First Take: Fantastic Four: First Steps - it’s fourth time lucky for Marvel’s first family

Spoiler Free as usual. Because Galactus would devour me if I ruined it on opening weekend.

SYNOPSIS: 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

1994, 2005, 2008 and 2015. Those are the years when many filmmakers tried (and failed) to adapt Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1961 comic for the big screen, some going unreleased, others, well, leading to more successful careers for certain cast members. But with Fox’s Marvel rights now fully absorbed into the infinity gauntlet owned by Kevin Feige, it was about time they got it right. Coming out of screen 4 (fittingly) this evening I knew we were entering a new era for comic book movies, and this continues the upward trend.

Matt Shakman is the director given the unenviable task of bringing the comic books to life for the MCU, and to turn in a 1 hour 54 minute movie that puts us right in an established team, with no focus on the origin story beyond a little recap, is no easy feat. Paced relatively well, full of the charm that a lot of the multiverse films have missed, and full of fan service, this new take on the world of the Fantastic Four (Earth-828, for those keeping up with the Multiverse) is one of the strongest visuals in the MCU, partly due to Jess Hall’s cinematography and the production design of Kasra Farahani - but while it looks good, the script from Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer started well but eventually felt a little written by committee during the final act, so naturally it gets predictable and a bit formulaic. Saying that, it’s so good to see Michael Giacchino back on a Marvel film, and yet again he’s provided a main theme that will stay in your mind long after the end credits roll.

With the cast, this is one designed to stand on their own, without taking too much from depictions of the characters that have come before them - you’ve got the talent of Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby to lead it all, you’ve got Joseph Quinn acting as the comic relief, Ebon Moss-Bachrach delivering the most human depiction of The Thing we’ve seen, even through the motion capture, alongside Julia Garner, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne and Paul Walter Hauser. But playing Galactus is Ralph Ineson, a man whose voice I have heard a lot of late with the rugby hat on (radio people will know him as the voice of TalkSport’s branding here in England), and considering how he needed a support team to get him around set… you can tell his work was done mostly in a practical way. There’s also TWO post credits scenes to tuck into, one of which, well… let’s just say I feel like I’ve travelled back in time to the Endgame era of hype due to what happens in it. It’s big. The internet will be rife with spoilers before the end of Sunday, so I would strongly advise seeing it on opening weekend if you can.

THE VERDICT

If you love superhero movies then July has definitely been your month - to have this and Superman opening just two weeks apart is a clear sign that Marvel are taking their film output a bit more seriously. The first steps into Phase 6 are definitely big, strong ones, which is a miracle in itself. See it big, see it loud, because this is a movie made for the biggest possible screens.

RATING: 4.5/5