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| Disney’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps 2025 |
Walt Disney Pictures
Cast: Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss
Music: Michael Giacchino
Cinematography: Jess Hall
Producer: Kevin Feige
Runtime: 130 minutes
Screenplay: Kat Wood, Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer
Director: Matt Shakman
After his work on Game of Thrones and the successful WandaVision, Matt Shakman was handed a major challenge by Kevin Feige: to bring Marvel’s First Family to the MCU — The Fantastic Four. After an unreleased 1994 film, two very poor attempts by Tim Story, and a disastrous 2015 reboot, it seemed the characters were either cursed or simply unadaptable to film. Is Shakman the cure they needed? Let’s see…
Earth-828 – 1960s.
Four years have passed since brilliant scientist Reed Richards, his wife Sue Storm (Oscar-nominee Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Reed’s best friend Ben Grimm (Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach) returned from a catastrophic space expedition. Transformed by cosmic rays, they became super-powered celebrities with political, scientific, and cultural influence. Reed can stretch his body, Sue can create force fields and become invisible, Johnny can control fire and fly, and Ben's skin turned into orange rock, giving him superhuman strength and durability.
As a family, they always find a way to face their challenges together. But now, they prepare for their greatest test yet: the birth of Reed and Sue’s first child, Franklin, and the arrival of the planet-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson) — a towering cosmic force — and his herald Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), also known as the Silver Surfer.
Two standout elements of the film are:
The Aesthetic:
The retro-futuristic look blends seamlessly with the costume design and set construction. Combined with CGI, it adds authenticity to the world these characters inhabit — though it has been seen before.*
The Soundtrack:
Oscar-winner Michael Giacchino delivers what he does best: a heroic, anthemic theme for Marvel’s First Family that soars in key moments and offers emotional warmth during intimate scenes with Reed and Sue. Still, it sounds familiar from his past works.
However, Shakman makes some rookie mistakes when handed something so big (and expensive). After a powerful beginning and a solid core, it’s clear this had to be a crowd-pleaser. So it falls back on typical Marvel clichés. At times, the film tries so hard to deepen relationships that it ends up feeling disjointed or underdeveloped — especially with characters like Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm.
Most of the emotional weight falls on Reed and Sue, and Vanessa Kirby delivers a commanding, unique performance — not just as a hero, but as a mother concerned for the future of her child. Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn do their jobs well, but we’ll likely see more of them (and better) in Disney’s “Avengers: Doomsday” (2026).
Shakman is clear about one thing: this is a film about family. With that in mind, he focuses on their bonds, emotions, problems, and conflicts. The action is there, but once again, we get a massive villain in Galactus whose threat crumbles due to poor writing. You’d expect dazzling battle sequences showcasing each family member’s powers, but the director and VFX team play it too safe — turning what could have been awe-inspiring into something more like a costume party. That third act veers toward disaster, and the resolution doesn’t help.
Disney’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (2025) may be the one to finally break the curse plaguing Marvel’s First Family in cinema. It slips into the monotony and predictability Marvel is now known for, but by the studio’s standards, its good intentions are enough.
Yes, Marvel "died with Thanos," but Shakman plants a small seed of hope. Just planting it isn’t enough — it needs constant care.
* During the viewing, I kept wondering: Where have I seen this before? A superpowered family, retro-futuristic visuals, a Michael Giacchino score… Oh right! One of Pixar’s MASTERPIECES — the Oscar-winning “The Incredibles” (2004). Now THAT’S a family to watch!
RATING FOR DISNEY’S “THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS” (2025):
GOOD ★★★
Oscar nomination potential:
- Production Design
- Costume Design