In Defense of “Fantastic Four: First Steps” [Spoiler-Free Review]

A few things I want to say about Marvel Studios’ first foray into the first family of comics- “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” This is not the previous iterations of the characters, obviously. This isn’t a silly bombastic introduction of characters originally popular in the early 1960s. This is a frankly honest and heartfelt tonal shift of the MCU, and the first steps into a new universe.

It’s been a longtime coming to have Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) officially join Marvel Studios, and while things aren’t as solid as I was personally hoping for, they were by no means disappointing.

If you’ve seen the trailers, you know the story. A chosen family who just so happen to have superhuman abilities are all that stand between the Earth and annihilation. We meet Shalla Bal the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) [who is NOT wokeism, stfu] Herald of the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus (Ralph Ineson). If you know your comics history of these particular characters, you know how important this introduction is. One of the literal biggest baddies in the early days of Marvel Comics, Galactus has a simple motivation- “I hunger.” For what? We’re not really privy to that, entirely, until he sets his sights on Franklin, son of Reed and Sue.

Without spoilers, it’s hard to fully review the film. But, I can already hear voices in the echo chamber of the internet, mad because there was too much heart and not enough fighting and smashing. But that’s not who the Fantastic Four are. That’s never who they’ve been. They’re meant to be more steady than say….the Avengers. Less soap opera-y than the X-Men. They are….a family. Director Matt Shakman hits that goal, and the MCU will be better for it.

Maybe it won’t be for you, and that’s okay. We will have things like “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Endgame” to watch. We have to remember this is a new Phase, a new universe, and a new direction for the frankly tired and trying genre. Does this film completely reinvent everything? No, of course not. But it does ask audiences to accept this world from the get-go.

Yes, there are two post-credits scenes. One comes early, the other at the very end. And one of them, Anthony and Joe Russo directed as a tie in for “Avengers: Doomsday.”

While the film is not perfect, there are few families who are. I enjoyed “Fantastic Four,” and will be seeing it again after SDCC. It hits theaters everywhere on Friday, July 25th.