The Fantastic Four’s Faltering First Steps

'The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ suffers and excels when detached from the glut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures

If there’s a single biggest drawback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s the congestion. What was once a focused string of superhero stories has snowballed into a runaway network of interlinked narratives, each demanding familiarity with a growing list of flashy lead-up installments.

Audiences have been bombarded with so many separate superhero projects that we’ve coined a name for our collective burnout: “Marvel fatigue.”

The president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, even spoke candidly about the oversaturation in a July 19th press conference. According to Variety, Feige stated that Marvel had “produced 50 hours of stories between 2007 and 2019,” but “had well over 100 hours of stories” between 2019 and today. “That’s too much,” he admitted.

The past couple of years have seen a subtle course correction, with the company shying away from bi-monthly content drops and transitioning to a slightly more restrained seasonal release calendar. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is this summer’s release, and a film that feels like a direct reply to much of the criticism that’s been leveled against the studio.

This latest entry is the first in years to be completely freestanding. It doesn’t lean on an expansive cast of preexisting characters or convoluted lore, and it’s not built on the expectation that viewers have watched the ever-expanding slate of shows and movies preceding it. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in an alternate reality from the one audiences have come to know since Iron Man first screened in 2008. As a result, it’s unsaddled from the weight of 20 intermingling story arcs for 50 different characters.

Disembodied from those other franchises, it’s granted rein to tell one of the most classically digestible superhero stories that Marvel has come out with in over a decade. It offers little in the way of surprising twists and turns (not that Marvel is terribly well known for its departures from formula). This latest adaptation is simply the story of four super-powered protagonists taking on a metal colossus and his suspiciously seductive silver sidekick.

Much of the strength of Marvel movies lies in their villains. Ralph Ineson’s Galactus recaptures the apocalyptic menace that defined Josh Brolin’s Thanos and helped to make the Infinity War saga so memorable. Julia Garner’s portrayal of the Silver Surfer is also effective, but the role is purposefully stiff and gives her less room to shine than some of her more recent dramatic appearances.

The titular protagonists are played by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. They embody the characters well, but appear similarly confined by the cookie-cutter scripts they’re given.

Marvel has drawn a lot of criticism in recent years for being too overtly humorous and self-mocking. By contrast, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one of the least riotous Marvel entries in years. It’s self-serious and attempts to drive home emotional weight that struggles to land with much of an impact.

I think the saving grace of the MCU in recent years is its ability to laugh at itself, and its characters’ recognition of the outrageous world that they’re a part of. It’s a lot of why I could excuse the deficits of Deadpool and Wolverine; its characters openly admit to the confusing, cash-grabbing universe that they belong to and invite viewers to suspend disbelief and revel in the messiness alongside them.

I’ve seen too many of these superhero movies for me to take their plots seriously if they don’t offer the occasional wink and nod toward fans. I can’t simply walk into theaters and buy whatever evil, caped crusader or malevolent, flavor-of-the-month force that Marvel is selling. Humor may be a crutch for the franchise, but films like The Fantastic Four: First Steps stumble without it.

At its best, self-awareness gives the genre a kind of levity that keeps its excesses in check. Without it, the high-stakes battles and intergalactic threats start to feel too grave for their own good. The end-of-the-world solemnity begins to look contrived.

So much of the joy in seeing any superhero adaptation comes when you participate in the zeitgeist. When you recognize the Easter eggs, running jokes, and references to past stories. It’s the reason why I try to see new installments on opening weekend when I find the chance. People ooh, ahh, gasp, and howl their way through the movie, sitting with rapt attention until the final post-credit scene has rolled.

Admittedly, I’m not quite immersed enough in the culture to grasp every hat-tip and callback. But in those moments when I understand why the audience around me is erupting, it’s all the fun of seeing a favorite band in concert. I know the hit stories and lose myself in a crowd of people who’ve been similarly entertained and affected by them.

In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, accessibility feels as though it’s at the expense of much of the fanfare that can come coupled with these superhero movie-going experiences. Despite being in a near-full theater on my viewing, reactions around me were uncharacteristically subdued.

For people uninitiated to the vast-and-growing world of superheroes in spandex, the film’s freestanding nature and lack of nods to other events make it more approachable. For people who’ve put in the time to watch their way through most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s not one of the more gratifying stories the franchise has to offer. But the visual spectacle that most have grown to expect from superhero blockbusters is on full display and is best experienced in IMAX.

Despite a few shortcomings, the film serves as a reminder that Marvel can still make movies that function on their own terms. The Fantastic Four: First Steps may not be groundbreaking, but in a franchise so routinely hampered by its own mythology, there’s something refreshing about a story that starts from scratch.

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