Title – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Director – Matt Shakman (Cut Bank)

Cast – Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner

Plot – Astronauts turned superhero’s The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards (Pascal), Sue Storm (Kirby), Ben Grimm (Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Quinn) must learn to live with one another and work together to stop a deadly threat that has the potential to destroy the entire planet.

“Are you the protectors of this world?”

Review by Eddie on 25/07/2025

A key moment in the Marvel cinematic universe, one that has gone through a tumultuous period since The Avengers: Endgame came and went with much fanfare in 2019, The Fantastic Four: First Steps sees director Matt Shakman herald in the beginning of “Phase 6” for the media giant that’s looking to strike gold with the currently filming Avengers: Doomsday that is proposed to arrive at the end of 2026.

A seemingly cursed cinematic property thanks to the early 2000’s double bill of films and the diabolical 2015 entry that many would regard as one of the worst comic book adaptations of all time, Shakman and the wider Marvel creative team certainly had their work cut out for them in ensuring past mistakes weren’t repeated here while at the same time convincing audiences that have been burnt by this series in the past that this time was the time where the stars aligned.

Pleasingly for long-suffering fans, Marvel acolytes and those just wanting to watch a fun and fast-paced summer blockbuster, First Steps is a (pardon the pun) step in the right direction for the future of “Phase 6” and while it absolutely doesn’t do anything extraordinary, this back to basics like offering that is well-casted, shot and produced is a breezy and enjoyable experience that puts in place a solid foundation for what is too come.

Steering clear of attempting to do another fully fledged origin story, Shakman gets stuck straight into things as we are transported to a retro-futuristic New York in 1961 and the awesome foursome that is Reed Richards ( Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) are tasked with their greatest challenge yet trying to protect the world from the threat that is Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his loyal offsider Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

While this stereotypical world destroying threat and battle plays a key part in First Steps, what’s impressive about this enjoyably baggage free offering is the fact Shakman is just as keen to allow the family element of this group play out, even more so than CGI spectacle or carnage, an angle that allows his talented cast to take centre stage and First Steps to become more than just another excuse for Marvel/Disney to waste their significant budgets on eye-candy and cameo loaded sugar rushes.

It’s refreshing to see a more stripped back Marvel offering, one that has the brands most striking visual palette in some years thanks to the old-school Jetson’s like atmosphere and in particular one that isn’t obsessed with one liners every other minute and wink wink jokes with the performers natural charms all generating natural emotions both of a frivolous nature and far more serious when the time calls for it.

All doing well with their debuts in the Marvel universe, all casting choices here work well with Kirby and Quinn standing out amongst the Four while Ineson and Garner do a lot with limited screentime, making their respective marks as some of the most interesting Marvel villains to grace the big-screen over the last decade.

Clocking in at under two hours, moving along at a constantly moving pace and even featuring a notable score (very unlike Marvel) courtesy of the legend that is Michael Giacchino, First Steps may not be ground-breaking but this is an enjoyable and polished experience that sets the scene for what is all of a sudden an appealing next era of the Marvel universe.

Final Say –

With an on-song cast, a fun and visually memorable retro-futuristic setting and some impressive villains, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an easy to like summer event film that continues the Marvel momentum after Thunderbolts.

3 1/2 rock beards out of 5