“The Fantastic Four: First Steps”: Marvel‘s Final Chance of 2025
Marvel’s most important release of the year hit theaters last weekend. Is Fantastic Four: First Steps worth the hype?
It is usually said that the third time’s the charm. And I know one entertainment company that is praying for that to be true.
After Disney acquired 20th Century Fox back in 2019, Marvel Studios regained the rights to the Fantastic Four and associated characters. Which, at first sight, looked like a great opportunity to do something lucrative with the well-known comic family. But Fantastic Four has proved to be quite tricky to adapt.
I was not into superhero movies growing up, but I have clear memories of watching the 2000 adaptations on DVD. I’ve recently found out that they are universally considered a disaster. The 2015 reboot flew over my head completely; I had no idea that movie even existed.
With that in mind, I approached Marvel’s project with my usual unenthusiasm. But in this case, I must say not everything was bad.
Why First Steps?
The subtitle is not making reference to the Fantastic Four team’s “first steps,” but to the introduction of a very relevant character: Reed and Sue’s baby boy.
At the beginning of the film, we have an F4 appearance in a TV show, which is the perfect excuse for a brief documentary following the family’s biggest victories. They have been active for a while, defeating villains, and Sue has become the leader of the United Nations of her universe and achieved world peace. Because why not. It was a creative way to set us in time and space so we don’t feel so detached from everything when the story starts.
The most important plot point is that Sue and Reed find out they are expecting a baby, and everyone is excited. Some time later, a lady covered in silver CGI paint appears in the middle of New York to let people know that the Earth is going to be eaten by someone named Galactus. So now they have to save the world while protecting little Franklin.
If you’ve been online at all for the past few months, you probably know most of these things anyway. Like with Superman, the amount of spoilers was unbelievable. I was not following the promotion of either of the movies very closely, and I still found out a lot before the releases. And it’s not like things were filtered; the companies are putting the material online themselves. At this point, just release the entire movie on X and save me some money.
On general lines, First Steps is okay. Except for Mr. Fantastic (we’ll talk about him later), the protagonists are fine. At least the movie focuses only on them and does not waste time on a hundred supporting characters (I’m looking at you, Superman), which is a good choice.
The script is coherent enough (for today’s standards, at least), but there are plenty of strange things that stand out. To name only one example, Sue Storm goes on a mission to space while being heavily pregnant and then gives birth on the spaceship while being chased by the Silver Surfer. I understand it is for plot purposes, but these guys are scientists; they are supposed to be super smart. Who lets a pregnant woman go to space? Which scientist accepts to go to space being pregnant, especially so close to giving birth? But to write smart characters, you need to be a smart writer. And I guess Marvel does not hire those anymore.
Welcome to the 60s
Their strongest asset is the production design. The retro-futuristic theme is visually captivating. I understand the comics originated in the 1960s, so that period was the inspiration for the production. The Fantastic Four live in a “smart house”; all their technology seems to be analog, but with a modern spin. The care for every detail is undeniable. And it should be praised, considering most movies today look quite generic. This is amazing work!
The CGI is a lot more consistent than in other superhero movies I’ve seen in the past years. There are some parts that don’t look that great; for example, baby Francklin is evidently CGI-made in some scenes. And the Silver Surfer looks kind of awkward. But overall, it’s good.
I’m Sick of Pedro
I’m not the only one who is experiencing Pedro fatigue. Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet are tiresome, getting two or three movies a year, but Pedro has gone so far as to have three movies in theaters at the same time. Fantastic Four, Materialists, and, in some countries, also the independent drama Eddington. I had the misfortune of watching Materialists almost back-to-back with Fantastic Four last week, so I’m fed up with the guy.
Pedro is not just in every movie; he is also in activist mode on social media any other day. Between both, we are seeing way too much of him. Hollywood wants to push him as the ideal of “positive masculinity.” He has all the right political and ideological opinions and has turned himself into the perfect feminist ally. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does not buy that.
