‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Review: Great Casting, Retro Flair, and One Giant Cosmic Threat

After several failed attempts, Marvel’s original superheroes have finally landed with confidence. The Fantastic Four: First Steps brings the storied team into the MCU in a film that’s polished, heartfelt, and surprisingly light on baggage. While it revisits threats familiar to fans — Galactus and his shiny herald — it dodges the dreaded franchise fatigue by leaning into its characters more than its cosmic chaos.

Director Matt Shakman steers clear of another dreary origin story. Instead, we meet Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm four years into their superhero lives. They’ve settled into a rhythm, complete with flying cars, matching jumpsuits, and fan club merch, in a retrofuturistic version of Manhattan that pops off the screen with its ‘60s style.

Pedro Pascal leads the cast as Reed, offering a version of the character that’s quiet, precise, and not always easy to read. Pascal doesn’t stretch far emotionally, but that seems intentional. This is Reed as a man buried in calculations, always two steps ahead but never quite present. The performance feels like the beginning of a larger arc, rather than its centerpiece.

Vanessa Kirby, on the other hand, commands every scene. Sue Storm emerges as the real heart of the movie, she’s fierce, driven, and protective, even while going into labor mid-battle. She grounds the film on a human level. Joseph Quinn reinvents Johnny Storm with charm and curiosity. Gone is the brash hothead; enter the Space Playboy archetype, slightly dazed by cosmic beauty and very intrigued by Julia Garner’s Shalla-Bal’s, frosty mystique.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach gives Ben Grimm some welcome levity. Instead of self-pity, his rocky exterior exudes optimism and affection especially in scenes shared with Johnny, their banter feels completely organic. All four don’t just fill iconic shoes, they wear them like custom-tailored boots, it all clicks effortlessly with chemistry to spare.

It’s bright. It’s brisk, the retrofuturistic Manhattan, all flying cars, punchcard computers, and Mad Men suits, is playful but detailed.

Setting the story in Earth-828, an isolated dimension without Avengers cameos, allows Shakman’s vision to breathe, there’s no multiverse clutter, and no cameos to distract. It’s just four characters, one city, and an existential threat and that simplicity works in the film’s favor. But what makes First Steps stand out isn’t the plot — Galactus looms, the Surfer warns, the world nearly ends — but the tone. It’s bright. It’s brisk, the retrofuturistic Manhattan, all flying cars, punchcard computers, and Mad Men suits, is playful but detailed. It’s a design statement as much as it is a world. You almost don’t want the heroes to leave it for the cross-dimensional mayhem awaiting in Phase 6.

The film also leans hard into metaphor, particularly around parenthood. With Reed and Sue expecting a child as Galactus prepares to consume Earth, the threat feels both cosmic and domestic. It’s heavy-handed, sure, but effective, rooting the chaos in something relatable and anxious. You don’t need to be a parent to get it, but if you are, as I am, it’s your worst nightmare, some of it might hit a little too close to home.

The climax is bold, if a bit bonkers. The battle plan to deter Galactus is textbook comic-book chaos, and while the action, is not the film’s strongest suit, it does enough to carry its weight. Visuals are polished more often than not, and minor VFX stumbles aside, First Steps delivers a tale with heart, color, and confidence. The Fantastic Four: First Steps might not have the bombast or emotional gut-punches of Marvel’s finest hours, but it’s tight, well-acted, and confident in its vision.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is playing in cinemas worldwide.

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