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Rate and review The Fantastic 4: First Steps

Ms Marvel gives Fantastic Four her seal of approval:

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I got to see this Thursday night and have been stewing over it. I finally decided I need a second watch. I'm going again today in T-1 hour.
 
This was aggressively not good. The cast had zero chemistry with each other, and the characters themselves were more like sketches of archetypes than fleshed-out individuals. As I feared, the FF all seem to be astoundingly miscast, unless the writing and directing was what let them down. Reed was not just less than smart but outright dumb, Sue came off as a self-centered Karen, Ben was basically a nonentity, and they kept trying to make Johnny the comic relief, except none of his jokes or line deliveries were funny.

The story was absolutely paint-by-numbers without any kind of distinctive take or twist. The villains, just like the heroes, are underdeveloped and cartoonish. Despite all the talk about doing right by Galactus, he’s just another cartoon bad guy with no real motivation or personality. There also seemed to be no story reason for setting in this in the 60s. There’s no commentary to be had, no personality, and the vibe is distinctly modern.

The film also seemed weirdly ashamed of Reed's powers? He doesn't use them very much, and most of it is just making his arms stretch a little farther than normal. And then during the final battle, they seemed afraid of showing Reed's face in the same shot of him stretching. It was just bizarre.

I hate to say it, but I actually enjoyed the first Tim Story movie more. Johnny and Ben had actually chemistry in that, and the practical make-up for the Thing was way better than the undercooked and lifeless CGI in First Steps.

I've never been more bored during an MCU movie. At least Eternals had a lot of stuff going on to distract you, and was playing with chronology. This is just told straightforward and flat, and all of the interesting ideas are taken from better movies (Interstellar, Apollo 13, Star Trek IV). I had thought that Thunderbolts was a sign of Marvel righting the ship, but FF is just more of the same underbaked corporate slop that they’ve been pumping out since the end of the Infinity Saga. I have basically zero hype for Doomsday or any future MCU product at this point.

3/10
 
I got to see this Thursday night and have been stewing over it. I finally decided I need a second watch. I'm going again today in T-1 hour.


Glad I went back. What a spectacle. Dazzling production design and overall wonderful aesthetic. The set pieces were thrilling (especially the space sequence in Act 2), and overall, I had a blast.

The cast was top tier, and I fell in love with all of them. Their chemistry was perfect. Vanessa/Sue is the absolute highlight. She mothered so hard, and her face card was lethal.

Special shoutout to Giacchino's GOD level score.

Between this movie and Thunderbolts*, my hype for Doomsday is through the roof.
 
For me this was pretty much a perfect FF movie(at least for those reasonably familiar with the lore). I literally have no complaints. It's what I've been wanting out of an FF movie for decades. Just *Chef's Kiss*
 
Caught this on Thursday night and I wanted to sit on it and sort my thoughts out before landing on an opinion.

This movie is definitely a technical achievement and it's absolutely the portrayal most accurate to the source material...but overall the movie is just 'okay' to me. It has great moments, particularly when it comes to the action and dramatic beats but then it slows to a crawl sometimes. I really enjoyed the montage near the benninging, but then I legit almost fell asleep twice in the middle and I don't do that in theaters unless a movie just loses me. Pedro feels either miscast or misdirected as he is a lot more charismatic and likeable in other projects. The rest of cast was good, tho I wish they dialed the energy up a few notches.

I admit that I was pretty reserved about Shalla-Ball but she was definitely a highlight of the movie! I quite like that Johnny was her connection to humanity, that was a nice touch. Most of the Galactus stuff was neat but his Earth antics were a bit underwhelming.

Ultimately I left the theater with mixed emotions, unsure how I was supposed to feel. There were parts that I liked, parts that almost put me to sleep, and overall it's a mixed bag. Is this movie the best F4 movie so far? Maybe? It's definitely the most comic accurate, but previous movies were better paced and more exciting. I wanted to like this, and it's not without it's merits, but I probably won't find myself revisiting this one too often.

6.5/10

Despite that, I am very happy for my fellow nerds who take joy in finally having a F4 movie that honors and embraces the spirit and appeal of the source material.
 
IM2 was better than F4FS. Just my opinion don't hate me lol. Watched it again yesterday there's more character work than in F4FS.
 
my humble review :o

 
I'm not a die hard FF fan by any means, maybe a less than casual fan even, but there was something kind of inspiring/hopeful about the first 30 minutes of this that made me tear up a bit (maybe it is that retro/space age aspect of curiosity/wanting to explore, etc) and that really made this better. Overall the film is good, not overly great, but still I quite enjoyed it. The soundtrack was wonderful.

7.5/10
 
I'm not a die hard FF fan by any means, maybe a less than casual fan even, but there was something kind of inspiring/hopeful about the first 30 minutes of this that made me tear up a bit (maybe it is that retro/space age aspect of curiosity/wanting to explore, etc) and that really made this better. Overall the film is good, not overly great, but still I quite enjoyed it. The soundtrack was wonderful.

7.5/10

I agree with a lot of this.

Galactus was awesome. Aesthetic was great. Score was awesome. Chase scene was a standout.

