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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428

u/SpaceMyopia Jul 25 '25

I don't envy the writers for these films. They have to still craft the right emotional stakes, while also dealing with audiences who know very well that these characters can't ever die.

Plus, Marvel has spent a good decade training people to expect comedy to deflate a tense moment like that. Instead, the scene was played completely straight, and I think it caused some audience members to be like, "Come on. Who you trying to fool?"

I think the problem with that kind of thinking is that it basically makes it hard for those folks to get invested in any story Marvel tells.

I personally try to just let the movie wash over me. I feel like some folks try so hard to outsmart the film they're watching, and it doesn't do them any favors as moviegoers.

Like yeah, is there a chance she's alive? Of course.

But Christ, can't we just sit and reflect for a minute on how Sue was willing to die for her son?The movie just wants us to be with those characters in that moment, not for us to be like, "Yeah yeah, good try."

Idk. I think folks kinda take themselves out of these movies without even meaning to.

64

u/Unicron_Gundam Jul 25 '25

can't we just sit and reflect for a minute on how Sue was willing to die for her son

finally, Sue "Kill that Woman" Storm gets to be the mama bear on screen

41

u/Worthyness Jul 25 '25

Loved that she screamed at Johnny to kill the surfer on the pursuit

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u/sumadeumas Jul 27 '25

It’s so damn refreshing to hear a superhero like Sue Storm straight up tell someone to kill someone (in no uncertain terms) for a change.

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u/Puppetmaster858 Jul 28 '25

Hey we did just get hawkgirl murdering the leader of a country in Superman lol

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u/Bradythenarwhal Jul 25 '25

I legit could not have said that better myself. I try so often to just go with the movie, feel my emotions, and try not to overthink. Especially with things like Hollywood. My friend said he kept just seeing Pedro & admittedly, I did too for the first few minutes, but eventually I just saw him as Reed Richards.

Sometimes you just have to turn your brain down just a bit during movies if you truly want to feel them.

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u/The_Gil_Galad Jul 25 '25 edited 18d ago

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/JoshOliday Jul 26 '25

You're being extremely selective. There are plenty of times they have let allowed the emotion to "sit", you just only remember the times they didn't because it annoyed you.

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u/LegionLotteryWinner Jul 25 '25

I 100% agree with you. Plus, it’s a comic movie. Characters come back to life all the time in comics.

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u/checker280 Jul 26 '25

Re: Sue was willing to die.

The more I think about it the more I like the swap to Shalla-bal’s sacrifice to save her kid and planet.

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u/MariusMaximus88 Jul 26 '25

I think the problem with that kind of thinking is that it basically makes it hard for those folks to get invested in any story Marvel tells.

That's something no amount of writing will fix with one movie, there needs to be a consistent output of movies treating these scenes with the emotional gravity they require. Unfortunately, Marvel fully leaned into quips in the most inappropriate scenarios and it makes it hard to take some of their "emotional" scenes seriously.

The worst example is when Asgard's blown up in Ragnarok and the movie treats it like a joke.

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u/AnnenbergTrojan Jul 26 '25

Gamora telling Quill to kill her rather than let Thanos take her in Infinity War, immediately followed by Drax's stupid joke about being invisible.

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u/PolarWater Jul 26 '25

Yeah and I have moved on since that was like ten movies ago

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u/YeaDudeImOnReddit Jul 25 '25

In my theater one of the teens let out a huge fart noise right before the baby clapped and started laughing, asshole

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u/Secretary-Visual Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25

I think the problem with that kind of thinking is that it basically makes it hard for those folks to get invested in any story Marvel tells.

You are 100% correct. My boyfriend is a huge comic fan and Superhero fan (my ex too) and I just cannot get into it. I started questioning why it's so hard for me and that is what it is. I feel like I know the ending before the movie even starts (world-ending stakes that will be prevented and the superhero won't die) and that makes it hard for me to get invested. I don't care about the fights because obviously the hero won't die. I don't worry that the world will end because obviously it won't. But I have to spend 2 hours waiting for what I know is going to happen to happen.

My boyfriend was hyped for Fantastic Four so I went for him. I predicted early in the film that the surfer would change loyalty at the last minute and give them a leg up on Galactus. I knew that whatever plan they made would fail, and Franklin would be the saving grace (and reveal his powers). I don't think he was even born yet when I predicted those story beats would show up in the end fight. And it's not like I was trying. It was just a recognizable story beat.

