Title: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
MPA Rating: PG-13
Director: Matt Shakman
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

What It Is: Four human astronauts — the hyper-intelligent Reed Richards (Pascal), his wife Sue Storm (Kirby), her hot-headed brother Johnny Storm (Quinn), and pilot (and Reed’s best friend) Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — take off on a mission to space. When they’re exposed to mysterious cosmic radiation, their bodies mutate and each gains unique powers. Reed develops super elasticity; Sue gains invisibility, force-field creation, and telekinetic manipulation; Johnny can now ignite himself at will; and Ben is transformed into a rock-skinned powerhouse known as The Thing. When an extraterrestrial threat enters their airspace, it may indeed be clobberin’ time.

What We Think: Does it have pacing issues? Yes. Is the story a bit dull at times? Also yes. But damn if it isn’t a well-directed Marvel film — finally. Pascal and the rest of the cast embody their comic book counterparts really well. However, it’s Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer and herald of Galactus, who truly steals the show. It’s not easy to deliver a standout performance when your character is entirely CGI, yet Garner does exceptional work here. Unfortunately, what hurts the film most are the stakes — or lack thereof. At no point do we feel any real fear of losing these characters, because Marvel rarely commits to killing off its heroes.

Our Grade: B. This, alongside Thunderbolts*, makes for a very solid year for Marvel — finally. I think it’s on Disney+ now (I wouldn’t know; I canceled my subscription). There’s probably a button below to tell you. Either way, I can recommend it. It’s a Marvel film the whole family can enjoy. Where it fits in the larger Marvel canon, who knows? On its own, it’s good enough to hold the attention of audiences young and old.