Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 115 minutes
Release Date: July 25th, 2025 (USA)
Studio: Marvel Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Director(s): Matt Shakman
Writer(s): Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer / Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer and Kat Wood (story) / Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (characters)

Die with yours.

I’m all for style over substance and emotional impact over narrative depth, but The Fantastic Four: First Steps is very much a gorgeous toy that sufficiently distracts us for two hours before we realize nothing happened.

The plot? How can we work together as a planet to punt a villain that appears to be able to make Thanos look like a speed bump into a later “Phase”? The purpose? To integrate the titular heroes into the MCU with a nostalgia bomb that will transport fans who read the comics in the 1960s back to their childhood. The draw? My God, the production design is impeccable straight on through to the cartoon jingle post-credits.

For a film trying hard not to be an origin story (a succinct TV recap gives the highlights), it’s still a prologue doing little beyond introducing its characters. There’s still enough drama via Reed’s utopian solutions always having the fatal flaw of coming to fruition without full knowledge of the problem (the same can be said about his and Sue’s son), but I’m ready to tune in next week for more adventures … not wait seventeen months.

Great cast. Fun score. Awesome aesthetic. Very on-the-nose political Kumbaya ethos. Good CGI for Galactus. Ok CGI for Silver Surfer. Horrible CGI for the baby in a pivotal moment where it seems possible to just use the real baby. Extremely bad uncanny valley vibes for Franklin’s big coming out party.

---

(L-R) Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 MARVEL.