Mid credit scene was pretty disappointing tbh.

Overall good movie, but I'm not sure how much I will rewatch this one personally.

7-7.5/10 is what I'd give it.
 
The first act was a bit choppy, especially they wanted to show how F4 defeated several villains and used their power and it became quite run of the mill. Fortunately the second act in space was beautifully done, while the final act was fine though predictable. Production design and music are top notched so they are bonus points and the cast is great and the actors bounce off each other well. I like Reed’s subtle and quiet confidence and snobbishness as a contrast to Stark’s outlandishly flashy type.

8/10. I would put thunderbolt ahead of it, just slightly.
 
I got to see this Thursday night and have been stewing over it. I finally decided I need a second watch. I'm going again today in T-1 hour.
I did the same thing and loved it even more the second time around. Think some of my expectations were wrong going in the first time. Now that I know what this movie is, I can enjoy it on its own terms.
 
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I did the same thing and loved it even more the second time around. Think some of my expectations were wrong going in the first time. Now that I know what this movie is, I can enjoy it on its own terms.
Definitely worth a second viewing. I'm so glad I did—especially for the quieter moments.
 
As a movie 8.5/10 there's a few flaws here and there

As a F4 movie 10/10 loved it

I think Jack Kirby would have loved this.

Im so happy to finally have a good fantastic 4 movie
 
It would’ve been great to see more interesting effects with Reed’s powerset. The stretching itself looked fine but it felt much more limited compared to, say, the Story films. I’m hoping the Russos have some tricks up their sleeves, kind of like how Ant-Man didn’t become Giant Man until Civil War.

Ben and Johnny share a moment in the film where they’re excited to punch Galactus, but we hardly get to see that prior to that moment. Even in the opening montage, their character highlights aren’t focused on them being the fighters. Instead, we see Johnny putting out flames at a power plant and Ben pulling a ship by its anchor. We catch only a brief glimpse of them battling Mole Man’s monster, but it would’ve been nice to see more of that, especially since Mole Man is the only returning character who plays a role in the film. (Maybe execs cut that bit down because it was more fun than the rest of the film; but if that's the case, put that monster in the finale somehow too--all of New York was already down in Subterranea anyway)

Speaking of Mole Man, he clearly harbors a lot of anger toward Reed—but not Sue. It sounds intriguing, but the movie never explains why. So when they face off later, it feels pretty sudden and out of nowhere. And it's dropped just as quickly as it was brought up.

Lastly, Johnny’s characterization feels half-baked. Early on, there’s a scene in the opening montage where Sue mentions Johnny is single. He looks directly at the camera, and the shot lingers on his expression, but it goes nowhere. I expected that to be explored more in the story, but aside from him casually brushing off his love of space and women during his first encounter with Shalla-Bal, we don’t get much else. Yes, I know he proved himself to be more than a himbo by translating the space messages but we as an audience have to already assume he's a himbo (because he's the young one?) that the team doesn't take seriously. Which is weird because Reed introduces him in the opening montage as a leading scientific mind. So which is it, movie?

Overall, the movie skips over a lot of important character moments, as if it assumes general audiences already know these details. Maybe that’s true, and maybe I’m just not being a good modern movie audience viewer, but while I’m fine with skipping the origin story, you can’t skip the essential character beats.

(these are nitpicks; this is still my favorite FF film)
 
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They definitely held back with Mister Fantastic's VFX. I think there may have been some fear involved with that decision . I also think that the movie would've needed a proper intro action scene to actually show the Fantastic Four's teamwork. The movie basically asks you to accept the Fantastic Four as (super)heroes, but you don't really get to see that if not in relation to the big threat.
 
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Saw it, loved it, felt like it was easily the best of the F4 movies. 8/10.

It's very plot-driven and tight, so quite light on character moments that have nothing to do with the main thrust of the story (which we did get in the Fox films). The plot itself is quite simple and all decisions make sense regarding using a female SS,
including Franklin, nerfing Galactus, making Sue's powers far more epic
, etc. Also a bit amusing that
all the villains shown or mentioned were in New York City as well, no mention of any supervillains anywhere else as far as I could tell.

The retro-futuristic design is excellent, the casting is very good. There's nothing new to see with Johnny's flame FX or Ben's rock body, and I had to get used to Sue's invisible force-fields being literally invisible apart from the rainbow shimmer that you also see on soap bubbles. I wasn't expecting to see a direct translation of The Coming of Galactus story from the books, and what they did here made more sense than the comic version involving the cop-out of the Ultimate Nullifier plot device. I'd have liked a proper on-screen explanation of how their costumes and regular clothes were all immune from their powers.

I watched the film last Thursday, had meant to see it again soon after but never managed it, so will be going again this week. My first viewing was in 3D, I will see my second screening in regular 2D but in i-Sense (Odeon's equivalent of IMAX with larger screen and 4K image/sound).
 
I saw this on Sunday at the Waterloo BFI IMAX. In 3D too!

Have to say I totally loved it. All the cast were great in their roles.
My only real gripe is that I don't think there was enough time spent on the antagonists.
Maybe the Directors Edition... :-):-)

A small amount of the CGI seemed a tad off to me, but it didn't take me out of the movie.

