Pedro Pascal Shines in a Glossy, Risk-Free Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a handsomely produced throwback to one of Marvel’s earliest superhero teams. The movie is visually delightful, packed with strong performances, and enjoys its throwback to the style and sensibility of 1960s superheroes. It never, however, builds suspense or drama, meaning it lacks a “fantastic” finish despite the flair it brings to the beginning.

Producer Kevin Feige called the movie “a no-homework-required” experience. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one of the few Marvel movies that isn’t built on a framework of previously established Marvel universes, cameos, or spin-offs. It is a standalone story that, thankfully, doesn’t require you to keep up with the last several attempts to adapt these characters and deal with Marvel’s sticky continuity. If you know anything about Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, you know their stories. The film doesn’t assume much beyond that, and is happy to keep it simple, sometimes too much so.

The story’s set-up is simple. A talk show with a Mark Gatiss character runs over the credits so that he can tell the story of how the Fantastic Four came to be. Four years earlier, they were part of a cosmic space mission when radiation struck the team and changed their DNA. Reed, played with thoughtfulness and a sense of humor by Pedro Pascal, gained the ability to stretch and flex his body like a piece of rubber. Vanessa Kirby’s Sue gained the power to become invisible and project force fields. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny can ignite and fly, becoming the Human Torch. Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben has become a permanently deformed The Thing, with rock-hard skin and superhuman strength.

They live together in a cozy home that resembles a space compound made out of 1950s designs, with flying cars, chalkboard math equations, and a tiny H.E.R.B.I.E. robot to help around the house. The world of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a pure retro-future: boxy television sets, no cell phones, and an almost cartoonish faith in the sleek optimism of its set dressing. The world of the film is a mash-up of The Jetsons and Lost in Space, with an oversized Marvel comic dropped into the mix.

The characters, however, don’t have the same dynamism as the design. The overall theme of the movie is family, both in terms of the hyper-close nuclear family of the four main characters and Sue’s pregnancy, which the movie announces fairly early on and Reed very much worries about. The film is charming, with a playful confidence and a good eye for the details of its design. In one sweet moment, Reed instructs HERB.I.E. to baby-proof not only their home but also their science laboratory. Johnny and Ben play off each other with comic bickering, though both are aware and excited about their upcoming roles as uncles.

But the fun is quickly interrupted by a familiar cosmic figure. Galactus, a towering armored being with glowing eyes, is on a collision course with Earth, and he plans to eat the planet. But before he arrives, he sends a herald to give the family a heads-up. The Silver Surfer, with a rubbery silver skin and a swooping board, is a terrifying but sleek presence (portrayed in motion capture by Julia Garner). She is, however, quickly eclipsed as a source of mystery and, at least for Johnny, infatuation.

The action, however, remains surprisingly mild for a Marvel movie. The heroes run after Galactus through the spaceways, are pursued by the Silver Surfer, and dodge cosmic energy blasts. All of it is in line with the retro-futuristic vibe, with blasts of light, tongues of flame, and stylized mushroom cloud explosions. The climax, in which Sue has to give birth while the Fantastic Four are on a mission, is more dreamlike than edge-of-your-seat. Birth is not an action scene. It’s an odd combination: one human being giving life at the same time that another human being will destroy a planet.

It’s that mixture of sincerity and silliness that defines the tone. There are some real emotional moments, but they often get swallowed up by the pastel-colored softness of the film. The stakes of the story rarely feel high, even with the fate of the Earth at stake. It’s much more of a children’s adventure tale than a caped action movie.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is pleasant to look at and well-acted. But it’s also lighter on drama and stakes than Marvel’s best has shown. It’s easy, nostalgic, and sincere—but also low on thrill. For fans who wanted something lighter than their last few Marvel movies, it will probably hit the right note. For others, it may seem like a beautifully wrapped gift that doesn’t deliver on its promise.