‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ review: third time’s the charm

Every 10 years since 2005, superhero fans have been able to watch a new take on The Fantastic Four. Despite the best efforts of A-listers Chris Evans (who played the sarky Human Torch in the original big screen adventure) and Michael B. Jordan in the 2015 reboot, they’re probably the most forgettable comic book movies of the 21st century. Marvel might finally be back in the driving seat but their cinematic multiverse is getting increasingly muddled – and fans are quickly losing interest. So, The Fantastic Four: First Steps needs to be a vast improvement on what’s come before to combat superhero fatigue. Enter Pedro Pascal.

The Chilean-American heartthrob’s stock has risen greatly in recent years since his lead turn in ace zombie apocalypse TV show The Last Of Us and brilliant Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian. Now he takes on clever-clogs scientist Reed Richards (AKA stretchy superhero Mr Fantastic) who leads the Fantastic Four along with his wife, The Invisible Woman AKA Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby). The group are rounded out by Sue’s brother Johnny, better known as the hot-headed Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Reed’s best mate Ben Grimm who operates under the alias The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Doing away with pointless origin stories, we find the four-piece sitting pretty as protectors of Earth and feted celebrities having survived a potentially catastrophic trip into space some years earlier.

This set up is told neatly in a few minutes through retro-futurist, 1960s-style TV news reports and newspaper headlines. Taking full advantage of Marvel’s multiverse, their version of New York looks, sounds and feels like a cross between Mad Men (without the drinking, sex and smoking) and The Incredibles, the brilliant Pixar animation that was heavily inspired by the original Fantastic Four comics.

The peace is shattered by Reed and Sue’s announcement that they’re having a baby. More concerning though is the appearance of the Silver Surfer, a chrome-coloured metal alien played by Ozark star Julia Garner. She appears with a warning that the planet will soon be consumed by a monstrous space-being called Galactus.

This is a major studio franchise film so no prizes for guessing how things wind up but there’s plenty of fun getting there. Kirby and Pascal are charismatic, attractive and energetic, even if the heart of the film belongs to Moss-Bachrach and the gentle blossoming of his feelings for a local Brooklyn teacher played by the ever-game Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face). The Fantastic Four: First Steps, entertaining but ultimately rather safe, could have done with a touch more of Lyonne. Instead, any elements of oddness have to be provided by Quinn’s take on Johnny Storm.

There’s also too little of Cobra Kai’s Paul Walter Hauser – he plays a strange underground-dwelling villain called Mole Man – but maybe they’re saving him for a stand-alone sequel or one of the next two Avengers films, which we know the four will return in over the next couple of years. Still, it’s enjoyable enough. It’s also a real treat to watch a Marvel film that doesn’t depend on viewers having seen a dozen other films and TV shows.