The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Year: 2025
Rating: PG-13
Length: 115 minutes / 1.92 hours
Now that Marvel has control of most of its intellectual property again, I’m glad that they took the same approach with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) as they did with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). We don’t need another origin story here. What was more interesting was how the multiverse plotline running through these phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) allowed for an alternate 1950s aesthetic for this movie instead of integrating it directly into the main MCU timeline. This allowed the re-introduction of one of the most famous superhero groups in a way that let them breathe without having a bunch of MCU references leak into it.
Since they attempt to make a Fantastic Four movie every 10 years, this third time may actually stick because they paid attention to the golden age of comics. The costumes and setting make it feel like it’s pulled straight from the comics of the 1950s, and the casting choices seemed to fit pretty well for the characters (despite everyone complaining about Pedro Pascal being in everything). And with four “main characters” there was enough time given to each for them to have a sub-plot that aided in their character development.
Of course, that this movie has a standalone feel to it does somewhat prove that the superhero fatigue is wearing on us all. I’m glad I didn’t have to watch two seasons of a TV show and catch a post-credits scene from three years ago to appreciate what this movie was trying to do. It’s honestly what made some of the Phase 2 films like Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Ant-Man (2015) so enjoyable. Still, I look forward to how Marvel will fit everything together for Avengers: Doomsday (2026) since Doom is mainly a Fantastic Four villain.
The best Fantastic Four movie in 20 years, I give The Fantastic Four: First Steps 4.0 stars out of 5.
