Fantastic Four: First Steps Review (2025)

I finally sat down to watch Fantastic Four: First Steps (I know, I know, I’m so far behind on Marvel it’s not even funny) and, honestly? This is easily the best version of Marvel’s First Family we’ve gotten on screen yet.  Was it perfect? No; but it nails the family dynamic in a way that the older movies just never did. Here’s my Fantastic Four: First Steps review.

In the in the ’05 and ‘07 films, the team always felt more like coworkers than a family. Here, the bond was natural. The whole family angle isn’t forced, and it made me actually care about how they interacted. Ben Grimm in particular stood out to me, his design was perfect, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach brought both the gruff exterior and heart. Honestly, this is the best Thing we’ve ever had.

I was absolutely thrilled with Sue. I am not entirely certain that Vanessa Kirby screamed “Sue” to me (I didn’t think she was a bad or good – I think I need to see her a few more times), but the way she was written was spectacular. She kicked ass, carried emotional weight, and anchored the team. Sue has always been the one I care about in the Fantastic Four (by lightyears) and she really got her due in this one. Pedro Pascal was solid too, really showing how Reed’s obsession can be a fault in some degrees. (If Marvel has the balls to make him The Maker, I’ll be all in.) Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm was handled with confidence rather than arrogance, and it made him little more likeable than say Chris Evans’s (I don’t know how Michael B. Jordan’s is – I never watched 2015).

Galactus finally looks like Galactus.

Grimy, cosmic, terrifying and they nailed the Worldship. He didn’t feel like a just standard “villain,” but a true force of nature. The Silver Surfer (this time Shalla-Bal) looked fine, though as a Norrin Radd fan, I couldn’t help but wish they’d kept him. Her arc here felt rushed and didn’t quite hit the emotional depth of the comics as I would have liked. They did a pretty good job of showing a Surfer’s power, but I don’t think it really reflected the true level of power a Surer can body Superman. (Silver Surfer is the only thing that I think the last films did right).

The Franklin Richards “baby element” was handled better than I expected. Since most of my FF knowledge comes from 90s comics, I actually had no idea that Franklin showed up as early as the 60’s in the comics so it didn’t feel shoehorned in for me, but maybe that’s just me

The think the humor worked pretty well (I laughed pretty good at the way Reed asked Sue to make the ship invisible in between contractions). It had me laughing without feeling like the forced humor we got in Thor: Love and Thunder. The balance between comedy and cosmic drama actually felt right and left me satisfied.

Where the movie stumbled for me was pacing. Up until about 1h 15, it was steady and well built. After that, things felt a touch rushed. One minute we’re getting heartfelt family speeches, the next we’re teleporting planets and Galactus there and now he’s gone. I think that an extra 20 minutes would have helped.

Visual Highlights

• Galactus’ design: stunning, terrifying, and exactly how I would’ve designed him.
• The wormhole chase with the Silver Surfer: was a pure visual spectacle.
• Herbie’s inclusion: a nostalgic touch that made me smile.

Final Thoughts:

This is isn’t the deepest Marvel movie, and it’s not without flaws, but Fantastic Four: First Steps succeeds where past FF films failed: it actually feels like the Fantastic Four.

Score: 7.2/10 — a fun, popcorn Marvel movie that nails the family vibe, gives us Galactus in all his glory, and avoids the mistakes of the Fox era. Hardcore MCU fans may nitpick, but if you just want to enjoy a ride, this delivers.

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