‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ (almost) overcomes Marvel fatigue

IN THE OPENING SCENE OF The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) is rummaging through his bathroom cabinets for medication when his wife Sue (Vanessa Kirby) shares news that she is pregnant. They share a frank, funny moment on the big-screen. There is a dusky intimacy to the staging, as if you are watching accomplished actors at the National (Kirby has treaded those particular boards), quite at odds to the Marvel slosh to which we have become accustomed over the decades. You’d be forgiven, as Sue delivers the news to her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and best pal Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) at dinnertime, that we’re about to settle into a domestic drama and not a explodey-wodey-crash-bang-whallop-goodbye-New-York-superhero-flick.

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Is that indicative of the entire film? Yes and no. We are in a retro-futuristic version of New York – so, everyone’s wearing Sixties coats but using groovy, Mr Gadget-esque cameras – where the Fantastic Four are already famous superheroes. Their story is well-known (in the film’s universe, and also ours): they were astronauts, caught in a cosmic storm, and returned home with superhero powers. Reed is stretchy; Sue can turn invisible; Johnny can burst into flames; Ben is hard as rock. Everyone loves them because they keep saving everyone’s bacon.

The first half of the film sets up an effective domestic drama, as we navigate the interpersonal dynamics between cocky Johnny, hard-edged (literally, metaphorically) Ben, and parents-to-be Reed and Sue. Production designer Kasra Farahani, set decorator Jille Azis and costume designer Alexandra Byrne do an excellent job at bringing this attractive, bizarro world to life within the confines of a blockbuster. It is no mean feat. The cast – which is really only four people – are uniformly great: Kirby has a restrained power, Moss Bach-arch nails The Thing’s harsh vulnerability, Quinn is gloriously in the ascendant. Pascal does not need an introduction, and he brings an endearing anxiety to this role as a new father.

And then . . . and then . . . we fall into some Marvel tropes. There’s a world-ending villain heading to Earth, and a mischievous messenger (Julia Garner’s compelling Silver Surfer) causing trouble in the surrounding galaxies. Plus a hitch for the beloved four: they would have to sacrifice the newest member of their clan to appease the big baddie. You can imagine what the good people of Earth would like them to do. You have seen this movie before. I do not need to tell you the ending.

It is a credit to this new cast and director Matt Shakman that all of this third-act tediousness is self-contained and manages than a few moments of flair. Reed’s stretchiness is pretty funny; Johnny’s flirtation with the Silver Surfer has a pay-off. I particularly enjoyed The Thing’s arc. For diehard fans, there is definitely enough to pique interest in Marvel’s upcoming phase. For the rest of us, you might find yourself wishing to spend more in the Fantastic Four’s sitting room, just hanging with the gang. Overall, I’d call that a win.

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is out in cinemas now.

This story originally appeared on Esquire UK.

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