FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS FORWARD FOR THE MCU, NO STEPS BACK

The weekend Box Office is in, and it’s no surprise Fantastic Four: First Steps topped the charts, but is it a hit or just meh-tastic?

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.

The action adventure also stars Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Niles. Directed by Matt Shakman, produced by Kevin Feige and executive produced by Louis D’Esposito, Grant Curtis and Tim Lewis.

Director: Matt Shakman

Written by: Committee  

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, and Paul Walter Hauser

I saw the IMAX Fan Appreciation premiere of FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS last week, introduced by the cast. I got my key chain, I got my Fantasticar (no light-up Galactus, cos each theater got less than ten of each, and they were scooped up by the employees before release…), I got my slushy and a popcorn. We’ll get this out of the way off the bat… it’s the best Fantastic Four adaptation to date. This wasn’t a difficult goal to achieve, considering the super-family’s record on screen, from its “Keep the rights” 1994 Roger Corman vehicle and FOX’s over produced and under performing duo of films in the early 2000’s, to the most recent “Body Horror” take on the Ultimate Fantastic Four comic book with FANT4STIC (that’s Fantastic Four stylized for anyone who hasn’t seen this movie, which is most living people).

FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS pulled in $118 million domestically at the weekend box office, falling slightly behind Superman (which actually had 2 more days of screenings… eye roll.), with another $100 million from the international receipts. After this box office clobbering, we’ll see how far the legs on this one can stretch when the drop-off hits next weekend. I’m confident it will burn bright, as opposed to fading from sight. 

And that’s a testimony to the movie. It’s a fun time. The visuals are great, the aesthetics of a techno-advanced 1960’s America are Jetson’s wonderful. The cosmic scenes are breathtaking, and a sequence we’ve seen many times on TV and in film goes to space with some unique takes on the process. The homages to Kirby and Lee are out the door, and each of them is a home run.

The CGI for Franklin isn’t as bad as some would make you think. It’s also on for the Surfer and the rest of the team. Reed’s stretching ability isn’t as comical as it could be and they even manage to get the look of Johnny’s Human Torch just right. Ben’s voice is perfect. And Sue isn’t just an ancillary damsel in distress.  But that’s part of the problems the movie has. As much as I love Sue Storm and the Invisible Woman, she’s only a quarter of this team. 

The movie focuses on Sue’s maternal strengths keeping her family together, but because of this, it relegates the character development of the other team members to ancillary moments, including the antagonist’s enforcer, whose eventual face turn also lacks the impact it should have, because of the lack of time spent with this character, under time spent on Sue. 

The family dynamic of the Fantastic Four is finally realized on screen, but it’s still missing something, and that’s due to the story telling limitations of a theatrical film. This makes me think the reason Fantastic Four movies fail… is because they should be a television series, not a film. The family dynamic shines in 30 minute sitcoms and hour long dramas. Make it like Eight is Enough, Little House on the Prairie, the Waltons, something on that level or even Family Ties, but with the Richards family. Shackman, who ran Wandavision and its Disney+ sequel series, proved he can do this with precision, and he does try to establish it on screen, but the run time limitations of a theatrical offering show his weaknesses as a creator in that medium.

But FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is fun, as fun as SUPERMAN, even if it lacks the emotional connection you get with SUPERMAN. There’s a scene in the film’s climax that should have drawn emotions from me, but it didn’t. The first act is an example of when you lack conflict in a story… you have nothing to move the narrative. The Richards have created a perfect utopia, and it’s about to be upended. But it takes an act to get there. Outside of the highlight reel of how awesome it is to live in a retro-futuristic world, in the end it only bogs down the story.

Without spoiling anything, the story is not as predictable as some would make you think. Yes, there’s the one section I mentioned and that is predictable, but the film’s actual ending took me by surprise. I expected one thing, especially based on the post-credits button from Thunderbolts*, but got another. 

FANTASTIC FOUR FIRST STEPS is the Fantastic Four movie we’ve been waiting for. Like any family, it’s not perfect. But it is fun, and you will enjoy this with your family. Stick around, of course, through the credits for a teaser of DOOMSDAY and once last chuckle. This being said, I regret that as good as FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is, it does not make my top 10 Dark Fantasy and Horror films of the year list, much like SUPERMAN.