showcased fantastically in their own right, and the story was great. The action was super intense as well. I need more already.

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Rating: 9.9/10

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps is available in cinemas worldwide. You can visit here for more information on The Fantastic Four: First Steps.