{"id":283117,"date":"2025-07-22T17:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T17:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/283117\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T17:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T17:54:10","slug":"what-the-critics-are-saying-about-the-fantastic-four-first-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/283117\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Critics Are Saying About \u2018The Fantastic Four: First Steps\u2019\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe Marvel Cinematic Universe begins a new chapter this week with a reboot of one of the company\u2019s most beloved properties, The Fantastic Four<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tStarring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Fantastic Four: First Steps was directed by Matt Shakman (Wandavision) and comes from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst Steps marks the fourth attempt to translate the original comic book characters of Reed Richards\/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm\/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm\/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm\/The Thing to the silver screen. This time, the action will take place in an alternate history\/parallel universe set in the \u201960s.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline\u2019s Damon Wise described the film as a \u201csatisfying and stylish Marvel adventure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt also benefits from a smart script and \u2014 I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m writing this \u2014 really quite moving performances from its four charismatic leads, being arguably the best of Pedro Pascal<\/a>\u2019s releases this year,\u201d Wise\u2019s review read.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Guardian\u2019s review says the film has given the MCU back some of its big-screen charm following a series of duds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have expressed my dissatisfaction recently with superhero films which have to finish with AI cities collapsing \u2013 and, yes, this is what happens here, but at least this finale emerges from the established story premise, and works well with the tone of uncomplicated fun,\u201d the paper wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tRobbie Collin in The Telegraph described the reboot as \u201cMarvel\u2019s best film in a decade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tCollin also heaped praise on the film\u2019s cast, who he says complement each other well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe casting allows all four to play to their strengths \u2013 and as the team\u2019s steadfast matriarch, Kirby is especially good value \u2013 but also because the film keeps putting them into the sort of human spaces where human behaviour naturally occurs,\u201d Collin wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tForbes also described the reboot as a \u201cwelcome return towards form\u201d for Marvel, adding that the film \u201ckicks off Phase Six of the MCU with style, substance, and promise, rather than relying solely on awe and scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe outlet also praised the film\u2019s visual style, which it described as \u201cincredible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe 1960s aesthetic is stunning. Production designer Kasra Farahani, who previously worked on Marvel Studios\u2019 Loki, creates a sumptuous canvas that feels both classic and contemporary at the same time. It\u2019s genuinely beautiful and IMAX highlights that off in the best possible way,\u201d Forbes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tGenre outlet IGN described the film as \u201ca little nuts\u201d and praised its ambition, but said the film is missing some important \u201ccapital-M Moments that superhero movies need.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI mean this on an emotional level: Nothing in First Steps had me on the verge of tears, happy or sad; nothing had me nervous for the survival of the folks on screen,\u201d the outlet said. \u201cBut I also mean this on a technical level. The most heroic-looking shots are in the montages, not in the big climactic events of the film.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tGizmodo also praised the film, but said it lacked some superhero pizzazz.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are more than a few standout moments thanks to the cast, visuals, and music. But by ultimately playing it safe, we\u2019re left with something nice and sweet but a little underwhelming,\u201d the outlet said.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a four-star review for the Financial Times, Jonathan Romney offers a balanced conclusion: \u201cFirst Steps doesn\u2019t reinvent the superhero genre, but it has its own freshness \u2014 it\u2019s uncluttered, good-natured and altogether good value \u2014 even if it might be the Marvel film ultimately remembered for its nice bathrooms and kitchen fittings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film hits theaters on July 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Marvel Cinematic Universe begins a new chapter this week with a reboot of one of the company\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[77,29430,20192,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-283117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-fantastic-four","10":"tag-the-fantastic-four-first-steps","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114898171569332865","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}