The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 25, 2025
Let’s start with what works: the retro-futuristic aesthetic is slick and stylish—I NEED their car in my life. Michael Giacchino’s score is stellar. He’s a perfect match for this film. (But we already knew this after his scores for The Incredibles.) I also appreciated that we didn’t get a traditional origin story. The four-year television retrospective used to catch us up was a clever way to fill in the blanks without dragging us through another origin story.
I love everyone in this cast, but weirdly, I didn’t love them together. There's a noticeable lack of chemistry—everyone feels like they’re acting in parallel instead of in sync. For a film that leans on the idea of a “found family” or a “nuclear unit,” I came away feeling emotionally flat. There just wasn’t enough time spent on their dynamic as a group, and that missing heart really kept the film from leveling up.
The humor didn’t work for me either. Marvel's addiction to the self-aware “say the catchphrase” moments need to be retired already—it’s more exhausting than cute at this point.
Still, none of the missteps are enough to derail the film. It’s easily the best version of the Fantastic Four we’ve seen on screen, and one of the more distinct post-Endgame entries in the MCU, but I think I let the early hype get to me. After the effusive early reactions, I was expecting more than what is ultimately just a pretty good movie. First steps are assured—but right now, they’re baby steps. But at least that’s something to build on.