‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ review: Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby head underwhelming Marvel superhero reboot

Dir: Matt Shakman. US. 2025. 114mins.

The latest reboot of the Fantastic Four features a retro-cool look and winning chemistry between its leads. But after a promising start, First Steps falters due to a lacklustre plot that fails to find a new angle on a familiar superhero story involving an all-powerful being that is out to destroy Earth. Viewers are left with some likeable, grounded performances from Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby and Ebon Moss-Bachrach — and a gnawing sense that this visually appealing sci-fi adventure is a missed opportunity.

Struggles to capitalise on its intriguing premise

Opening across the globe on July 25, First Steps hopes to reassert Marvel’s dominance after several commercially underwhelming entries, including the recent Thunderbolts*, which has brought in $382m worldwide. Pascal and Kirby’s stardom should bolster grosses, as will audiences’ knowledge of the property. The Ioan Gruffudd-led Fantastic Four opened in 2005 ($334m), with a sequel ($302m) arriving two years later. The franchise was then rebooted in 2015, receiving terrible reviews and making just $168m at the global box office. First Steps is the property’s first instalment as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and these heroes will be a major element in forthcoming Avengers chapters.

The film takes place in an alternative-reality Earth, one in which brilliant scientist Reed (Pascal), his diplomat wife Sue (Kirby), Reed’s best friend Ben (Moss-Bachrach) and Sue’s kid brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) were exposed to cosmic rays during a space mission, giving them superpowers. Four years later, the Fantastic Four — respectively, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing and Human Torch — are the planet’s beloved protectors. But just as Reed and Sue are about to welcome their first child, they are visited by the sinister Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), who comes bearing a message: her master, the god Galactus (Ralph Ineson), is on his way to devour Earth. The only thing that can stop Galactus is if they agree to let him have their baby.

First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman, a television veteran who helmed all the episodes of the 2021 Marvel television series WandaVision, which cleverly referenced the visual styles of TV programmes from across different eras. Here, Shakman draws on that same talent for mimicry, immeasurably assisted by production designer Kasra Farahani and costume designer Alexandra Byrne, to supply First Steps with a hip, 1960s-futuristic feel. Among the visual delights, the Fantastic Four’s spaceship is a sleek vehicle, while their New York condo is decked out with handsome mid-century furniture.

Those inspired design details, complemented by Michael Giacchino’s knowingly retro synth-heavy score, allows First Steps to move away from the cookie-cutter sameness of so many Marvel instalments. Adding to that feeling is the fact this movie is self-contained, requiring no knowledge of other Marvel films or shows. Notably, Shakman spends time at the outset developing the relationship between his heroes. In particular, we understand why Reed and Sue are so excited, but also nervous, about having a child — will the baby be adversely affected by those cosmic rays that mutated their DNA? — and appreciate the close bond Reed has with Ben, a shy, sensitive pilot still adjusting to his radically altered appearance. First Steps wants viewers to care about the Fantastic Four as individuals before the derring-do begins.

The ominous Galactus sets the stage for a de rigueur comic-book showdown, except this one is highlighted by a potentially interesting moral dilemma: Reed and Sue vow to stop Galactus, but refuse to sacrifice their baby to save Earth from eradication — how will their fellow humans react to that decision? But after laying out the emotional stakes, Shakman and the script’s four credited writers struggle to capitalise on the intriguing premise.

Part of the problem is that First Steps rushes through several of its key character moments. The world’s anger at the Fantastic Four for choosing one baby’s life over all of theirs is resolved through an unconvincing speech, and likewise marital conflicts between Reed and Sue are introduced and then dispensed with abruptly. And as the film reaches its unsurprisingly epic face-off between good and evil, Shakman puts the newborn in harm’s way so egregiously that it comes across as manipulative.

Not that First Steps lacks spectacular sequences. An interstellar chase, in which the Fantastic Four try desperately to get away from Silver Surfer, ranks among the best Marvel action setpieces in years. And Pascal and Kirby ably portray a relationship that is more mature and lived-in than most MCU love stories. But Moss-Bachrach, whose Thing is rendered through flawless CGI, quickly becomes a bland secondary character, while Quinn’s Human Torch is saddled with so many jokey quips that his crucial dramatic scene fails to resonate. As for Ineson’s Galactus, he is like so many other Marvel villains – seemingly unstoppable, not especially memorable.