Clarion Review: ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’

Marvel Studios has released their newest film, “Fantastic Four: First Steps”. This film marks the debut of Marvel’s First Family. There was a cameo in the earlier “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness” for Reed Richards, but that was a different actor and lacked the other three, so it does not count. 

Instead, this movie makes for an amazing film in its own right and a great jumping-on point for any viewers wanting to get into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The plot is a standard superhero tale but with some serious heart behind it. This is not the New York that watchers of the MCU would recognize; rather, it is an alternate universe. What this means is that the history that had been previously established had never happened, and rather this new world has its own stories.

Viewers don’t need to watch decades worth of movies just to understand what the plot is. The film starts with the Fantastic Four already being an established team in New York. Having been mutated by cosmic radiation on a journey into space, the team had been using their new abilities to help the people of earth for four years by the time of the film. 

A new threat emerges, however, when the Silver Surfer shows up in Times Square heralding Galactus. Galactus is a giant in space that feeds on planets to survive.

Over the course of the film, the Fantastic Four look for a way to defeat the cosmic conqueror, who is after not only their planet but also their newborn son, Franklin, as well. 

They succeed in sending Galactus away, but not without sacrifice. It was Galactus’s own herald who sent him away, at the seeming cost of her own life. From there the movie ends with a teaser setting up Doctor Doom, a longtime enemy of the Fantastic Four.

This plot doesn’t break any new ground, but it knocks it out of the park in its execution. The most important part of any Fantastic Four plot is the dynamic of the family, and this movie gets that completely. 

Every single actor did an amazing job of making the audience feel the familial love in every scene therein, even in uncommon combinations like Johnny and Reed.

A standout in this aspect is the duo of Sue (The Invisible Woman) with Reed (Mr. Fantastic) and Johnny (The Human Torch) with Ben (The Thing). Reed and Sue have a beautiful couple feeling to their interactions, pushed even forward by how they interact with their new son. 

Sue is overflowing with love for her son, but Reed is much more logical about it. His mind is constantly on the search for possible dangerous scenarios; this includes with his son. He continuously tries to make the world as safe as possible for his son.

These two interacting gives the feeling that these people are two individuals that balance each other’s worst qualities and have been for many years.

Counter to them are Johnny and Ben who feel like two friends brought together against their will, because they are. Johnny is Sue’s brother, and Ben is Reed’s friend from childhood. 

This lack of a prior history doesn’t keep them down at all, however. The two butt heads and constantly fight, but when it’s important, they prove to be great friends not only to each other but also as a part of the family as a whole.

The visuals of the film are also something that will be talked about long after the film leaves theaters. Gone are the days of gritty, realistic, and grounded visuals; this film embraces the silly aspects of comic books. 

The Thing is a truly strange-looking amalgamation of orange stone, and Galactus is a giant man with an absolutely ridiculous-looking helmet. This direction is indicative of the movie’s willingness to tap into less “cool” yet authentic aspects of the universe.

This doesn’t stop the film from looking cool at times as well. A particular standout is Johnny’s effects for his flames. They look completely real, and he finally has the comic-accurate red coloring to his body when engulfed in flame. 

The Silver Surfer is also a standout in the effects department. The metallic sheen to her body looks amazing throughout the whole film, and they even play with reflections in certain scenes to great effect.

A couple random pluses to the movie are the use of niche parts of Marvel lore. They even use the Mole Man. I haven’t seen this character used in a mainline piece of media for more than a decade. I would be willing to guess many viewers don’t even know who he is.

Another compliment is the characterization of Johnny Storm. In most of the comics I feel like he doesn’t have much of a place on the team other than as Sue’s brother. Instead, in this film, he is constantly helping the family when needed. He also has maybe the most impressive feat of intelligence in the whole movie.

It is nice to see a side of Johnny that is more capable than he is usually shown to be. He is usually just a prankster and sometimes it borders on unbearable. Its good in this movie for him to be a more likeable character, even though he retains his mischievous trouble maker personality.

Viewers should think about going to see “Fantastic Four: First Steps” in theaters. Not only does the film serve as a fully contained story in and of itself with lots of heart and gravitas. It also serves as the starting point for a new chapter of the MCU so it’s the perfect opportunity for watchers that wanted to get into it but couldn’t due to the amount of baggage attached.

Andrew Barnes, staff writer

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