The Fantastic 4: First Steps

Scott Hardie: “It was ok.”

It's nice to see The Incredibles finally join the MCU, but what a weird way to make their debut. This movie seems determined to repeat as little as possible from the previous film adaptations of these characters, which includes both their cosmic origin and the youthful early days of super-heroism, skipping ahead to a time when they're already world-famous and very experienced. I don't know if that choice was necessary: Of the former Fox IP, Deadpool and the X-Men certainly need no re-introduction, but this super-team has been out of the public consciousness for long enough that I think Marvel could have justified a full reset.

The real problem isn't that the movie skips their origin; it's that it doesn't replace it with anything. This movie feels like it's missing a first act. We're barely introduced to the characters when the Earth is threatened and the A-plot kicks into gear, so much so that I mistook the big finale for a mid-film action sequence and was shocked when the credits rolled. "That's it?" I blurted out in the theater. From my reading about the movie online, it seems like it was rushed into production without a script because it needed to come out before the next two Avengers films, and scenes were written and re-written on a daily basis, leading to a lot of chaos and deleted scenes. (Apparently John Malkovich had an entire subplot as Red Ghost! He's in the trailer but nowhere in the final film.) Considering that the next Avengers film won't be in theaters until Christmas 2026, it seems to me like there was time to slow down and further develop the script, but maybe there were other reasons for the haste, like Pedro Pascal had 82 other movies to shoot. Regardless, the film feels too rushed, with way too little development of the characters. Even the title feels like a reference to some earlier stage of the movie in development than the finished product.

If there's one thing that the movie does exceptionally well, it's the production design. This movie is a Raygun Gothic dream come true, from the set design to the art design to the costumes and hair. Everything old feels very new again. It's gorgeous, and I'd love to see some kind of documentary about how the art team made their choices and found their inspiration. I just wish that the movie slowed down enough to take in the beautiful world created for it; it needs a sequence like the flight into Wakanda at the beginning of Black Panther, a chance to move the camera through this world and be amazed at its sights.

− September 24, 2025 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply