696 words, 4 minutes read time.
Marvel’s latest reboot doesn’t so much revisit the origin of The Fantastic Four as skip past it entirely. Set in a vividly realised alternate 1960s Earth, the film assumes we’re already familiar with its heroes and instead plunges us straight into their lives, domestic dramas and all. It’s a bold move—one that trades exposition for emotional immediacy and stylish worldbuilding. And, for the most part, it works.
We do get a sketch of their origin, cleverly folded into a retro TV broadcast early in the film—a film-within-a-film that summarises their cosmic-ray space mission, mutations, and rise to fame with grainy footage and breathless narration. It’s more tone-setter than plot dump, and it sets the stage with enough flair and efficiency to let the story get on with the real business: character, conflict, and consequence.
Director Matt Shakman draws on his background in television and stage to deliver something that feels lived-in rather than laboured. His “Earth 828” is a retro-futurist dreamscape of chrome and colour—mid-century modern meets Jetsons-style sci-fi. Against that backdrop, the Fantastic Four are less a superhero team than a chosen family. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) is a distracted genius-turned-expectant father; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) is the heart of the household and the emotional ballast of the team. Their impending child is both blessing and battleground when Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer arrives with an ultimatum from Galactus: surrender the unborn baby, or watch Earth be devoured. It’s a stark twist on a biblical theme, and it elevates the film beyond standard-issue Marvel peril.
The performances give the film much of its weight. Kirby is particularly strong—controlled, intelligent, and quietly fierce. Pascal plays Reed as a man always five steps ahead intellectually, but emotionally just trying to keep up. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm captures that mix of bravado and boyish insecurity that made the character so appealing in the comics, while Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm is all gruff warmth and sardonic charm. There’s banter between the Thing and the Human Torch—just enough to nod to their classic comic dynamic—and it’s one of the elements I’d love to see more of in future instalments.
A standout, for me, is the reimagining of the Silver Surfer. Growing up, the Surfer was one of my favourite Marvel characters—Norrin Radd, the tragic philosopher, gliding across galaxies in service of a cosmic hunger he could never quite accept. Here, the filmmakers take a different tack: Julia Garner’s Surfer is still Galactus’s herald, but her presence is cooler, more detached, more alien. It’s a major departure from the source material—but one I welcomed. The switch to a female Surfer opens new dramatic possibilities, not least the subtle spark between her and Johnny Storm. It’s hinted at here, and I hope future films build on it. Their contrast—fire and silver, cocky charm and distant stillness—could add a fascinating new thread.
Visually, the film is often stunning. Kasra Farahani’s production design fuses 1960s pop with atomic-age sci-fi to create a world that feels at once nostalgic and new. The action is well paced, never overwhelming. And Michael Giacchino’s score—equal parts brassy optimism and celestial dread—enhances every frame without overwhelming the human story.
It’s not without flaws. The film occasionally leans too hard into montage, skipping over beats that could have landed harder with more room to breathe. Emotional payoffs, like Johnny’s appeal to the Surfer, are there—but undercooked. And the overall arc, while strong, occasionally bends to MCU formula where it might have lingered on character. But when it matters most, the film finds its footing—not in explosions or Easter eggs, but in the small moments between its characters.
After years of false starts and misfires, The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gets something essential right. It remembers that these aren’t just superheroes—they’re people bound by love, conflict, sacrifice, and loyalty. It honours the source material without being shackled by it. And it gestures, with real confidence, towards a future for Marvel’s First Family that might be as strange, stylish, and human as they’ve always deserved.
Review by Patrick Harrington
Picture credit: By http://www.impawards.com/2025/fantastic_four_ver18.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77473850
