IR Film Review: THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS [Marvel/Disney]
Looking at the concept of "The Fantastic Four." the crux is the aspect of teamwork. A collection of close knit almost family (and pretty much family) is what binds them. Even in the previous iteration (with Jessica Alba and Chris Evans), the team itself tries to be wholesome...though this new version takes it a little farther. Having visited the set of "Rise Of The Silver Surfer" in Vancouver back in the early 2000s, comic book movies have come a long way (even though at the time, that was cutting edge). While "First Steps" is a little more schmaltzy, its heart is in the right place and, in a way, it is paying tribute to the 40s/50s movies its ideals resonate in. In an age of AI where we see the computer reimagining movies in Super Panavision in the 50s, this adds what sometimes what that cannot: the soul in the performance.
While this one doesn't pull at the heartstrings ironically enough in the way that "Thunderbolts*" did, it does push forward the idea of a utopia (but one that requires just a slight push to bring it out of the light). Pedro Pascal does well as Reed Richards but it is Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm that is truly the key. The crux of the film resides in their son which is important but it is only when she truly has to defend him when no one else can, that the film finds it footing. Some parts of the film towards the end are overwrought and don't make logical sense in terms of what the villain actually does. The climax is thrilling in its own way and the audience in the theater sure responded to it but the reasoning straddles the line.
Joseph Quinn as The Human Torch is earnest but does not have as much to do. He quips through most of the movie and his best bits are just in the buddy moments with The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Moss-Bachrach has an interesting noir approach. There is a bit of romance for him and reflects in an interesting cameo. He is not as mired in existential angst that is more ingrained in Reed Richards. Richards is always afraid he is going to lose everything...and that (like Tony Stark) might be the tragic and mythic aspect (or end) to him when the time comes.
Julia Warner as the Silver Surfer has perhaps the best narrative arch since it gives reason for the job she is doing. Galactus (as was alluded to in "The Eternals") almost comes off smaller later in the film than he should. The most dynamic part of the film though is when the Four head out into space to confront a threat on the edge of a major astronomical anomaly. One can see the inspiration of "Interstellar" in its basis but the logical science (having faster than light drive when the rest of the planet is in the beginning of the 21st century) does stretch it a bit (though it is a blast to watch). When spacecraft were used in the Marvel Universe before traveling between planets, it wasn't explained so much even though it still was literally happening.
That said, this formation of the Fantastic Four does it in a different way (though not necessarily better...just different). Of course the point is of it interacting with the current Marvel Universe but this one (again expectations) doesn't really cater to that. It tells its own story (save for one brief bit) but that might be a misdirect to something else. And it is set in an alternate universe. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" does what it wants to admirably while distinctly creating a world...but it is just a matter of where it leads. B
By Tim Wassberg