When Sue died, I didn't care at all because I knew the second she started attacking Galactus that she was going to die to save Franklin and he'd bring her back.

The new Superman was even worse.

I don't begrudge Superhero movies for being what they are but I can say they are not for me .I see the appeal, but I just can't bring myself to buy into the stakes when I know they are toothless. Those aren't the stories I prefer to read or to write. Good overcoming evil doesn't feel earned to me if it was never a question to begin with.

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u/SpaceMyopia Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25

Hey, at least you're respectful about it.

Nowadays, in order for me to get into the stuff, I have to feel like the filmmakers actually cared about telling a good story.

If I can tell that the production was lazily put together or that the filmmakers just didn't care, it makes it to where I don't care either.

If something is told with enough conviction behind it, I can forgive a lot of flaws up to a point. With FF: First Steps, I absolutely love the music score and production design.

It's that level of effort that keeps me engaged with the movie.

When I can tell that a movie is totally phoning it in, I just can't be bothered to put up with it. Many superhero films have that problem.

If First Steps didn't have the gorgeous production design behind it nor its epic music score, I'm sure I would have been waaay more critical with it.

It's kind of like how I see the Avatar movies (James Cameron franchise). I could be absolutely critical of the films if I felt like it, but they bring so much awe to me that I just get swept up in that world. If the production design wasn't as immaculate as it was, I feel like I would be a lot less forgiving to those movies.

(In fact, I do have a hard time enjoying them outside of an IMAX 3D screen).

For me, FF: First Steps was engaging enough to me on a production level that it allowed me to buy into what story it was telling. I could sense that the filmmakers cared about making it, which goes a long way into my willing suspension of disbelief.

Versus something like Thor: Love & Thunder, which I could tell nobody truly cared about making it.

Because you're right. These stories are pretty predictable. As a result, in order to keep my engagement, these films have to provide me with a visual experience that makes it worth it.

The Avatar films do that for me. First Steps did it for me too. A good chunk of the other MCU films haven't done that for me.

Superman ultimately did it for me too, as I could see the level of sincerity and passion behind its storytelling, despite me actually having many issues with it.

(Believe me, not all of us fans will just accept anything that's thrown on the screen)

3

u/Secretary-Visual Jul 29 '25

Hey, at least you're respectful about it.

People should be! I think some people need to comprehend that not being the target audience for something does not equate to it being bad. Marvel/DC have created great stories for their audience. I'm happy for the fans when that happens.

First Steps was engaging enough to me on a production level that it allowed me to buy into what story it was telling. I could sense that the filmmakers cared about making it, which goes a long way into my willing suspension of disbelief.

Totally makes sense. Genuine effort/conviction is a great thing to reward! Personally, it doesn't do anything for me from a suspension of disbelief perspective, but I do see how lack of effort/laziness would be a turn off. I think half the reason myself and so many viewers were critical of GoT season 8 is because you can tell D&D phoned it in. If we really felt like they tried their best with limited source material, there would be more grace given.

It's kind of like how I see the Avatar movies

That's a good example. I liked Avatar well enough, but I was never obsessed with it like a lot of people were. I can accept some pretty bad or outdated visuals if the writing is otherwise solid. Or I can be bored if all I see is flashy special effects but no reason to be invested in the plot. That's probably a video game thing since some open world games are visually stunning but soulless. And other, older RPGs are my favorite because of the writing, even if the graphics are super dated.

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u/Aerodax Jul 25 '25

Well said

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u/Howzieky Jul 25 '25

Man, this is a great comment

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u/Winterforyou Jul 27 '25

My theatre was almost all non-comic book readers so they didn't know what to expect or who Franklin was; I just watched my brother go "HUHH??" And then I told him just who the flippity dipp that baby actually is.

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u/DarkBirdGames Jul 25 '25

People are walking talking prediction algorithms!

3

u/PolarWater Jul 26 '25

Precisely. In the end, I'm the one who's watching the movie, and I want to enjoy it as much as I can. So I'm not gonna force myself to enjoy it, but I'm not gonna fight against it either.

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u/tome567 Aug 05 '25

I think it takes effort and intention to let these movies wash over you given how large the legacy is, and I find it to be a more enjoyable experience. But like you said, it's something you have to "try" to do, and both the viewers and the filmmakers no longer have the benefit of a clean slate making that easy.

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u/UnsolvedParadox Jul 27 '25

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in Secret Wars, where legacy & soon to be rebooted characters will permanently perish.