Today Timelapsed is looking at the 2025 Marvel Studios movie, The Fantastic 4: First Steps. A fairly anticipated offering for the Marvel cinematic series.  

Pretty light of an intro there, but I wanted to get things jotted down while things were still fresh in the brain. As with the usual nowadays, there probably will be spoilers from here on out, so you have been warned.

As I no doubt have mentioned before, I have never been the biggest follower of Marvel stuff. At least in the comics world. That said, I do have a reasonable knowledge of that universe and its doings.. especially silver age and related stuff. But also I think most people have at least heard of the Fantastic 4 at one time or another.

I wouldn’t say I didn’t like the Fantastic 4 before this, I just never paid any attention to them. They just just never peaked my interest enough. The previous 2005 movie was ok, it just didnt click with me.

But for some reason when I saw the first trailers for this new movie, First Steps, I was genuinely excited to see it. But in true Timelapsed fashion, I forgot about it until i seen it up on the Disney+ splash page just now.

Starring the likes Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-bachrach and Joseph Quinn, the movie takes place on an alternate earth, (one that I think was just made up for this movie), in the 1960’s. With a very retro, almost Fallout style look and feel to it, where the “superhero” group known as the Fantastic 4 have just recently come into their powers and standing in the world. 

Now one of the first things that I like about this movie is that from right from the title we think that this is going to be an origin story…again. but it in fact we just jump right into the middle (ok, beginning) of the plot and start running. 

Not a complete cold start though, there are subtle nods, hints and some flashyback stuff to give you enough context for where it starting starting from even if this is your first time with the four.

We quickly find out where we are heading in the story and meet Galactus and Silver Surfer. The Planet eater and co. I was kinda curious as to how they were going to present Galactus to us, and Surfer even more so.

But I must say I like it because in the end we got what they were actually doing, with just enough of why, but leaving that part wide open for any later expansions if wanted to. We have our villians, we have our evil set up and plot. This is going great!

Except I was a little worried going in about the whole Pedro Pascal thing as he is always Pedro playing Pedro no matter what he’s in,, but he manages to pull it off here and Reed feels more like the smart science guy than the nerdy geeky guy they usually make him up to be.

The Slight comedy of Ben Grimm and Johnny is perfect and not over done, but somewhat downplay thier abilities, but not overly so.

Sue is more or less what I expected, but maybe needed a bit more of either explanation or at least denonstration of what she can or cannot do for the newer fans that probably don’t get her.

And lastly we see just enough of the comic versions of Fantastic 4 vehicles, dialogs and other quirks (beard) to complete the feel for fanboys, but it stays far away away from feeling forced.

The camera shots, sound and CGI are all “fantastic” and seamless in both that retro feel and the out in the cosmic settings. 

It really has everything going it for this to be an all time great movie.. except for the main plot 😦 

I’m writing this mere minutes after watching, and I’m still working on how to word all of this without sounding like some reddit warrior,, but that’s just the way it’s gonna have to be. 

Using the crutch plotline of the baby being the set up for ½ of the story was one of the worst directions/decisions the movie made.

I’m completely fine with Sue having a baby during the movie, and using that implication as motivations, but the unbelievability that a 9 month pregnant woman, regardless if she is mutate (not a mutant for the geekers) would pack up and fly into space for a war against a known killing machine, like they were going to a picnic was nearly a show killer for me. 

And the fact that her team and family, hell, the entire world,  who were already swooning over this baby, were perfectly fine with her just flying out to a probable fight to the death when she could literally drop at any second. (Spoiler: she does) Nope. Not a chance.

Then the immediate 100% turn around in her demeanor upon returning to earth and almost fake parental protection instinct now after what went down out in space, just feels stupid, fake.

And then, it gets flipped totally around once again for the end plot. I just… arrrrrg! 

What the hell is going on? Why would anyone act like this? It just does not compute. It’s almost as though I missed a 30 minute explanation of what or why this entire section of the plot seemed like a good idea.

They almost had it. They were thiiiiis close. They had everything in place. The looks, the actors, the characters, the setting. But then they hung a hard left and it veered waaay off course and it just took me out. I spent most of the last half of the movie trying to make up reasons why they took this route. 

I cannot decide if i like this movie anyway, or if I just plain hate it. I am going to need another watch or maybe two to see if maybe I just missed that explanation thats needed. Because it just cannot work with me the way it sits.

Am holding off on any recomedations for now.