A return to good ol’ basics, with a fun dash of 60s retrofuturism.
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By taking place on an alternate earth, The Fantastic Four makes it easy for both returning fans and newcomers to get invested. Plus, it begins with assuming that the Fantastic Four are already loved and established heroes in this world, which smartly sidesteps the whole issue of setting up another origin story.
There’s this expensive, grainy overall look to the film, dressed up in 1960s retrofuturism and golden age aesthetics. I could easily see families returning to this movie, showing it at home during Christmas or any time of the year because it has such a cozy, self-contained, classic feel.
At its core, The Fantastic Four is about the transformative power of family, and navigating the terrifying reality of parenthood. To Reed Richards, engineering his way out of impossible tasks or inventing teleportation is a matter of science. But fatherhood is something he cannot reason with or predict.
To many fathers, the prospect of caring for a child seems like the great unknown. You may not have a son that could be a universe-altering being that devours life, but the fear is all the same.
You never know the kind of person your child might turn out to be, and how they might change you as a person.
It’s on this point that the movie connects on a more human, touching level. For Reed, to admit that there are things in the world that can’t be boiled down to an equation is impossible. It is possibly the scariest thing, but he rises to being a father, whose love for his child is beyond any reasoning. The writing adds depth to the Fantastic Four with a level of care and gentleness that hasn’t been seen before on screen.
It’s not just the parenthood that terrifies Reed, but Sue Storm as well. Sue, despite being visibly pregnant, is never sidelined in the story. There’s no scene where she begs not to be left behind on a mission to confront the Galactus.
I was holding my breath for the trope of ‘I won’t put you and our child in danger!’ from either Reed or the rest, but the movie makes it clear that Sue is integral. She is the one with the second-to-most agency to Reed, the one who holds her own against a cosmic giant, and the one able to save their child.
I also found the villain quite intriguing, though lacklustre by the third act. Galactus is not so much evil as he is a slave to his own instincts, going on a path of devouring planets to satiate his hunger. You could even say it’s a neutral desire, akin to a predator like a lion or piranha, which is such a great concept for a villain.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps lives up to its name by taking the first step in the right direction by breathing life into one of their most beloved teams after half a decade of waning sales and fan enthusiasm. Refreshing, wholesome, nostalgic, likeable – a true return to basics.
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