Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo credit: Jay Maidment. Courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
The trailers promised a coolly chic throwback. “Mad Men” gone sci-fi, with a pinch of “The Jetsons.” Its neat-o Space Age trappings looked like they would offset any story wrinkles wrought by a big old meanie from outer space. And the stars, a casting director's coup, dazzled your eyeballs with their effortless screen presence, their cross-generational appeal massive enough to draw multiple generations' worth of moviegoers to their local multiplex like a magnet.
But seeing “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the third reboot to chronicle the adventures of Marvel Comics' First Family over the past two decades, unfold in its finished feature-length form, is an altogether different experience from sitting through the coming attractions. Virtually gone is the playful glint in the eyes of stars Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, seen not just in the trailers but in the mammoth promotional push for Marvel's Cinematic Universe's 37th big-screen offering. The line deliveries are deadly serious, the sets elaborate yet strangely inert, giving viewers the feeling they've entered a museum exhibit.
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo credit: Jay Maidment. Courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
In short, this handsomely mounted but stiff superhero tale is boring, sedate to the point of somnolence. How did we get to this point?
You won't find out here. As in “Superman,” DC's competing reboot released in theaters earlier this month, “First Steps” bypasses origin-story duties. It plops you four years after married scientists Reed Richards (Pascal) and Sue Storm (Kirby) are transformed by a cosmic storm they encounter during a space expedition, along with Sue's brother, Johnny Storm (“Stranger Things'” Joseph Quinn), and Reed's best friend, pilot Ben Grimm (“The Bear's” Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
Director Matt Shakman, working from a screenplay credited to Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, assumes viewers already know how each crew member's body is affected, but let me recap it for you. Reed can now stretch his torso, arms and legs, not unlike those Stretch Armstrong figures that were all the rage in the late 1970s. Sue can turn invisible at will, as well as provide a protective shield. (If that isn't a metaphor for a professional woman in a male-dominated workplace, I don't know what is.) Johnny's fiery personality has become literal, as his body can now turn into fire. As for poor Ben, he's now made up of orange rock, and unlike the others, he can't switch back to his human form.
Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo credit: Jay Maidment. Courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
The physical possibilities for this quartet are endless, even more so when it's revealed at the beginning of the film that this is all unfolding on Earth-828, one of myriad parallel universes explored with such creativity in Sony's animated Spider-Verse movies. Thus, it's quadruply disappointing that Shakman and his creative team show very little interest in exploring the contours of the central characters' new shapes.
A rare exception is a scene where Ben, better known for his superhero moniker The Thing, reluctantly agrees to lift a Volkswagen (or Volkswagen-adjacent automobile, since this is taking place in a different corner of the multiverse from ours) at the request of some starstruck schoolchildren. It's a sweet nod to “The Incredibles,” Brad Bird's sensational riff on the themes and capabilities seen in these characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. (Marvel even hired Oscar-winning Michael Giacchino, who composed “The Incredibles'” groovy score, to write the music for “First Steps,” but he totally phones it in.)
Moments like those exploring Ben's identity crisis are few and far between in “First Steps,” the better for Shakman to stick to his main narrative strand. A new threat to Earth-828 glides down from above in the form of the Silver Surfer, a female antagonist in this reality, well played by Julia Garner. The harbinger of doom with metallic skin arrives to warn the planet's inhabitants that their days are numbered, since they're destined to be absorbed by Galactus, a gargantuan devourer of worlds, voiced by “The Green Knight's” Ralph Ineson.
H.E.R.B.I.E and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
So off our intrepid foursome go, in their sleek and nifty rocket ship, to talk with Mr. Galactus, never mind that Sue is carrying Reed's baby and is pretty far along at this point. (I know this is an alternate universe, but maybe sit this mission out?) Motherhood increasingly becomes a dominant theme as Shakman reveals the daunting life-and-death stakes these Fantastic Four must confront. They are suddenly faced with an impossible choice. It should be compelling, since the filmmaker is clearly invested in this superhuman clan's well-being.
But for most of its running time, “First Steps” just lies there, a multiverse yarn on life support. Several scenes show large crowds of average joes, impeccably dressed and coiffed in 1960s apparel, gazing at their heroes. The effort that production designer Kasra Farahani and costume designer Alexandra Byrne have exerted in ensuring every little period detail is just right is palpable. And yet none of it feels real, not quite created by artificial intelligence, but certainly synthetic in AI-adjacent fashion.
Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
That quality extends to the scenes that show the characters interacting in their cushy New York City apartment. With the exception of Kirby, far and away the movie's MVP, the actors feel like they're on downers, their line readings ranging from understated to robotic. Pascal, in particular, has a deer-in-the-headlights expression throughout the entire movie.
That's partly because Shakman intends “First Steps” to be a domestic melodrama at its core, the action and otherworldly spectacle subservient to this nuclear household and the weight they carry, both in their personal lives and in their role as planetary protectors. It also doesn't require viewers to be familiar with any of the previous three dozen MCU films in order to follow its rather basic, threadbare narrative. At least in this regard, it is a step in the right direction, away from all that interconnected nonsense that marred so much of what has come before.
Ralph Ineson is the voice of Galactus in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
And yet very little of “First Steps” is fun. The film lacks the spark that Shakman displayed in his uneven but eminently watchable MCU limited series “WandaVision.” A showcase for stars Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and Kathryn Hahn, the series used the format of the sitcom throughout different ages of television to explore domestic malaise and inner demons. Shakman tries to pull off a similar metatextual move in “First Steps,” but he leeches the film of energy in the process. Its occasional attempts at humor land with a dull thud, and the big-stakes drama hardly registers because it's rendered at such a low simmer.
“Fantastic Four” the comic book has proven hard to translate successfully into feature-length form. With this turgid new production, the first in the MCU's Phase Six, the search continues for someone who can come up with the secret sauce to do these iconic characters justice. Someone who doesn't make a movie that feels like it's sleepwalking through its story beats. “First Steps'” low-wattage stupor siphons off our goodwill.
Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer in in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is now playing across South Florida in wide release, including IMAX engagements at Regal South Beach, AMC Aventura 24, AMC Sunset Place 24, CMX Dolphin 19 and the AutoNation IMAX at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale.
