FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

Director: Matt Shakman
Stars: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn
Rating:  9 out of 10

This is what Marvel should have done with all its properties post Endgame. Stand alone MCU films set in other universes with a big payoff at the end of them all meeting in Doomworld and the conclusion of that being a new MCU with the cream of the crop.

What I loved most about this movie was the humanity in it. We got under dwellers, Galactus, Silver Surfer, jumping light years through space, and the most important thing happening in any one scene is a grounded human interaction. It was like a very light hearted Watchmen in that respect. The heroing was secondary, the family was first.

The fun is there though. Johnny's dry wit shone greatly in this and whilst his and Thing's story seem to be in the background, I was drawn to Johnny's the most. He clearly missed space and science, which is a refreshing take on Johnny as it is very easy to fall down the 'Austin Powers shagadelic womaniser' path with him. Instead it only touches on this as being in the past now and he seems much more mission focused.

Surfer and Galactus are portrayed so accurately from their look to their relationship that the little screen time they have is all they need. Think Vader in Star Wars 1977. Maybe we could have had Galactus a little bit brighter and a little less Snyder cut but that's just a personal preference. His ominous presence throughout this was scary and I know that, as a kid, I would have found him terrifying (man is kidnapping babies and eating planets).

Surfer has the perfect amount of backstory and is a a great conflicted character onscreen. She reminded me of the way we were introduced to Black Panther. Dropped straight in, with them attacking the protagonist and the explanation being bled out as the story and continues. The look of surfer was so well done that I forgot for the most part that CGI was involved, and again, I loved Johnny and his interactions with her. Each moment was a nice feather touch of emotion that was needed in each scene to ground you and make you forget that we're half a galaxy away in space.

Everyone's use of powers is expertly done in this from Sue showing she's more than a one trick pony, to the Thing and why he's not just another HULK character in a superhero gang. Reed doesn't use his much but in all honesty, it's not needed. Richards greatest ability is his mind and this is why this movie really works for me. We get to see him dealing with complexities and ethical decisions that he must face due to the position of power he has accidentally fallen into. That's far more interesting than seeing him roll up into a ball.

All in all this is visually stunning, a heap of fun and other than maybe the film being a bit CGI heavy in the final battle (could we not have gone full 1970s Kaiju?) that I can hand on heart say this is in the top half of MCU films...maybe even my top 10. I cannot wait to watch this at least another fantastic 4 times.

Also, if you're like me and you love a good easter egg, this film is full of them. I cannot recommend enough that if you enjoyed this film, to watch the SCREEN CRUSH ALL EASTER EGGS REVEALED video as it is extremely insightful on the behind the scenes of this movie and a lot of the creative process:

Are we all going out and getting Herbie tattoos btw?

​By Jay Burdett @ProJub
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