Movies THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (Passes $400 Million Globally; Dragonlord's Review, post #1)

[SmilinDesperado]

F4 was exactly what I wanted it to be.
The characters were right, the tone was right, the world was right, the story and the stakes, it was all there.
It gave me something to be excited for as far as the future of the MCU goes.
The stakes felt real here, and the tone and story weren't disrupted by a bad joke in the way so many Marvel movies are these days.
They did a really good job of focusing on the characters as individuals and as a team. They're not just shiny action figures with one liners and quirky jokes. They all have distinct personalities and they came across as real people.

I loved the retro aesthetic, and as Dragonlord mentioned, Reed looks and acts like he's from the 1960's. Pedro Pascal was fine as Reed, but I think the strength of his character is going to shine more when we see him in the broader MCU alongside other heroes and villains.
I did not expect to like this version of Johnny Storm, he just didn't feel right to me...but, he quickly grew on me and turned out to be good.
Ben Grimm was great. I really like how they portrayed him--just a real salt of the Earth, good ole' boy from the neighborhood kind of guy. I liked some of the small details they had with him like the sound of rocks scraping against each other when he'd move his fingers/hand.
My newest crush and hopeful future baby mama, Vanessa Kirby was the star of the show though. She was great in every scene. She really brought the heart and seriousness to the movie that elevated it to feel like more than "just a comic book movie".

Galactus was superb. And Shalla Bal was a cool and compelling character as well.

My only real complaint is similar to what @Dragonlordxxxxx said in regards to Reed's abilities. There wasn't much creativity in how he used his powers, so he was the weakest link in that regard.

And one other thing regarding post credit scenes. Is there some rule that one of the 2 scenes MUST be worthless? If we're going to do that, can we at least put the worthless one FIRST so that I don't feel like I wasted my time waiting for the one that is actually interesting?

Also stellar job in how they introduced them without having to do an origins story. Now I'm really curious how they're going to bring the X-men into this, and how we eventually converge everyone together.
Captain America NWO was a dud....but, with Thunderbolts and F4, and what we know is coming...I think....MCU is back.
Break out the red panties, baby

9.4/10 for me.

 

[Dizzy]

Stoked to see all the good reviews. Going Saturday (in 4DX again lol).

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

9.4/10 for me.

Wow. A 9.4 rating.

I think the strength of his character is going to shine more when we see him in the broader MCU alongside other heroes and villains.

Can't wait to see how these four characters interact with the rest of the MCU characters. Reed Richards will fill up the role of brains of the MCU now that Tony passed away. Hope we get a Spidey and Johnny Storm friendship in the future. A Thing and Hulk brawl would be nice also.

And Shalla Bal was a cool and compelling character as well.

Yeah, I had my doubts going in but Shalla-Bal worked, especially in the context with Johnny's scenes. If this was Norrin Radd, it would have been Sue Storm that would have connected with the Surfer. Sue already has a lot of great scenes, so it's nice they spread the wealth and gave Johnny a substantial role.

My only real complaint is similar to what @Dragonlordxxxxx said in regards to Reed's abilities. There wasn't much creativity in how he used his powers, so he was the weakest link in that regard.

Yeah, I'll bitch and moan about Reed's powers openly once the no-spoiler moratorium ends. But it didn't detract my enjoyment of the film.

Also stellar job in how they introduced them without having to do an origins story. Now I'm really curious how they're going to bring the X-men into this, and how we eventually converge everyone together.

Seeing how successful First Steps was in introducing the team, I would not mind if they set the X-Men in another universe first.

but, with Thunderbolts and F4, and what we know is coming...I think....MCU is back.
Break out the red panties, baby

9.4/10 for me.

That's what I've been saying since Thunderbolts. The MCU on the movie side is back. I've looked at the current slate of movies and there's no red flags like The Marvels on the horizon. Every project leading up to Avengers: Secret Wars is a banger.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

@SmilinDesperado

Spoiler: warning spoilers

When Reed was being stretched by Galactus and screaming in pain, did you also thought of the Reed scene in Doctor Strange 2? I was thinking, "Oh great, here we go again."

If they didn't nerf Reed's powers, that little stretching move Galactus did to Reed would have been nothing. *Sigh.

 

[Protectandserve]

Kiddo and i are gonna see this next week for sure

 

[Batjester]

Seeing this tomorrow. Hoping for the best, and with your reviews I think I'll be happy.

 

[Pittie Petey]

Seeing this tomorrow. Hoping for the best, and with your reviews I think I'll be happy.

