The cinematic journey for Marvel’s first family has been rocky to say the least. Three non-MCU films of varying quality (none particularly high) led to the notion that perhaps there just wasn’t a way to put Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm on screen without them seeming decidedly “old fashioned.” Matt Shankman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps does something quite clever; it begins the story when the story was written – in 1961 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. On one of the multiversal worlds where it is approximately 1964 (at least according to a numberplate) the Fantastic Four have been the Earth’s protectors for four years since their exposure to cosmic rays on a space mission led to their bodies being flooded with a specific radiation which gave them each superpowers.
Utilising a framing technique where The Fantastic Four are being celebrated for their heroic deeds on a television program the audience is caught up on the back story. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) commands a rocket with Dr. Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and ace pilot Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) on board. They return to earth each with metahuman powers. Reed Richards is able to stretch his limbs in addition to his world class genius. His partner Sue can refract light and energy meaning that she can become invisible and create forcefields. Sue’s younger brother Johnny becomes a Human Torch who can create fire and use the flames to fly, and Ben Grimm, Reed’s best friend is turned into a man of stone – quite literally – with preternatural strength and “clobbering” ability. They are already celebrities (Johnny Storm is the Coppertone boy, which is something you’ll probably have to look up), already installed in their Manhattan Baxter Building headquarters, already made into a cartoon (and comics by Timely Comics), and Sue Storm is a diplomat of a kind running the Future Foundation, and they’re fighting all kinds of baroque criminals including the leader of “Subterranea” Mole Man aka Harvey Elder (Paul Walter Hauser) who tried to steal the Pan Am building.
On their multiversal version of Earth the mid-1960s are “retro-futuristic”. The robot H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-Type, Integrated Electronics) is powered by tape but Richards has cracked faster than light space travel. Imagine a live action The Jetsons and that’s the approximate feel. Mr. Fantastic is a bit more Mr. Fatalistic with his guilt over the mission in space going wrong and the weight of being the smartest man on Earth, plus the head of a family which is about to get bigger with the surprise pregnancy of Sue. Already burdened and buoyed by his unusual family and their position as Earth’s saviours, the notion of a child who may or may not be a metahuman/mutant weighs on him. Add in the appearance of an intergalactic threat heralded by a Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) who announces that Earth will be consumed by the giant planet killer Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and the leader of the First Family has some big issues to deal with. Especially when they finally track down Galactus and he offers to spare Earth if Sue and Reed promise to give him their yet-to-be-born son who has the ability to satiate his hunger and take on his curse. The choice – one life for all lives.
First Steps is by far the most entertaining of the ‘Fantastic Four’ screen outings, but that in itself is not a particularly high bar to step over. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm give the movie a light touch where Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards pushes it to more philosophical and psychological depths. However, of all the Fantastics, it is Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm who stands out as the competent and somewhat more logical leader of the group and the standout performance. Where Reed is hesitant and perpetually cornering himself into meltdowns of confidence, she is certain and strong. Naturally the people of Earth would prefer that the born in space Franklin Richards be given to Galactus, but when Sue promises that she will not let Earth be sacrificed for her son, they believe her.
The production design, costuming, and score (one of Michael Giacchino’s best) give First Steps its sheen more than the story and screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Eric Springer, and Kat Wood. Quinn, Moss-Bachrach, and Kirby inhabit their roles with a decent commitment to the bit, and Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer is a surprisingly emotional character, unfortunately Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards is confusingly unconvincing. Yes, Reed Richards’ superpower is a bit goofy and is a little at odds with his other skills, so there are few scenes where its fully utilised. However, after four years as leader of Earth’s heroes and the world’s greatest inventor, Richards is more than often moribund. It’s difficult to tell if it is the writing or if Pascal doesn’t have the particular temperament nailed for the role. After the last few years of Pedro Pascal adoration, when he turns in an adequate but not great performance it comes off as a small failure.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is moderately entertaining, extremely good looking, and aggressively inoffensive. What Pascal lacks in energy Quinn makes up for by nailing Johnny Storm’s youth, ego, and “little bro” persona. There’s also a sweet side-plot where Ben wanders through the old Brooklyn neighbourhood and meets a potential match in schoolteacher Rachel (Natasha Lyonne). The jokes mostly work and there is a surfeit of deep lore fan references that don’t get in the way of the story. Plus, it’s nice to know that on one of infinite Earths, Canadian Dry, 7-Up, and Pop Tarts are still consumed regularly despite flying cars and another nation living beneath New York. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is pleasing PG-13 superhero fare and although not boasting a stand-out story, it is certainly a step in the right direction for the historically cinematically cursed F4.
Director: Matt Shakman
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn
Writers: Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, (story by Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Kat Wood, based on characters by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby)
Producer: Kevin Feige
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Cinematographer: Jess Hall
Editors: Nona Khodai, Tim Roche
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