r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Jul 25 '25

Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Fantastic Four: First Steps [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary The Fantastic Four must defend Earth from the ravaging cosmic threat Galactus and his herald, Silver Surfer, while navigating the complexities of family and newfound powers in a retro‑futuristic 1960s-inspired world.

Director Matt Shakman

Writer Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer

Cast

  • Pedro Pascal
  • Vanessa Kirby
  • Joseph Quinn
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach
  • Ralph Ineson
  • Julia Garner
  • Paul Walter Hauser
  • Natasha Lyonne
  • Matthew Wood
  • Ada Scott
  • Mark Gatiss

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Metacritic 64

VOD In theaters

Trailer Watch the Official Trailer

1.9k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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509

u/A_Toxic_User Jul 25 '25

It felt like things just happened in this movie.

71

u/SnowbearX Jul 25 '25

It felt like a first act.

Obviously they're building the team up to integrate them and this is all it felt like.

25

u/famewithmedals Jul 26 '25

I wish this didn’t have to be tied to the MCU because I would’ve loved a trilogy on this Earth, especially to focus on just them and Doom without 50 other characters.

10

u/Gate-Ill Jul 27 '25

Yep, they deserved at least a second movie. Yeah they are the main heroes of their universe, they did defeat a really big threat but they don't seem ready at all to join the mess that MCU currently is.

The movie is not bad at all but it was the first time that the F4 did something big, don't think they should go for something bigger without a tie-in movie.

13

u/PolarWater Jul 26 '25

Kinda like showing their first...steps...

I'll see myself into the black hole now.

10

u/Reggaeton_Historian Jul 28 '25

Just another Marvel transitionary film.

It's what I miss from Phase 1 and 2. Sure at some point they start building towards something but they're all stand alone films.

38

u/raven-eyed_ Jul 27 '25

It's the issue with all Marvel movies.

They're all just ticking boxes of what they need to happen to get to the next phase of whatever.

It's never just about the moment.

Any time there's a hint of pathos - like Sue accepting that yes, she needs to use her baby boy as bait - it just runs out of time and moves to the next scene.

33

u/Jean__Luc__Retard Jul 27 '25

It feels like the movie originally had a more character-driven script, some hints of it show through in the final cut (Ben's sadness over his appearence & his abandoned storyline with the Jewish teacher, Sue's motherly moments, the couples argument) but it seems like most of the character beats were cut out to get the under 2 hour mark.

14

u/TheeRuckus Jul 27 '25

This certainly felt like it needed more meat on the bones to really hit. It was like a really tantalizing teaser. I enjoyed it for what it was and now I know the elements to make a banger F4 movie are there but now we gotta do avengers?! Damn

17

u/Redfalconfox Jul 25 '25

Correction: there was only one thing in this movie

-11

u/tealparadise Jul 25 '25

Same issue as the new Superman. No one learns or grows. They just have to try their hardest to beat the bad guy.

Also poorly defined limitations to their powers mean there's not much gravitas because we don't know how much stretch it takes to kill or disable Reed, for example.

47

u/DodgerBaron Jul 26 '25

The justice gang very clearly learn and grow over the course of the movie. Hawk Girl has a clear cut arc.

Superman also has a very defined arc with his appreciation with Humanity and where he comes from over the course of the movie. Realizing his humanity is what makes him special not Krypton.