Meerkat Movie Reviews: Fantastic Four: First Steps
Hot on the heels of DC’s critically acclaimed Superman comes Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. Having had a string of inconsistent movies and hit-n-miss TV shows, Marvel will have noted the strength of Superman. They know they need to rediscover their A game. Thunderbolts* was a strong step in that direction, but First Steps represents the first time the MCU has gone head-to-head with the DCU. Have Marvel raised their game?
The answer, at least to this meerkat, is more or less yes. First Steps folds Marvel’s First Family into the MCU in an organic fashion, with tremendous strength found in character moments, and it doesn’t fall into the familiar trap of subverting emotional moments with too much brevity. Despite this, the film also manages to be fun, never taking itself too seriously, whilst building some potent stakes.
The special effects – something Marvel have suffered criticism over in recent years – are as crisp and detailed as any prior MCU effort. In particular, Ben Grimm (the Thing), the Silver Surfer, and of course Galactus all look incredible. Whereas Marvel have rushed out certain films (Quantumania, I’m looking at you in particular), the time spent focusing on building the characters, setting and story of First Steps has clearly paid off.
My only real criticism is that I would have liked more of Galactus. He is an inescapable presence whenever he is on screen, casting a huge literal and figurative shadow. Other than that, I was engrossed from start to finish.
As I alluded to before, the character moments are what define this movie. The small details, such as the playful needling that Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) indulge in with one another, and the the warm friendship between Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic) and Ben, remind us throughout the film that this movie is centred around family. Nowhere is this more evident than in the desire of Reed and Sue (the Invisible Woman) to protect their son, and that protective love is also found in Ben and Johnny. In fact, in all the interactions between the Fantastic Four, it is clear they have strong bonds to one another, a factor that is perhaps their greatest strength.
Swinging back to Galactus, he’s a fascinating villain, not least because he is not motivated by greed, or anger, but rather by an insatiable hunger. His need to consume worlds is what drives him, along with a wish to rid himself of his curse. I hope we see more of him in the future. His herald, the Silver Surfer, is a formidable weapon, driven by her guilt, and desire to protect those whom she loves.
Everyone knocks it out of the park performance-wise. I was not initially convinced about Pedro Pascal as Reed, but I’m sold now. If Marvel can keep up this level of production, and take this level of care with all their projects, then we can expect to feast on some epic, glorious films.
10/10
