1960s Charm Meets Modern CGI in Fantastic Four

Marvel27s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a pretty, nostalgic, mildly engaging reimagining of one of the comic book publisher27s first-ever superhero teams. The film is buoyed by some strong performances (particularly Pedro Pascal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and the commitment to a retro 1960s vibe is frequently fun. But it never quite accumulates enough tension or emotion to leave a lasting impact.

Film producer Kevin Feige was right to call this a 22no-homework-required22 experience. Marvel27s films have become so reliant on audiences27 memories of previous movies, universes, and franchises in recent years that it was a relief to go to a Marvel movie where a casual viewer doesn27t need to know anything about a multiverse, a cameo, or some spinoff television show. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a standalone adventure that reintroduces us to Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm without delving too deeply into any of the continuity of the previous adaptations. The movie takes great pleasure in being simple26mdash;and, at times, too simple.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens with a talk show hosted by Mark Gatiss, who gets us up to speed on how the Fantastic Four ended up as they are at this point. The space mission that gave Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben their powers happened four years ago, when the group was exposed to radiation in outer space. Their DNA was altered, resulting in Reed (acted with thoughtfulness and humor by Pedro Pascal) having the power to stretch his body like a rubber band; Vanessa Kirby27s Sue having the ability to turn invisible and project force fields; Joseph Quinn27s Johnny being able to light himself on fire and fly; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach27s Ben having turned permanently into The Thing (a rock-covered giant with superhuman strength).

The group now lives together in what looks like a mid-century modern space compound, with flying cars, chalkboard equations strewn about the kitchen, and a toddler-sized robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. running errands around the house. First Steps27 vision of the world is retro-futurism through and through, with square television sets, no smartphones, and a blissful optimism to its set and prop design. It is a lot like watching The Jetsons and Lost in Space crash into a Marvel comic.

If the design is endearing, the plot is less so. The main throughline of the film has to do with family: the tight, sibling-like bond between the four leads. Sue, played by the very charismatic Kirby, discovers she is pregnant in the early minutes of the film, with Reed, as previously noted, being both anxious and adorable in his response to the news. In one bit, he teaches H.E.R.B.I.E. to baby-proof both the house and the science lab. In another, Johnny (Quinn) and Ben (Moss-Bachrach) make for an irritating and amusing sibling-like duo: mostly comic relief with high-pitched voices, but very much in on their impending status as three-quarters of a set of parents. (It doesn27t help that Moss-Bachrach and Quinn sound so similar.)

But even this family time is cut short, as a familiar space force arrives to remind them of their status as the protectors of the world. Galactus, a hulking, armored figure with glowing eyes and red lasers for digits, has an appetite for planets and intends to get to Earth next. Before his arrival, he sends out a herald: a silver-skinned figure played in motion capture by Julia Garner, known for her work in Ozark. As the Silver Surfer, she glides around the film with sleek menace, though she quickly becomes an object of sexual curiosity (and admiration) for Johnny.

The action, when it comes, remains fairly low-key. As the heroes chase Galactus through space and evade the attacks of the Surfer, the graphics are true to the retro color scheme of the film: quick blasts of light, fire streaks, and very stylized pops of color. Sue going into labor during the climactic action sequence also has a surreality that feels more weird than it does stressful. It is a novel combination of feelings: the birth of a child, during an attempt to save the Earth, from space, with 2760s aesthetics.

It27s a novel combination, and that27s what sums up the film27s tone. It has some legitimately affecting moments, though many of them are subsumed by the soft pastels of its color scheme. There27s no real sense of stakes, even when Earth is on the line. It27s more children27s adventure story than a superhero blockbuster.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a film that is pleasant and often well-acted. It is often breezy, but it lacks the dramatic heft that has made the best of Marvel27s output over the past decade. It is easy, nostalgic, and heartfelt26mdash;but also very light on thrills. For those in the mood for something a little lighter than planetary apocalypse, it will be just right. For anyone else, it is a beautiful box with only a little something inside.