I wish it was higher praise to say this, but this is the best Fantastic Four movie yet. It's sad that it's so hard to translate F4 to film, but I think it's because the entire concept feels so cheesy and retro. The 2005 movie was so light-hearted it was hard to take seriously, while the 2015 film tried to lean into the body horror aspect and failed miserably.
Okay, I actually like the 2005 movie, sue me. The 2007 sequel was a bit of a letdown, but I think the 2005 film was a great representation of the team. Still, it can't hold a candle to 2025's First Steps.
There's a lot of reasons the new movie succeeds, but for me, the biggest factor is that they set it in an alternate universe. By making the entire world a cheesy, zeerust-themed retrofuture, the team feels like a natural part of their world.
Rise of the Silver Surfer tried to play it safe with Galactus, because they thought a mile-high guy in a purple helmet would look silly. In First Steps, they give us a world where Galactus looks no goofier than any of F4's other villains.
We've all seen movies set in the 50's, where the set designers went to great lengths to make sure the cars and outfits were period accurate. First Steps faced the same challenge, but even more so because the world depicted is such a hodge-podge of eras. They picked a unique visual style and committed themselves to it, and it feels consistent throughout the film.
I like the way their powers are depicted, especially Reed's. Watching him swing through town like Spider-Man looks way better than you'd think.
I do feel the movie had some pacing problems, and I'm still not 100% sold on the cast. Johnny especially felt sort of bland. Some better banter might have livened things up a bit. But that's a small quibble; overall it's a Fantastic film that makes up for some of the misfires in the past.
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