Marvel’s First Family Returns to the MCU with a Stylish but Shallow Reboot

Review: Fantastic Four: First Steps

Fantastic Four: First Steps positions Marvel’s original superhero team in a 1960s-inspired world, with a visual style that immediately distinguishes it from the rest of the MCU. This mid-century setting brings some freshness to a franchise in need of reinvention. But while the aesthetic choices are deliberate and confident, the film often favours surface-level charm over emotional or narrative depth.

The cast is well-selected. Vanessa Kirby and Pedro Pascal bring a sense of ease and connection to their roles as Sue and Reed Richards. Their chemistry is genuine and rooted in care rather than conflict, which is refreshing. Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) brings the expected energy, while Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) plays the role of the loyal outsider — part of the family, but never fully at ease within himself. Once again, the Marvel formula leans on quips and backstory breadcrumbs without giving them space to deepen.

First Steps leans into a deeply human — and even spiritual — truth: that strength is found not in independence, but in interdependence.

This theme is most apparent in Ben Grimm’s subplot with Natasha Lyonne’s character. Their relationship — understated and emotionally grounded — offers something rare in superhero storytelling: tenderness. Their scenes manage to cut through the gloss, revealing a more human angle rarely afforded to Marvel’s CGI-heavy characters. But this sub plot is too brief and underuses the brilliant Lyonne.

There’s also a missed opportunity. Ben’s Jewish identity, tied to co-creator Jack Kirby’s own background, is hinted at but not explored. A deeper exploration of his faith and heritage could have given his character greater dimension, grounding his struggles in something beyond the usual outsider trope. Faith, after all, is one of the most enduring ways people make sense of transformation, suffering, and belonging — all themes central to Ben’s story.

The film touches on this but pulls back just when it could push forward. Leaning further into Grimm’s cultural background would have added weight and texture to his character, elevating him beyond the standard-issue tough guy with a soft heart.

Narratively, the film keeps its stakes surprisingly low. That’s not inherently a flaw — smaller-scale superhero stories can offer focus and clarity — but in this case, the third act wraps up too quickly to feel earned. There’s no real trial by fire — no moment that tests or refines the team in a lasting way. In contrast to the idea of family forged through shared hardship, their conflicts and resolutions feel procedural, not transformative.

The resolution lacks the necessary tension and momentum and reinforces a growing issue across the MCU: high-concept setups that coast to a close.

Marvel’s recent stories have often struggled with weight. The end of the world has become routine. First Steps tries something different, choosing to start with an oddly contained story given the main villain is a world-eating entity. That’s commendable. But contained doesn’t need to mean shallow. A more meaningful reckoning with who these characters are — and what binds them beyond science or superpowers — would have lifted this from stylish introduction to give it some resonance.

Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t trying to match the scale of Avengers: Endgame, and that’s a wise choice. The problem is, it doesn’t replace spectacle with anything more substantial. The film wants to reintroduce Marvel’s First Family as a new centrepiece, but it doesn’t build enough of a foundation for that goal to stick it’s landing.

First Steps gestures toward timeless themes — family, belonging, faith, identity — but rarely digs deep enough to make us care.

There’s promise here, especially in the dynamics between its characters. But future entries will need to do more than look the part. They’ll need to believe in what holds people — and heroes — together.