One way or another, his interpretation of Reed Richards is easily the worst of the movie. The team leader of the Fantastic Four is reduced to an anxious and weak man who always needs help. He is supposed to be the smartest individual, but we never get to see that. While I don’t think he is a bad actor, seeing him in so many roles at the same time, with no notable change in appearance, is not doing him any favors. Now I don’t see different characters, only Pedro Pascal in different costumes.
Female Empowerment or Traditional Femininity?
To accompany Pedro’s activist ramblings, the marketing for Fantastic Four took any opportunity to highlight the female characters and the actresses playing them. Sue would be the most “emotionally intelligent” person in the world. The Silver Surfer would be a woman because they are adapting one character that appeared in a few comics instead of the most popular version. Johnny would be more sensitive and empathetic. In short, it reeked of cheap feminism. However, and to my surprise, the movie does not take the easy road of empowerment.
Fantastic Four does revolve around Sue Storm, but most of the focus is on her being a mom. In the current climate, mothers are looked down on by Hollywood and entertainment. Most current productions present motherhood as a horrible punishment, something that will ruin your life and you should never choose. Here, the love that a mother feels for her child makes her capable of a strength she does not know she possesses. I also liked Vanessa Kirby in the role.
While this is nice to see on screen, the problem is similar to what happened in Superman: to prop the girls up, they needed to dumb the men down. In Fantastic Four this is not as exaggerated, but the three male protagonists don’t have a lot of space to be heroic. Reed Richards is an anxious shadow throughout the entire film. Like Pedro, but without all the women-touching. Johnny has an interest in Shalla Bal; that is just an ongoing joke, and his big sacrifice moment is stolen by her. Joseph Quinn did a great job in Stranger Things, but even though he has gotten parts in big movies these past couple of years, he did not shine again in anything. His Johnny is forgettable. Ben does not have any development at all. He has two or three scenes alone.
There is an improvement; they are trying to write normal women again, but they are still missing the men.
Box Office and Reception
As usual, professional critics gave glowing reviews, and the audience’s response was not bad. In fact, I’ve heard several people saying they liked the film. As I said, the project has redeeming qualities. However, I feel there is a general lack of enthusiasm from the public. It may be better than previous Fantastic Four movies, but this new adaptation is not memorable.
And unfortunately for Marvel, some praise is not enough to figure out the numbers. With a week in theaters, Fantastic Four: First Steps has made only $227.000.000. We are talking about a movie with a reported Budget of $200.000.000 (plus marketing costs). Domestically, the film’s audience fell over 60% on Monday. We’ll have to wait and see what happens on its second weekend, but this is not a promising start.
Fantastic Four vs. Superman
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion on this subject, but I believe Fantastic Four is objectively the best movie out of the two. That does not mean it is great by any means. The only thing that raises it above most films is the production design. In other aspects, like script or performances, the film is just alright.
James Gunn’s reboot had the advantage of better actors (maybe wasted, but better actors nonetheless) than Fantastic Four, and I would say I found it a bit more engaging. I got bored while watching both movies, but Superman entertained me more because of how nonsensical it was. Fantastic Four, being more average, was more tedious to get through.
However, up until now at least, numbers are on DC’s side. Superman made more money on its first weekend (domestically and globally), and it looks like it is going to be making more overall. We must mention that both films had not had the expected performance on the international markets. For example, Marvel and DC used to be quite popular with Asian audiences, but now they are ignored, resulting in losses for both companies.
Against all odds, the winner of the season is Jurassic World: Rebirth, with more than $700.000.000 made in less than a month. This is how much people don’t care about superhero films.
To sum it up, Fantastic Four: First Steps is a project that goes just slightly over average. I appreciate the 60s looks and the motherhood topic, but the film is not special enough to carve a place in the audience’s hearts. And as a final fun fact, a post-credits scene teases an encounter between toddler Franklin and Doctor Doom. It is followed by a message on screen that reads, “The Fantastic Four will be back for Avengers: Doomsday.”
Desperate, much?