Have to say that I enjoyed this movie more than Superman, and I'm a big Superman fan.

Welcome back good Marvel movie(s? :fingerscrossed:) I've missed you... :like:
 
I saw this on Sunday at the Waterloo BFI IMAX. In 3D too!

Have to say I totally loved it. All the cast were great in their roles.
My only real gripe is that I don't think there was enough time spent on the antagonists.
Maybe the Directors Edition... :-):-)

A small amount of the CGI seemed a tad off to me, but it didn't take me out of the movie.

Have to say that I enjoyed this movie more than Superman, and I'm a big Superman fan.

Welcome back good Marvel movie(s? :fingerscrossed:) I've missed you... :like:
Yes! Best Mcu movie since No Way Home!
 
Readers Digest version spoiler filled review

**Post 1** So, we waited twenty years for Fantastic Four: First Steps, hoping it’d erase the stink of that body-horror mess from the early 2000s. Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, and crew gave it a shot. My take? It’s a 6.5 out of ten. Why? The pacing is straight-up terrible. The first half bored me to death—way too slow. Things didn’t kick into gear until they hit space and met Galactus. That’s when it finally felt alive.

**Post 2** Let’s talk cast. Pedro Pascal as Reed? People trashed him, but I thought he was okay—just kinda meh. Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm was solid, not amazing, but fine. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing threw me off big time. His voice was too normal, not gruff like Michael Chiklis nailed in the 2005 flick. You’d think turning into a rock monster would mess with your vocal cords, right? But they crushed the Thing’s look—visually, it was spot-on.

**Post 3** Human Torch was the standout. The guy from Stranger Things—forgot his name, but he owned it. Better than Chris Evans, who was mostly just cracking wise. Comparing to the early 2000s Fantastic Four, those were actually more fun. They had tight pacing, laughs, and action. This new one? Barely any giggles, and the action felt weak, like it was holding back. No Infinity War-level epicness here.

**Post 4** The Galactus scenes were cool, though—especially him stomping through the city like Godzilla Minus One. That was a highlight. But the rest of the action? Underwhelming. The set pieces didn’t pop. What did work was the aesthetic. They nailed the 60s futuristic vibe, like Watchmen levels of style. Easily one of the most unique-looking MCU films yet.

**Post 5** Soundtrack was a letdown, though. Too repetitive—kept noticing it, which isn’t good. Compare that to the Avengers score, and it’s no contest. Oh, and the post-credits scene with Doom? Total snooze. Everyone in the theater was like, “Finally, but why’d it take so long?” First half of the movie’s a four or five out of ten; second half’s a solid seven or seven-point-five. That averages to my 6.5.

**Post 6** Was it worth the wait? Visually, yeah—it nailed the comic book spirit and look. The team’s chemistry was decent; you bought Sue and Johnny as siblings. Reed and Sue’s vibe was okay, but not ship-worthy. Torch and Thing’s dynamic felt forced, not like the natural bromance of Chiklis and Evans. Mole Man got shafted—thirty seconds and done? Should’ve been a bigger deal, maybe fifteen-minute chunks to flesh it out.

**Post 7** Biggest fix? Skip the slow origin. Open with Galactus wrecking shop—boom, instant hook. Flashback the origin later to keep the energy high. Silver Surfer felt off too; maybe a male would’ve hit harder. Pacing killed it, and the lack of jokes hurt—Marvel’s known for humor, but this was too serious. I’m done with MCU theater trips except for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Avengers flicks. Verdict: visually worth it, but the story? Nah. Needed more action, better pacing, and way more laughs.
 
I liked this but I didn't love it. I thought it was pretty by the numbers and predictable at times with some standout moments scattered throughout. For example in the space scene Galactus came across as really threatening and fearsome. Then when he comes to Earth he felt quite needed. It would have better had they explained he hadn't eaten for a while or something but the space scene showed that wasn't the case.

Julia Garner as The Silver Surfer was fantastic. I am a Norrin Radd SS guy but as Shalla-Bal and SS I thought Garner nailed it. She came across otherworldly but also warm and with humanity there.

The main cast were really good though too, though disappointingly for me I felt that The Thing got the short end of the stick in both characterisation and powers. Pedro was good as Reed, Quinn didn't convince all the time as Johnny for me but he nailed the emotional beats and Kirkby as Sue was definitely the highlight. She had the strongest moments in terms of emotional beats and power set.

8/10 for me. I would put both Superman and Thunderbolts higher.
 
Saw it for a second time last night (in Odeon iSense, the cinema chain's equivalent of IMAX). Enjoyed it more. I'd earlier commented on the plot-driven concept of the film but i noticed much more character moments that I must have forgotten before (I'd been in a slightly distracted mood due to a family bereavement). The structure of the film totally makes sense and, having watched Fox's FF: RoTSS the night before, this movie is far better and easily the best of all the F4 versions released. I may go up to a 9/10.

I've seen (and enjoyed) Superman and Jurassic World Rebirth too, and loved them all. I'm not gonna rank all three by splitting hairs with endless analysis over details and weighing up scores and points.
 
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