The Fantastic 4: First Steps
The Fantastic Four’s arrival into the MCU is certainly a first step, if only it had the courage to take a few more.
I had a smile beaming on my face the entire runtime of this film. The retro futurism, an aesthetic I’ve always been partial to, is wonderfully conceived here. The world building is spectacular, this feels so distinct from the lived in world of the MCU. The drop dead gorgeous production design of practically every set had me reeling.
The costuming, the hair and makeup, and the moral values of the period manifesting in characterisation, just a genius decision to place this is the period they did. The colouring as well my god! Maybe the best looking MCU movie.
If it wasn’t for this unique take on what is essentially a very predictable story, I’m not sure how satisfying this film is. Just because a film is predictable I don’t think that automatically makes it bad, but I do feel like I left with not an awful lot to mull over.
What stands out is the individual characterisation of each of the team members. Pedro Pascal perfectly captures the neurotic Reed but doesn’t make him flat, he allows this quality to be more complex. Ebon Moss-Bacharach manages to bring heart to The Thing.
Many will say this is Vanessa Kirby’s movie, and for good reason, she’s wonderful. She’s the thematic core of what this movie is trying to say about family - if albeit a little thin. Shockingly though I was captivated by Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm. I really love how they still kept his cocky and playful persona, but included a more serious side to him. His entire arc with Shalla-Bal I really liked. Would’ve been interesting to dig a little deeper with him and show why he wants to prove his intelligence, but what we got was ok. It’s also refreshing to have a group of people who are all competent instead of it being the Reed Richards movie.
I really loved Shalla-Bal and Galactus. I thought they were interesting enough threats that played into the themes even if they did wrap up their stories a little easily.
Yet I’ve felt like this film was missing something when I left and I couldn’t put my finger on what that was, after some reflection I simply think this is missing more family. The individual characters worked really well on their own, but I think this film is missing a lot of heart and chemistry from the interactions of the team with each other.
There’s clearly a lot of love between Reed and Sue and that works really well, but every other dynamic kind of feels under developed and this really gets exemplified in the end. It’s quite irritating as well because this having such a short run time I really think this could’ve benefited from just an extra little bit where we do dig more into their relationships together.
I really wish I liked this more. All of the intergalactic stuff is so wonderfully realised, the final act, even though it wraps up quickly, is really fun and engaging and makes you feel like there’s a real threat. But in the moments we spend with the family, I just don’t think they do a strong enough job showcasing the chemistry and the love.
What they do achieve is the love that this family has for the world, and that love being reflected. I really just wish this had a little bit more time because I think this could’ve been up there with the best.
There’s a lot to like about this movie technically and sadly what lets down is quite a mediocre script, which feels oddly the reverse of the problems Marvel has. Maybe this works better than I’m saying but this is how I feel. Michael Giacchino as well, he’s just so good at what he does.
Some random thoughts:
Why the fuck is Natasha Lyonne in this? What was the point in that storyline?
Mid credits were directed by the Russo Brothers and it gave me more of an appreciation for the way Matt Shakman directs. The colours were so muted and especially after watching such a vibrant, lively movie it was a real shame