Both the good news AND bad news for the minds behind ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ – the bar for this venture is very, very low. But then, that’s what happens when a seemingly surefire hit gets bungled again and again.
The Fantastic Four are not just a PART of the Marvel Universe, they were really the spark for what we now know as the MCU. Often referred to as Marvel’s first family, they were the first superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1961. Since then, attempts to bring the spandex-clad foursome to the big screen have ranged from ridiculous (the low budget 1994 Roger Corman adaptation that was so bad it was never officially released), to “meh” (the 2005 version, along with a 2007 sequel, featured a pre-‘Captain America’ Chris Evans as Johnny Storm….overall, not awful, but not very memorable either. Evans himself mocked it in last year’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’), to absolutely terrible (the 2015 version, so dark and overwhelmingly dull that its own director criticized it before it got out of the gate).
Now comes ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’. And while I’ll hold off on handsprings and shouting from the rooftop that Marvel finally got this thing right – it IS a film very faithful to the comic books, and it IS a ton of fun. So there’s that.
I think the biggest difference between past stumbles and this offering is a collection of wise thoughts before execution. Start with the cast – the actors selected here just plain FIT their roles; Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as his wife, the Invisible Woman Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Susan’s brother Johnny, the Human Torch, and star of TV’s ‘The Bear’, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm a.k.a. The Thing. Pascal and Kirby are just plain incredible talents, plain and simple….you buy what they’re selling, even surrounded by sci-fi ridiculousness. As for Quinn and Bachrach? They bring the perfect balance of thespian capability and humor to a couple of characters that require such a combo.
The plot has the Richards awaiting a new arrival to the family on the eve of a terrible threat arriving to Earth; Galactus, a Godzilla-sized celestial who wants to devour our planet, starting with Manhattan. Directed by Matt Shakman, ‘First Steps’ has a definite 60’s vibe with advanced technology (think ‘The Jetsons’) which, in the world of the original ‘Fantastic Four’, is spot on. Much like this summer’s ‘Superman’ made nostalgia its foundation, this movie takes a very similar….and very smart….approach.
Why, it’s the best ‘Fantastic Four’ movie yet. And I know, given the history that’s not a MASSIVE compliment, but still…
