Fun but Forgettable: Fantastic Four Takes First Steps

Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not a tense or suspenseful movie. It’s also gorgeous, faithful to the spirit of the titular characters’ first appearances in the 1960s, and boastfully retro-cool. It stars a group of actors who are all at the top of their game—led by Pedro Pascal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who have a fraternal chemistry reminiscent of the actors who portrayed Reed and Ben decades ago—and builds to a showy, neon-colored climax, complete with red stars whizzing through the sky, slow-motion spreads of deadly heat blasts, and spaceships that look like they’ve been ripped from the pages of Yellow Submarine. It’s fun, even if it’s ultimately disposable.

The story is narrated at the beginning by Mark Gatiss, the English actor playing a talk show host, as he summarizes how the Fantastic Four came to be the team they are. Four years ago, during a space mission, the foursome were exposed to high levels of radiation. The experience changed their DNA: Reed (now played by the affable Pedro Pascal) found he could stretch his limbs like taffy, Sue (Vanessa Kirby) gained the power of invisibility and force fields, Johnny (Joseph Quinn) transformed into the Human Torch with the ability to set himself aflame and fly, and Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) became The Thing, an eternally rock-covered hulk of a man. The Fantastic Four now live together in a compound resembling a mid-century modern home with flying cars in the driveway, chalkboard equations on the wall, and an army of helpful robots serving their every need. (H.E.R.B.I.E., the toddler-sized assistant robot, wears short pants and a collared shirt and occasionally dances.) If the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an accurate reflection of modern pop culture, then the world of First Steps is a depiction of 1960s style. Everything is square and mid-century-modern, including the television set that sits improbably in the middle of one room, and, of course, there are no smartphones in sight. The art direction exudes a hyper-stylized optimism, as if the Jetsons and Lost in Space took place in the same universe as Marvel comics.

The problem with First Steps is that it doesn’t matter much what happens to the Fantastic Four. The movie’s theme is family, and the most tender moments involve the members of the main four showing concern and affection for each other. Sue is pregnant, a fact revealed near the top of the movie, and Reed does everything short of setting himself on fire out of anxiety that something might happen to him and his family. Early in the film, he walks through the house and has H.E.R.B.I.E. baby-proof not only the kitchen but also the laboratory, and runs tests on all the substances that could harm a child. Meanwhile, Johnny and Ben act like fraternal twins, bickering while also clearly delighted by the idea of being uncles. But before the group can celebrate, another cosmic catastrophe arrives to shatter their peaceful home life. Galactus, a glowing-eyed behemoth with a rocky chest plate the size of an aircraft carrier, is coming to Earth to eat it. Before he arrives, he sends his herald (Julia Garner in a motion capture role) to deliver the bad news in human form. She shows up on Earth as the Silver Surfer, an android with a smooth silver body, teleporting to the compound with a thump and a chill wind and before long becoming an object of intense curiosity (and desire) to Johnny.

Galactus himself doesn’t arrive for at least half an hour. Meanwhile, in the name of science, the Fantastic Four blast off into space in their flying saucer of a car to try to find him and avert the end of the world. Much of this action in space is a little tame, at least by Marvel standards, though still impressively retro-cool. Light beams shoot in slow motion from the heroes’ eyes, Johnny’s flight path creates trails of fire, and explosions have more style than force. As the group tries to locate Galactus, a kaleidoscope of alien geometries flies past the window. After they discover the planet-devouring foe’s whereabouts, Reed tries to reason with him and encourage him to turn back before he does any harm. Galactus promptly obliterates him, killing him (for now) in a puff of starlike, candy-colored light.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps often comes across as earnest but not especially serious, and all that goodwill can get lost in a score and cinematography that favor pastel yellows, pinks, and greens. It’s hard to invest in the action or the fate of the characters when the tone doesn’t take itself too seriously. The action is often suffused with cotton candy nostalgia, and even the stakes never feel all that high. There is a tender moment of family bonding that grounds the film, but after that, the plot spins toward a conclusion that rings with the wistful wish fulfillment of a children’s adventure book.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is enjoyable and well-cast, but when so much Marvel output aspires to be rousing and operatic, this movie is a mild drama at best. For that reason, and also because of the comparatively low stakes, it’s the sort of movie that is fun, but forgettable. For those who don’t need a Marvel movie to be all-consuming and full of universe-threatening stakes, it’s a reasonable release. For others, it may be a nice distraction, but one without much punch.