Fantastic Four: First Steps

Currently only in theaters

Runtime: 1 Hours 55 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Well, viewers, Marvel’s first family finally makes its way to the MCU. Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing embark on a journey to welcome a baby into the family and to stop the world-devouring Galactus from consuming Earth (Earth-828, not the usual MCU planet, Earth-616). Will they be able to stop Galactus? Will Reed Richards be able to use his vast amount of knowledge to become a good father? Will the new baby have powers? Will Herbie learn to cook good food? Well, viewers tune in and find out!

Themes:

Superheroes, family, sci-fi, the 60s, aliens, end of the world experiences, heroes, peace, space exploration, pregnancy, curses, relationships, marriage, hurt, mathematical and ethical problems, super powers, unsatisfiable hunger, celebrities, expectations, science, love, sacrificing oneself, saving many vs saving one, motherhood, linguistics, clobbering time, and the age old question, “is Silver Surfer’s board part of her body?”

Language:

Hell - 2 Sh*t - 2 Religious Exclamations - 3

As of the latest phase of Marvel movies, this movie has far less cursing than most.

Stuff to be aware of:

Scary - When Galactus is first introduced, he sits in shadows with glowing eyes. He is later seen in more lighted areas and would probably not be as scary. A quick Google search will yield a photo if you need to judge his appearance before your child views the movie. Younger viewers may find some of the climax suspenseful. The baby is in danger at times, and there are a lot of unknowns that could put younger viewers on the edge of their seats.

Sexual - Silver Surfer is a female that appears to be made out of liquid metal (kind of like T1000 in the Terminator series). She does not wear clothes, so the shape of her breasts and buttocks can be seen visually; there are no details to her form, though. No nipples or pubic area are visible. She is referred to by one character as a “sexy alien.”

Violence/Gore - There is some superhero-style fighting, but not much. There are not a lot of fighting sequences in the movie. Even the big ending fight isn’t very intense. Some characters have cuts and bleed a little. Mister Fantastic starts to get stretched to his limit in one scene, and he seems to be in pain.

Other - Pregnancy is talked about multiple times. Dilations and contractions are mentioned. A lady gives birth to a child, but most of her body is covered. Her pants are removed, but the audience doesn’t even see much of the lady’s legs. A character can be seen cutting the umbilical cord, but this is covered by other items/people in the scene. It is a very PG birth sequence outside of the “pains of labor” and it happening at an intense time in the movie.

Overall:

Seeing It With Your Family

I was impressed how little language this movie had. So many of the MCU movies have so much cursing now. I had to listen hard to catch the few I did. If you aren’t listening closely, you’ll miss them.

Also, like a lot of the current superhero movies, there isn’t much adult humor, and there aren’t any sexual scenes. As I mentioned above, there isn’t a lot of fighting in the movie, and outside of Galactus there isn’t anything too scary. This one is far safer for a family than any of the MCU movies that have come out since Phase One.

What I Thought

This and Thunderbolts give me hope for the MCU moving forward. Thunderbolts felt like the original Avengers and this had the feel-good vibe of a Phase One movie. Is it perfect? No, but I believe it is the right introduction to Marvel’s first family to the MCU.

The movie taking place in an alternate timeline/reality (Earth-828, not the usual MCU planet, Earth-616) was a good move. The writers were able to give the audience everything we needed to know in about ten minutes through a sizzle reel, filling us in on the Fantastic Four’s origin, their world, and all they have accomplished since gaining their powers. This means there is not a lot of time wasted on world-building or connecting this to other movies. The sizzle reel is done like a talk show, and as the announcer says, “you know their story,” which is true for the world in which they live, but also the audience. We don’t need a full origin; we have seen it before. This was done beautifully.

The movie is not long, but it gives the characters enough time for the audience to get acquainted with the new actors/actresses playing these well-known heroes. I was a bit worried about some of the casting choices, but they all work together and have some fun chemistry. They feel like a real family. Sue and Johnny get the best character development. Thing seems to have a bit of his story cut, while Dr. Reed Richards is just mostly used for his brain and reminding the audience that while he is the smartest man alive, he has some trouble connecting with people. This all, for the most part, works well, giving us a feeling of a live-action Incredibles movie.

The story dealing with Galactus is simple, but it works as a nice metaphor for the aspect of the movie that deals with the scariness and uncertainty of becoming a parent. The music is wonderful and the futuristic 60s setting is fun.

All and all, a fun family flick that feels like a return to form for Marvel.