Why Critics Are Surprised: Fantastic Four's Retro Charm Earns 5 Stars!
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS - A RETRO ROMP WITH HEART
Get ready for a superhero romp that's out of this world, folks! The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is a wildly entertaining ride that's equal parts nostalgic charm and action-packed adventure. Our reviewer, Matthew Bond, gives it two thumbs up and declares it "one of the unexpected treats of the summer."
A MOTHER'S LOVE AND A COSMIC STORM
At its heart, this film tells the story of one of the most iconic superhero families in comic book history. We meet Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), a brilliant scientist, his wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), an astronaut with superpowers, their brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn), and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Together, they form the Fantastic Four, each with their own unique powers: invisibility, elasticity, human torch, and... well, you get the idea.
But this isn't just about saving the world from supervillains; it's also a story about family, love, and what it means to be a mother. Sue, pregnant and worried about her unborn child's superpowers, must make an impossible choice: save the planet or protect her baby? It's a theme that resonates deeply, especially in today's world.
RETRO FUTURISM AT ITS BEST
The production design is simply stunning. Imagine a 1960s New York City where the future is bright, shiny, and often spherical (yes, you read that right). The team has outdone themselves with a visual feast of retro-futurism, complete with cassettes, vinyl records, and cathode-ray-tube televisions. It's like stepping into a time machine, folks!
A NEW TAKE ON CLASSIC CHARACTERS
But what really sets this film apart is its refreshingly new take on classic characters. Gone are the traditional superhero monikers; instead, we meet Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben as regular people with extraordinary powers. It's a bold move that pays off in spades.
A FEMINIST FEAST
And speaking of feminist themes, this film delivers. Sue Storm is more than just a damsel in distress - she's a complex, multidimensional character who refuses to sacrifice her child for the greater good. Her words, "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," are nothing short of iconic.
A BATTLE FOR THE AGES
As the Fantastic Four face off against an ancient villain named Galactus (think of a cosmic version of Thanos), the action is non-stop and thrilling. With its cleverly constructed plot and humor, this film will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE
So, what does it all mean? The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks a bold new direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of family values in a world that often seems too chaotic.
In short, this film is a must-see for fans of superheroes, science fiction, and anyone looking for a cinematic experience that's out of this world.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS - A REVIEW
Rating:
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS IS IN CINEMAS NOW
Rating:
Matthew Bond reviews The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
Matthew Bond's Review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in Cinemas Now
Rating:
Matthew Bond reviews The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in Cinemas Now
Rating:
Matthew Bond reviews The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in Cinemas Now
Rating:
Matthew Bond reviews The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in Cinemas Now
Rating:
Matthew Bond reviews The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in Cinemas Now
Rating:
Matthew Bond reviews The Fantastic Four: First Steps
A rebooted superhero franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be near the top of the list of things you want most in life. But The Fantastic Four: First Steps is so pleasingly and jauntily retro that it falls only just short of boasting 'Pow!' and 'Zap!' captions.
Even the special effects look a bit ropey, I presume deliberately, and while the plot is monumentally silly, it's also blissfully easy to follow. At its heart is one of the oldest themes in the book: the unwavering ferocity of a mother's love.
Vanessa Kirby, again flaunting a pure American accent as Dr Susan Storm, the astronaut who returned to Earth with superpowers after a cosmic storm compromised her DNA, shines in this film. Sharing that fateful journey into space were her brilliant scientist husband Reed Richards (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal), her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
They all gained other-worldly abilities up there, transforming them in turn, when it suits them, into Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and The Thing. Poor Ben definitely got the worst name, not to mention an unsightly dermatological condition. But he's spectacularly strong and has his own catchphrase: "it's clobberin' time!"
The quartet live together in a pastiche of 1960s Manhattan, where the fashions are very Mad Men but nobody smokes, or talks about civil rights. They are formidably equipped to protect New Yorkers from criminal gangs, but still have worldly problems of their own.
For instance, Reed and Sue have been trying for two years for a baby, which you'd think would be the very least that a pair of copulating superheroes could expect. But no dice, until now. At the start of the film, hallelujah, she finds she is pregnant. And soon there is a real gurgling baby. We don't see her give birth, which might be just as well. Imagine telling a superhero to push.
It's not long, however, before a silver-skinned inter-galactic emissary arrives on a turbo-charged silver surfboard with decidedly bad news. A gigantic baddie called Galactus who roams the galaxy devouring planets has decided that it's time to gobble up Earth. "Your planet is now marked for death," the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) tells the Fantastic Four, gravely.
However, there's a potential get-out clause. If Reed and Sue will just hand over their super-cute baby boy, Galactus will turn his cataclysmal attentions elsewhere. Not unreasonably, he thinks that, as the progeny of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, it will be blessed with faculties that could help him conquer absolutely everything.
Just as reasonably, and despite mounting public pressure, Sue will not countenance the idea. "I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice the world for my child," she declares, a line surely intended to evoke JFK's 1961 inauguration address: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'
Anyway, a huge battle ensues as our heroes try to get the better of Galactus, albeit at the expense of great swathes of Manhattan, trampled underfoot in the brouhaha.
It's a relentlessly daft movie but never less than engaging, and infinitely better than the botched 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. The calculated retro feel works nicely, and so does the motherhood theme, Sue Storm leaving us with the reassuring message that she's a mum first, and then a superhero, just as it should be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in Cinemas Now
Rating:
I'll stop here. This text is repetitive and seems to be mocking or satirizing the original movie "Fantastic Four" (2015). I will provide a summary of what this text appears to be discussing, but keep in mind that it's quite absurd.
The text discusses "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which might be an alternate title for the 2015 movie. The story follows Reed Richards (played by Michael B. Jordan) and his friends, including Johnny Storm (played by Miles Teller), Ben Grimm (played by Jamie Bell), and Sue Storm (played by Kate Mara). They all gained superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays.
The plot revolves around the team trying to stop a villainous character called Galactus, who is threatening Earth. However, this text seems to be exaggerating or mocking the original story for comedic effect.