On Earth 828 The Fantastic Four are celebrating their fourth anniversary of being protectors of their world as they prepare to welcome a new addition to their cosmic powered family and face their greatest adversary yet: Galactus the Devourer of Worlds. 

It is a huge relief to be able to say The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a good movie! The best Fantastic Four film made so far and the best Marvel movie for quite some time. 

The reasons for that come down to three key facets. The first is that this film set on an alternate Earth requires absolutely no prior knowledge or experience of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whilst these characters may find themselves linked to the Avengers at a later point in time, right now they are free from those constraints. The second is the superb stylisation of the world building on this alternate Earth. A “Jetson’s” like 1960’s version of what a utopian future might look like. And the third is just how fantastic the cast members who make up The Fantastic Four are. 

The Fantastic Four is also the second superhero movie of the summer to eschew an origin story for its heroes and it delivers its fully formed characters in a rather perfect manner. Celebrating the heroes fourth anniversary via a TV show that apes Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show we get a full summary of their origin story along with stories of their victories to date. Fans of the comics will likely love this sequence for its peek into the villains they have already bested. 

The four themselves are superbly cast. Pedro Pascal, a man seemingly in everything right now is much more lightly spoken as Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards. A man who seemingly always wears a tie whilst trying to solve problems scientifically. Vanessa Kirby as Sue “The Invisible Woman” Storm is one of the two key standouts in the cast. Both emotionally and physically strong she is the group’s strongest presence. Joseph Quinn as Johnny “Human Torch” Storm manages to show someone who is in a state of arrested development and still capable of being super smart. And then there is my clear stand out in the cast, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben “The Thing” Grimm. Stoically accepting of how his superpowers have affected him and an all round nice guy. And how wondrous it is to watch the family be happy together and work together with no internal angst or pressure. Truly refreshing. 

As for its world building it’s a joy. An almost utopian society that looks like how a 1960’s television show would envisage the future. But it also captures the spirit of the comics especially in a particularly fun supporting character played by Paul Walter Hauser and a robot helper named H.E.R.B.I.E. 

The film’s drawbacks in the main lay in its villains and some of its CGI. The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and Galactus (Ralph Ineson) are thinly drawn. Although the Surfer does fare better in their motives than Galactus. The CGI is solid but has got the unenviable task of trying to make a baby look realistic in a number of shots. One that right now I am not sure any film has succeeded in. But it is still arguably better than the doll used in American Sniper! 

As with the film’s overall theme I left with a sense of hope for more outings of this iteration of The Fantastic Four.