Movie Review: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Directed by Matt Shakman
Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson
Marvel Studios
Release date: July 25, 2025

Non-spoiler first thoughts (mostly written in the car on the way home from the movie theater) on The Fantastic Four: First Steps:

Marvel Studios churned out an enjoyable film that does justice to these classic characters, making them all likable and competent. I love the film’s retro-futuristic look (not a cell phone in sight) and color scheme. While this is the “first steps,” it’s not an origin story, with the groups’ superpowered circumstances summed up quickly at the start on the team’s anniversary. This allows the danger to present right away and the action to get going fast.

As the sole female on the team, Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm (aka Invisible Woman) didn’t have to prove herself or be protected by default (as she’s been in other versions), and her versatile power — which goes way beyond invisibility — was showcased here magnificently.

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic is indeed fantastic (as if anyone expected any different from him). His power of plasticity was done really well here, probably for the first time on screen, but it was kept to a minimum, with the focus being on his scientific genius. As the brains behind the team and its leader, Reed is faced with unimaginable problems to solve, but it’s easy to trust him, even when there’s some morally ambiguous situations.

Ben Grimm aka The Thing is probably the least annoying I’ve ever seen him portrayed, with Ebon Moss-Bachrach playing him less gruff and more thoughtful. His banter with Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, is playful, providing some comic relief to this serious storyline. Quinn, who made a name for himself in 2022 as metalhead Eddie Munson on Stranger Things, is charismatic and cute as Johnny, who forms an unexpected connection with Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer, a herald of the powerful cosmic entity Galactus, “Eater of Worlds.”

As per usual, Galactus is hungry and it looks like Earth’s on the menu. There was some controversy surrounding Silver Surfer being a woman, but we’re talking about an alien who travels through space on a surfboard bringing bad news, so its perceived “Earth” gender doesn’t affect its power and influence. Actually, for the purposes of this story, I think it was better to have a female (I don’t want to go into spoilers, but there’s a lot of female perspectives in this story and having a male do some of the Surfer stuff would seem creepy).

As far as Galactus goes, he looks pretty badass here with his purplish helmet — remember when he was just a cloud in Rise of the Silver Surfer? We’ve come a long way. British actor Ralph Ineson, recently seen in last year’s Nosferatu and The First Omen, voices Galactus menacingly, making the formidable foe even more fearsome.

Oh, and the FF robot HERBIE is adorable and elevates every scene it’s in, as does Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder aka “Mole Man,” who provides laugh-out-loud moments and some surprisingly important ones too.

This is truly a really good film and Marvel should be proud, but I’m going to be honest here — in my opinion, seeing the new uplifting Superman movie only 2 weeks ago makes The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems morbid in comparison. So if you’re going to see Fantastic Four — and I recommend you do — try to forget Superman for now.

Also, stay for the mid-credits scene because it’s integral and will make you happy (our audience started screaming and clapping). Don’t expect much from the end-credits scene though as it reveals nothing new (our audience was pissed).

Looking forward to seeing The Fantastic Four: First Steps again on Saturday with the whole family, I can’t wait to know what the [adult] kids think of it.