Nostalgia Overdrive in Marvel’s Latest, But Where’s the Tension?

Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a visually dazzling, unabashedly retro reboot of the publisher’s first family of superheroes. The film is filled with solid performances (especially from Pedro Pascal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and a bombastic take on Marvel’s flagship cosmic heroes that revels in every bit of 60s-inspired window dressing. But for all of its colorful flash and good intentions, the movie never quite ratchets up the tension or stakes, or even that much emotion, to make it a truly thrilling or memorable experience.

Producer Kevin Feige was not wrong when he said that First Steps was “a no-homework-required” entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a universe that’s ramped up its number of multiverses, surprise cameos, and required spinoffs, it’s a welcome relief to watch a Marvel movie that doesn’t depend on knowing any of those things. It is a standalone story, reintroducing Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm without any of the gnarled continuity of previous attempts at bringing these characters to the screen. The film is fine with staying simple—sometimes, too fine.

After an opening talk show monologue by Mark Gatiss (who also has a smaller role in the movie) cleverly recapping how the four originally became the Fantastic Four, we learn that it all happened four years ago. The team of scientists and one photographer went on a mission in outer space that exposed them to radiation that fundamentally changed their DNA. Reed (played with careful consideration and just the right amount of swagger by Pedro Pascal) can stretch his body out like rubber. Vanessa Kirby’s Sue can not only become invisible, but she can also project force fields around herself and objects. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny can set himself on fire and fly, becoming the Human Torch. Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben is permanently transformed into The Thing, a giant covered in rock and muscle with extraordinary strength.

The four now live together in what could be described as a shared, mid-century modern space compound: it has flying cars and rocket ships, chalkboard equations and mad science experiments, and a toddler-sized robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. zipping around and helping with the chores. The world of First Steps is the apex of retro-futurism: square television screens with analog dials, people still driving cars without any sign of smartphones, and even the color palette of many of its sets and buildings comes across as almost comically optimistic in design. If The Jetsons and Lost in Space had a baby while also checking out the latest Marvel Comics, you might get the first look at Marvel’s Fantastic Four.

If the aesthetic of the movie is charming, the narrative itself has remarkably little urgency to it. The film leans into the idea of family as its core theme, as the four leads are an extremely close-knit unit. Sue learns early on in the film that she is pregnant, and Reed’s protective and near-panicked response to the news lands as equal parts anxious and sweet. The characters get a chance to breathe and play with one another in a way that’s rare in a Marvel film. In one sequence, for instance, Reed methodically runs through a baby-proofing checklist on both his home and science lab with a child-sized robot, while Johnny and Ben bounce back and forth with sibling-like bickering and banter in support. There’s obvious affection between the four main characters, but the movie truly plays up Johnny and Ben’s roles as the charming goofball sidekicks while also telegraphing their excitement about being uncles.

But, of course, this is a Marvel film, so the family bonding can’t last for long. Galactus, an armor-plated, huge creature with glowing yellow eyes, has his sights set on Earth, and devouring the planet is his primary objective before the end of the film. He sends a herald, a silver-skinned figure played in motion capture by Julia Garner, to Earth before he arrives to let the four know the bad news. The Silver Surfer has a cool, streamlined look to her, and Garner, a talented actress, does her best to make this new character someone to care about (at least a little) while also being an object of lust (mostly by Johnny).

The action in the film, though, is on the mild side for most of the running time. The heroes chase Galactus into space and fumble around as they try to find a way to stop him, while also trying to duck attacks from the Surfer. The film’s visual effects are appropriate to the retro theme. If you were watching in the ’60s, you’d see bursts of light, fire trailing behind Galactus and Johnny as they zip around, and kablooey! Style pops and bangs as people are blasted around. The fight in the lab that includes Sue giving birth during a mission, which the advertising for the movie makes it sound like a chaotic brawl, instead feels more like an out-of-body dream sequence (birth and planetary obliteration, combined with a space-age color filter). It is both emotionally flat and almost psychedelic.

That curious combination of earnestness and absurdist silliness characterizes the film’s tone in general. It has some moments that land emotionally, but also frequently gets lost or submerged by the overall soft color palette and winking comic bookiness of the film. The stakes never feel high, even when the literal end of the planet is nigh. It is a child’s adventure story more than an edge-of-your-seat blockbuster.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a good time, and it’s got a solid cast that’s game for the whole mission. It’s also a whole lot of fun to look at if you have any nostalgia for early Marvel Comics, or are at least into retro aesthetics and cool-looking costumed heroes being unabashed about it. But for every splash of color and ’60s atmosphere on screen, the film also has about half as much thrill to match it. It might be just right if you want something lighter than life-destroying stakes. Otherwise, you might be left wishing there was more to the package inside.