The Marvel First Family the Fantastic Four didn’t really have a fantastic run on the big screen.
From the ill-fated first attempt, to the second mildly successful re-attempt in 2005 to the disastrous 2015 version of the Fantastic 4, it seems that no stretches across the big screen can set this thing aflame and visible to the mass audience.
Then Disney bought Fox, and things changed.
Under the leadership of Kevin Feige, the Marvel Studios attempted to reintroduce the First Family to the audience in its fluctuating Multiverse Saga. With Matt Shakman of the WandaVision fame at helm, Fantastic 4: First Steps finally rolled into the cinema.
The end result? A self-contained futuristic period piece that did not overstay its welcome – a successful reboot indeed.
One of the things that I like about this movie is that it does not do the whole origin story all over again. That’s one of the things I think the Marvel Studios understands. They did the same thing with Spiderman in the MCU and now they are repeating it for Fantastic Four. I think it was a smart decision. For me I don’t need to see the same origin story for the third time and just wanted to get on with the story. While the movie described their origin story in some third-party scenes, we were not forced to see it unfolding all over again, which I greatly appreciate it. Also, since the story unfolds on a different reality (the smartly coined 828 universe) to the sacred timeline universe (616), there is no burden to tie in the story to anything else, which made it a lot more approachable for most of the audience who just wanted to go in and enjoy a movie.
But the subtitle Frist Steps clearly was pointing towards something else – Reed Richards and Sue Storm taking the first steps to parenthood, which introduces one of the most powerful characters in the comics – Franklin Richards. As a baby he attracted enough attention for cosmic beings across the universe, so I just don’t know how we are going to deal with him in the MCU moving forward (though the comics did provide several ways for that). But in the meantime, it is up to the first-time parents and uncles to protect him.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn had great chemistry as a family and their interactions were comfortable and enjoyable to watch. Of course, being an ensemble cast it is hard to showcase their talents individually, especially for Ebon being under all those rocks for most of the movie. But Matt Shakman and the screenwriters still managed to give them moments to shine so as an audience member I could still relate to their worries, struggles and joy. This showcased Shakman’s ability to turn absurd concepts and storytelling into a more character driven approach. We saw that in WandaVision, and we saw that again in Fantastic Four.
Also, the four-year jump from their origin story provided a lot more space for story telling and introducing other characters in the Four universe without the need to tell their origin story too. The Moleman played by Paul Walter Hauser struck a diplomatic deal with Sue Storm and played a completely different role to the good old tiring villain troupe without sacrificing his grudge to the other members of the Four, was a refreshing take of the character.
There were a lot of outcries about the gender bending ‘woke’ Silver Surfer without the understanding that it is an established character within the comics. Julia Garner who played Silver Surfer had successfully proved the so-called critics wrong, same as the writing team which managed to flash out the story of Shalla-Bal and made her completely relevant to the story instead of being simply a herald of Galactus. People who failed to understand the comics who wanted to find something to hate about this version of the Silver Surfer will continue to hate, but I think the creative team and Julia did a great job of the character.
Fantastic Four is a superhero movie, so expect a lot special effects. One of the most worrisome was Mr Fantastic’s stretchiness. Anyone who had seen the previous attempts at that would share the same worry. However, in First Steps, they did not over do it. They did when it was required and it did not become a cliché but a necessity and integral part of character development, which is also highly welcomed. Apparently sticking to the practical effects of the 60s whenever they can in this movie had made the special effects in post-production more convincing, which in my opinion look amazing and world suiting.
With the movie not stretching beyond its required run time and a well-balanced story told in a different reality that doesn’t require homework to enjoy it, I think Marvel is again back to form with Fantastic Four (yes, I still think Thunderbolts* is an absolute greatness in story telling no matter what the box office was).
With Doomsday looming, hopefully Marvel could avoid any further missteps and built upon its current success.
Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in the cinemas.
