Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. (from IMDb)

Since Disney's acquisition of FOX, it was only a matter of time until we saw The Fantastic Four get integrated into the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). And let's be honest: the Marvel franchise has been struggling to keep its head above the surface since 2019's Avengers: Endgame capped off the universe with one big grand finale. But there seems to be some fresh hope in the Marvel world this year. Not every recent film entry has landed in the heroic pose that would make Black Widow proud (oh, how you disappointed us Captain America: Brave New World), but with the sweet surprise that was Thunderbolts*, and the potentially epic Avengers: Doomsday currently undergoing filming, there is a bright ray of hope in the MCU shining right now that is only slightly eclipsed by the rebooted DCU's success with this month's Superman debut. And The Fantastic Four have had a rocky history on the big screen. The heroic quartet debuted in cinemas twenty years ago, then saw a sequel two years later before being unsuccessfully rebooted in 2015. But all of that was before Disney and the MCU had the rights to do anything with these characters. And now, in 2025, The Fantastic Four: First Steps brings the fantastic family into the fold in a satisfying way.

Instead of introducing the characters with Dr. Doom and an origin story for a third time, First Steps cleverly uses news footage to give us a recap of how this team got to be so super. It saves us from another dang origin film and presents us with our heroes very much already established. But I admit, that has its bittersweetness about it, too. This fantastic family exists on an entirely different Earth than the MCU we know was established on (This is Earth 828 - a nod to Fantastic Four creator Jack Kirby's August 28th birthday), and they've been actively saving New York City as the Fantastic Four for several years already. But with this story, we get a very specific adventure for them, that not only has very high, planet-level stakes, but it helps pave the way to next year's Doomsday. (The mid-credits scene just barely hints at what might be to come.)

While this world on Earth 828 is well-established, we're brought in during this Earth's 1960's, and the vibe is super fun. But since it's not our 60's, it's way more high-tech, and the vibe is familiar but with a heightened sci-fi feel. It's visually delicious. And when the team heads into space, the visuals don't back down. I could see Christopher Nolan grinning over some serious Interstellar vibes. I was definitely not expecting First Steps to look as beautiful as it does.

Speaking of vibes, First Steps surprisingly captures a couple different movie vibes along the way. Not even taking into consideration that First Steps composer Michael Giacchino also composed the music for 2004's The Incredibles, this movie has some distinct Incredibles family vibes. And when you throw Galactus into the mix - and learn what McGuffin he'll be chasing - there's some surprisingly serious Ghostbusters II vibes. I'm not complaining over here; I actually found it kind of amusing - and I wouldn't be surprised if it was entirely unintentional - but it's tough not to draw some similarities. But since I've already dropped Giacchino by name here, I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight his incredible - and quite memorable - score for this film. That "Fan-tas-tic Four!" theme will be one for the books, and is definitely one of the better MCU themes I've heard in recent years.

The cast for this foursome is an interesting selection, but it works out flawlessly. I know many fans hoped to see John Krasinski as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic - and were only teased with his cameo in the last Doctor Strange film - but Pedro Pascal is actually quite good here. (His over-the-top performance as Maxwell Lord in WW84 did more harm than good - for both my wife and I.) He's been oft criticized for appearing in almost everything anymore (and maybe rightfully so), but I think he proved to be a good choice here. Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman and is a truly inspired casting. I've loved her in anything I've seen her in so far, and she really brings a lot of depth to Sue here. Stranger Things 4's Joseph Quinn is also great as Johnny Storm. It was fun seeing him in A Quiet Place: Day One last year, and he's a perfect Johnny Storm. While Chris Evans certainly made a memorable Johnny in the first two films, this Johnny is much less obnoxious and a lot more charming (in a quieter way, too). Ebon Moss-Bachrach, while not really known for usually garnering big roles, is great here as Ben, too (and I can't help but feel bad for him being buried under the rocky look of The Thing). Ozark's Julia Garner was a super surprising casting choice for The Silver Surfer, but having the character being female here serves the story really well and her performance is really excellent (not surprising). All in all, First Steps feels like the perfect example of how to do a Fantastic Four movie with heart and care. And I genuinely can't wait to see more of these characters in action in Avengers next year.

The content for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is surprisingly light for Marvel these days. I'd even venture to say that they make good on the "family" dynamic of the main characters to make this more family friendly. So while profanity is infrequent - 1 use of the "S" word, just a couple of "h*ll," and a sort-of unfinished use of "J-sus" - the stakes of the film are crazy high, and I could see it being a little much for younger viewers. Galactus, as a villain - who is pretty cool, I must say - literally destroys entire planets, and when The Silver Surfer makes her first appearance, it's to tell all of Earth that it's marked for death. That's some pretty high stakes there. There is plenty of destruction in the final act of the film, with some pretty emotional moments that could disturb younger viewers, too. So while I would consider this one more family friendly than usual, it's still rather intense. It's dark without necessarily feeling quite so dark - if that makes sense. (It's not Thunderbolts*-grade dark, which was more psychological in nature.) There are some sacrificial themes that come up that are certainly weighty, too, which could also affect some viewers. There isn't any sexual content, but The Silver Surfer is basically an all-metal nude woman, without any explicit details.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is definitely a different kind of movie for the MCU, but it's a welcomed deviation from the norm. It's also quite possibly the best iteration of this fantastic foursome yet. If you're a fan of the characters, First Steps should deliver enough to satisfy even the pickiest fan, while casual Marvel fans should enjoy the team's official debut in the MCU. (Oh, and I did mention above that there's a mid-credits bonus scene, but there's also a post-credits "scene" that doesn't add much to the film or the MCU. Without spoiling anything, it's "cute," but probably not worth sitting through all the credits just to see.)