Originally published to FOX5 Vegas on July 31, 2025.

In many ways, the Fantastic Four has been a fledgling franchise for 30 years. From the unreleased 1994 Roger Corman version that was technically never released to the public, to the 2005 and 2007 renditions that never quite reached the prestige of their comic book movie contemporaries, to Josh Trank’s doomed 2015 dark and gritty reboot, Marvel’s first family has yet to hit on all cylinders on-screen, truly.

Now, with the franchise rights back at home with Marvel, the MCU gets to take a stab at depicting the Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the blue-eyed Thing. The result is a distinctly Marvel adventure, free from the burden of the now sprawling cinematic universe’s landscape.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is indeed a mostly standalone story. Fans expecting deep ties to the forthcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” will leave the theater mostly empty-handed, but that serves more as a benefit to the film than its detriment. We join the team mostly already in progress, with a recap of their path to super heroics briefly covered in archival footage form.

As a growing trend in the genre seems to be developing, the film assumes its audience is familiar with the family from either comic books or its previous movie counterparts, and swiftly commences with the storyline, primarily focusing on Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s impending parenthood.

We quickly meet the new cast, who all bring their own flavors to the roles to varying degrees of success. Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards as if his superpower is anxiety. Pascal’s anxious Reed is a novel interpretation, though his internalized struggle often results in muted emotional payoff. The anxiety analog means that most of Reed’s battles are raging on in his own head. He grimaces, occasionally sporting the “I had an idea” face, but otherwise, the leader of the Fantastic Four serves little emotional punch.

Most of the emotional punch in “First Steps” is placed on Vanessa Kirby’s shoulders. As the Invisible Woman, she portrays much of the film with stoic intensity, and when her progeny is threatened, she is at her finest. Still, somewhat like Pascal, Kirby underplays Sue. She bears the brunt of the weight of the plot, but rarely shows the emotion that you would expect a new mother to. However, when Kirby hits emotional heights, like while giving birth, or in the film’s finale, she serves the role well, creating a convincing Sue Storm.

A pair of favorite characters unfortunately didn’t get that much screen time. Victims of the “leave ’em wanting more” mentality include Johnny Storm. Joseph Quinn is incredibly likable as the Human Torch, with perhaps a bit more nuance than other on-screen versions. Quinn’s Storm is given something to do here, and the only frustration with his portrayal of the character is that we don’t get more of him.

The same can be said for Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Here, The Thing is as close to comic-book accurate as we have ever seen on-screen. He looks, sounds, and acts like the Ben Grimm comic book fans have hoped would come along. But The Thing, like Johnny Storm, doesn’t get that much to do here. He receives a minor subplot, but primarily serves as the team’s muscle, rather than a focal point of the film. The main complaint regarding Johnny and Ben is that we just don’t get to see enough of them.

One of the film’s all-stars is Michael Giacchino’s score. Filmgoers will be hard-pressed not to repeat the catchy fanfare of the main “Fantastic Fooooooour” theme, which repeats throughout the film, over and over on the car ride home. Putting the mastermind behind the score from “The Incredibles” to work for a Fantastic Four adaptation may not be a Mister Fantastic/Elastigirl style stretch, but it serves the film very well.

The imagery in “First Steps” ranges from stunningly photoreal to astoundingly fake-looking, stopping at every tier along the way. There are moments when characters seem detached from their reality, and moments when computer-generated characters feel as real as their human counterparts. The whole film is hit and miss visually, but it usually moves so swiftly that the audience doesn’t have a chance to descend into the uncanny valley.

Successful computer-generated characters include Galactus, the film’s big bad, and his herald, the Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal in this version. They’re welcome additions and serve their roles nicely. The closed-loop story allows them to make decisions without the questions that usually weigh down other MCU movies, i.e., where are the Avengers? Here, the planet-devouring villain can wreak havoc freely. It’s one of the simple pleasures of the parallel universe untied (mostly) to the larger universe.

With that said, Avengers: Doomsday promises to introduce this version of the Fantastic Four to the larger MCU, and while that may bring enjoyable interactions (points to the first Marvel character to call Reed Richards “Stretch”), it will also complicate exactly what made this Marvel movie so fresh and unique. It’s unlikely that it will lead to more screen time with Ben and Johnny, or more character development for the rest of the family.

So are we “so back?” It’s complicated. The film is equal parts lovable for its simplicity and frustrating with the knowledge that the simplicity ends in 2026 with “Avengers: Doomsday.” However, as a standalone experience, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is top-notch Marvel, certainly worthy of a watch in theaters.