Here we are, at the release of 2025’s third and final Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. And, given the reactions from critics, it seems The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a lot closer to the quality level of Thunderbolts* than Captain America: Brave New World, and that is quite welcome news. A lot is riding on First Steps — there have been three prior attempts at bringing the title quartet to life on the big screen. One went unreleased, the second was a pair of Tim Story movies which, at best, were mildly entertaining, and the third was quite possibly the worst superhero movie to ever disgrace the big screen.
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It seems that First Steps is finally the one that has done it right, and we’re going to unpack the elements on which the critics seem to agree. That said, we’re going to avoid any particular plot details, instead focusing on what critics find to be the film’s general weaknesses and its general strengths.
It’s the Best Fantastic Four Movie
Even Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post, who didn’t like the movie very much, started his review by saying this is the best Fantastic Four movie thus far. The same goes for ScreenCrush‘s Matt Singer, who wrote that it was “the best Fantastic Four film to date basically by default.”
While those two critics didn’t particularly care for the film, those who did mirrored their half-compliments more emphatically. Brian Truitt of USA Today said that it’s “a Fantastic Four movie that finally gets its heroes right, after so many tries.” Nell Minow of Movie Mom said basically the same thing, stating, “After three unsatisfactory tries, Marvel Studios got it right….”
The Film Has Gorgeous Production Design
Ever since the earliest days of First Steps‘ marketing, Marvel Studios has made it clear that the film is going for a retro vibe. It seems that the film’s effort to pull off a ’60s-like setting has gone over well and is even one of the best parts of the film. Many have called it a hybridization of The Jetsons and Mad Men.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap said that the retro style gives “the whole film a wondrous vibration.” Dan Jolin of Empire said, “It’s such a fun and well-crafted world that it almost feels a shame to anticipate Reed, Sue, and company leaving it for… [Avengers:] Doomsday‘s shenanigans.” And, as we saw in the Thunderbolts* tag scene, they will, in fact, be leaving Earth-828 for the Earth-616 we’ve gotten to know throughout 36 movies.
The Thing Feels the Most Human of the Quartet
Even though he’s full CGI, it is apparently Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Thing who comes across as the most fully rounded human of the Four. In the words of Entertainment Weekly‘s Maureen Lee Lenker, Thing conveys “the greatest humanity of the four, despite his igneous exterior.”
Most critics agree that Moss-Bachrach, Pascal, Kirby, and Quinn all excel in their roles, but it seems the former is the standout. This isn’t fully expected, as Thing is one of the more difficult Marvel characters to bring to life. Even given the power of Michael Chiklis’ performance in Tim Story’s two movies, he still came across as a goofy rubber suit monster more often than not.
The More It Leans Into Its Wackiness, the Better It Is
Given the aforementioned retro vibe and helper robot, one can expect First Steps to have an overall sweet and somewhat silly tone, and it seems the movie does have the number of comedic beats that come with most MCU projects.
Like with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, it seems First Steps is at its most likable when it’s leaning into the setting and vibe that allows it to stand apart from the remainder of the overarching franchise. As Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly wrote, it “leans into the comic book kitschiness inherent to the material, embracing it with gonzo gusto….”
Michael Giacchino’s Score Is Sublime
Michael Giacchino is no stranger to superhero material. He served as composer on The Incredibles, Sky High, Doctor Strange, Jon Watts’s Spider-Man trilogy, Incredibles 2, Werewolf by Night, The Batman, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Outside The Batman, most of his work in the subgenre has been peppy and energetic, and it seems he’s done his best work on that front in First Steps.
Entertainment Weekly‘s Maureen Lee Lenker called his score “the cherry on top of this comic book sundae.” She went on to say that the “twinkling 1960s sound” of his work on The Incredibles “gets repurposed here and given extra oomph with more solemn, sweeping melodies.” Furthermore, Jake Coyle of Associated Press called Giacchino’s score “rousing,” while Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com called it “fresh and fun.”
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th.
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