I think you'll enjoy it, there was a lot to like about it, especially for old timey comic book fans but I just hated the ending

 

[Aegon Spengler]

Reviews are coming in for Fantastic Four: First Steps. It currently has a 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 162 critics reviews.

I think critics are extremely corrupt these days. I went and saw “Tornado” at a small local theatre and it was a lot better than fantastic four, but even without comparing it to anything else was a great movie in its own right.

Critics shit on it. And I really believe they shit on movies to keep competitors to their corporate conglomerate films from ever rising too high.

That said I enjoyed fantastic four well enough, I give it a 7. I didn’t mind silver surfette, but I found the CGI was bad for her and The Thing.

Overall though it was a good story and a fun ride. Worth seeing in a big theatre. I might have ranked it higher if the dickheads in the front row hadn’t ruined parts of it turning their phones on and loudly texting. Absolute dipshits. I got pissed off enough to say “turn off your god damn phones” - but they did, at least.

 

[SmilinDesperado]

Wow. A 9.4 rating.


Can't wait to see how these four characters interact with the rest of the MCU characters. Reed Richards will fill up the role of brains of the MCU now that Tony passed away. Hope we get a Spidey and Johnny Storm friendship in the future. A Thing and Hulk brawl would be nice also.


Yeah, I had my doubts going in but Shalla-Bal worked, especially in the context with Johnny's scenes. If this was Norrin Radd, it would have been Sue Storm that would have connected with the Surfer. Sue already has a lot of great scenes, so it's nice they spread the wealth and gave Johnny a substantial role.


Yeah, I'll bitch and moan about Reed's powers openly once the no-spoiler moratorium ends. But it didn't detract my enjoyment of the film.


Seeing how successful First Steps was in introducing the team, I would not mind if they set the X-Men in another universe first.


That's what I've been saying since Thunderbolts. The MCU on the movie side is back. I've looked at the current slate of movies and there's no red flags like The Marvels on the horizon. Every project leading up to Avengers: Secret Wars is a banger.

I hope I'm not overrating it, but from start to finish it's pretty much exactly what i had hoped to see..for what it was, and for what possibilities it opens for future movies. The tone is what really got me though. I like that despite everything that was going on, it felt grounded by "real" people at the same time.
I think for MCU movies, that might be a built in advantage/disadvantage because it's hard to judge them purely on their own merits.
I was just picturing this Reed alongside or verbally jousting with Doom, Professor X, or a Namor...Hulk vs. Thing...just a lot of possibilities, and I can see these actors delivering.

And yes, it wouldn't of worked the same way if it was Norrin Radd, so the Shalla-Bal switch turned out to be good.

I think setting the X-men up in another universe would be the best way. It helps bypass the question of why none of the mutants helped during all of these disasters that Earth has faced.

Spoiler

When Reed was being stretched by Galactus and screaming in pain, did you also thought of the Reed scene in Doctor Strange 2? I was thinking, "Oh great, here we go again."

If they didn't nerf Reed's powers, that little stretching move Galactus did to Reed would have been nothing. *Sigh.

I did! I was like...ah man..first you guys made Reed dumb in Dr. Strange 2, and now you're not putting any respect on his powers?
During that scene I kept hoping that he was playing possum and was going to do something cool---like he was just stalling for Johnny and Thing to get in a hit so he could do something as well.
But alas....
Hopefully they address that as the movies go on

 

[Fluffernutter]

I just came back from the movies.

Aesthetically, fantastic.

I like what they did with all the characters.

Johnny isn't a shallow lady's man

Ben doesn't feel sorry for himself

Yes, Sue should be the most powerful.

I don't recall Mr Fantastic being so douer. "I have to always think about negative consequences to keep me ensuring your safety

But, the ending was very Marvelesque.

I won't spoil anything.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

RT audience score for the film has been released and it has a 92% on their Popcornmeter.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

I hope I'm not overrating it, but from start to finish it's pretty much exactly what i had hoped to see..for what it was, and for what possibilities it opens for future movies. The tone is what really got me though. I like that despite everything that was going on, it felt grounded by "real" people at the same time.

If that is how you felt walking out of the theater, go with that. Perfectly fine.

Hopefully they address that as the movies go on

I don't think it will be addressed. I think that's just how his powers work and how limiting it is. Could have been an intentional creative decision. Maybe the filmmakers thought that if they do a lot of super, wacky stretching, it might offset the grounded tone of the movie. Regardless, the nerfing didn't really detract from the quality of the film or my enjoyment overall.

 

[SmilinDesperado]

If that is how you felt walking out of the theater, go with that. Perfectly fine.


I don't think it will be addressed. I think that's just how his powers work and how limiting it is. Could have been an intentional creative decision. Maybe the filmmakers thought that if they do a lot of super, wacky stretching, it might offset the grounded tone of the movie. Regardless, the nerfing didn't really detract from the quality of the film or my enjoyment overall.

Oh yeah, I mean I hope his powers evolve as the movies go on. I had the same thought about it possibly being a creative decision. I could see his powers being trickier to capture on film compared to the other F4 members. It'd be easy for his powers to look too cartoonish and that would've just looked bad in this movie.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Oh yeah, I mean I hope his powers evolve as the movies go on. I had the same thought about it possibly being a creative decision. I could see his powers being trickier to capture on film compared to the other F4 members. It'd be easy for his powers to look too cartoonish and that would've just looked bad in this movie.

Spoiler

When watching it, I was wishful thinking that the maximum stretching Galactus did to Reed might have unlocked his latent powers and he would fully live up to his name in future appearances.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Box office update:

Fantastic Four: First Steps earned $24.4 million in Thursday night previews.

For comparison, Superman 2025's Thursday previews was $22.5 million.

‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Rockets to Marvelous $24.4M in Box Office Previews

The acclaimed movie scored the top preview of the year to date and the best since fellow Marvel superhero pic 'Deadpool & Wolverine' exactly a year ago.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Here is the cast playing their F4 characters in Marvel Rivals. It's a pretty cute segment. Pedro's reactions are funny.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

 

[Pittie Petey]

Fantastic Four was everything that I wanted it to be until it wasnt

The retro tech World Of Tomorrow that they built was so frickin beautiful with so many cool little gimmicks and gadgets, I especially loved the 1950's style talk shows and Mr Fantastics science gimmick

I also love how they captured that 50's vibe of heartwarming innocence with the kids on the school yard that we associate with that decade because of the tv shows and movies from that era

Stanley's Appliance Store(or tv repair shop or something) in the background was a nice way to keep the tribute going

I've had more than enough origin stories to last a lifetime so the opening montage to get us up to speed was very much appreciated, it was full of great action and info and cool characters and its all that we needed to fill us in on all the pertinent facts

I was actually a bit surprised at how quickly they sprung the opening shots of the main conflict on us just cause these movies usually take a lot longer to get it going

The way they introduced Silver Surfer was cool but it was done much better with Ebony Maw and the Children Of Thanos scene in Infinity War, this felt like a rip off

The CGI in this movie was not good, Silver Surfer looked flat and Galactus didnt feel real at all, he definitely didnt have the sense of power, authority and cold blooded black hearted villainy that we got with Thanos, I know theyre different characters with different motivations but he just pales in comparison to the big baddie we were used to, so far anyways

The story was solid but it was just more of the same standard MCU, good guys trying to save the world vs bad guys trying to destroy it

It very much felt like a classic comic book storyline all the way throughout and that was a big positive

As it went along, I was thinking to myself "Man, this is really good and if this was one of the first MCU films it wouldve blown everyone away" but we've seen it all at this point so even a damn good MCU film just feels like more of the same

I did not like Paul Walter Hauser as Mole Man which surprised me because I like him as an actor, he's really dang good

Johnny Storm looked way too much like a CGI age reversed Robert Downey Jr, was distracting LoL

The rest of the 4 were solid, even Pedro Pascal, who I dont care for

Hated the Dusty Finish ending

Spoiler

I know they spent the whole movie setting up the fact that the baby was special so it didnt just come out of anywhere and it made sense in the storyline but I'm over all the emotional moment fake deaths "Oh wait, we fixed it!" bullshit, End Game ruined me forever on that

I knew it was coming so I wasnt shocked when it happened, I was just sat there getting irritated that they were doing it again as Pedro Pascal was breaking down in tears

The mid credits scene was a great MCU style tease and I liked the old timey post credits gimmick also


Halfway through the movie I thought we had us a full on Official 7 Thumbs Up Highest Recommendation, I was actually thinking this might rival GOTG1 as the greatest MCU flick ever, but by the end its a 5.5 Thumbs Outta 7

Its not a bad movie, its pretty dang good, and I suspect everyone will like it or love it, but I really hated the Dusty Finish so I'm gonna be Pouty Pants Pete about it

 

[Pittie Petey]

@Dragonlordxxxxx yea, I was way off on the ending being spoiled by Thunderbolts, though now I suspect

Spoiler

they threw Thanos towards our Earth so theyre coming to warn us at the end of Thunderbolts

By the way, I didnt see Smurfs, I saw the new I Know What You Did Last Summer instead and it was really good