"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" Does Just Enough Right

 

    I'm not sure what to do with this movie. It's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, or that I didn't think it got some things very right with the whole Fantastic Four dynamic, it's just also at the same time, it's hard for me to escape the Marvel doomerism, comparing it to Superman, or just my general comic book optimism. I wouldn't say I had a clear vision for this movie either, I understand that it's supposed to be retro futuristic. I also acknowledge their universe is also probably not long for this world either. Either way, I'd argue this is one of the more difficult movies I've had to rank recently, so let's talk about it.

    Let's talk casting. I'll be honest, coming into this I was the most skeptical of Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch. I wasn't sure if he'd have the aloofness, or the flamboyance that I'd want from a Johnny. Not someone whose completely reckless, but someone whose best strength is their stubbornness, for better or worse. And so far? I'm mostly convinced. Honestly, I wish he was a bit more loud and out there, I thought that his dynamic with Ben worked, the sort of competitive banter.

    Perhaps I just wanted him to maybe a bit more stereotypical? I didn't mind the fact that he was the one who helped decipher the Silver Surfer's language, it doesn't just have to be the Reed Richards show, but at the same time he seemed oddly calm and not that hot-headed? I also felt like maybe he should have had more interactions with Sue? I mean they are siblings after all, it just didn't feel like it that much, especially at the end where like it's just Reed and Franklin on the floor looking at Sue. You're telling me her brother she was close to isn't there weeping with them? I did hear someone say that this movie kind of felt like it had a lot of cuts, and I don't disagree.

    Because you can really see it with Ben Grimm's storyline, because well pretty much anything involving him was cut. I mean it's like they did this whole fake out, he meets this... Well, actually I have no idea, because you see this woman he's "romantically interested" in twice, and the first time she's a schoolteacher, but the second time they're in this magic, religiously vague, "place of worship(?)" and she's also just there. The worst part is that there are literally no other scenes expanding on it. I'm not saying I wanted to see a Ben Grimm storyline, but also you shouldn't tease something that never shows up. I do like Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben though.

    But why include it if that's all it's going to be? I didn't mind him not actually liking his catchphrase by the way, it's pretty funny that he has to explain it's fake. It's just, well he has this beard that he "grows" about halfway through the film and it's awful and they never get rid of it. Also, I feel like his friendship with Reed was kind of shafted. For people who are supposed to be "best friends" I swear they hardly interacted with each other. He doesn't even feel that strong too. I don't know I think a large part of my gripe with this film is they spend a lot of time talking to each other about the big "Galactus problem", when in my mind I probably would have enjoyed the film more if it included more fighting and if it really focused on the group as a family?

    Speaking of which, can we talk about Reed? I thought it was good they actually let him be stretchy, but to be honest, I know they're trying to cut down on the ridiculous CGI budgets, but he simply didn't use his powers enough. I know it would have been creepy and uncanny to see his neck stretch out like 15 meters, but also I swear to god Reed's "stretching" limit was like 10 meters. I feel like they could have done so much more with his abilities, so it was disappointing to see him hardly stretch the entire film. That's literally his special power, well that and being smart, but he isn't interesting if he doesn't stretch.

        Which brings me to the fact that honestly, I was a little skeptical of Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic.  I'm still not completely sold on him, but I don't think that's entirely Pedro's part, even though I still mainly see him as Pedro Pascal and not Mr. Fantastic. I think probably his best parts of the film, are the opening scene where he's absentmindedly trying to look for Iodine, and the scene where Sue realizes he thought about using Franklin to save the earth. I'm not saying I didn't want charisma, and wanted someone with a super robotic sciencey voice that no one understood, after all he is still the leading man. It just felt like he could have been smarter? I did really enjoy his speech about how he's sort of trained to think about the worst possible outcomes though, that did feel Reed Richardsy. Also, the part where he feels guilty about Ben's condition was also a nice touch, since I feel as if that's a very important part of his character.

    Which brings me to Sue, which I probably had the least complaints about, except for the fact that her powers should have been cooler. I support a badass and smart Sue, I always enjoyed characterizations where she's the sort of grounding point for Reed, reminding him of his family and what he does this all for. What I was confused at was how they chose to portray her powers, and how confusing it was. I feel like they should have just explained it? Like can she still make the force bubbles? How was she pushing Galactus back? I just think if they made it more clear both visually, and by explaining it her powers it would have been better.

    All of this to say that I think this film got some things right. I thought that they didn't defeat Galactus in a dumb way, I thought that they did him well. He wasn't some weird thing of clouds, they made him feel comic accurate and scary. I also didn't mind what they did to the Silver Surfer character either, I mean the origin was pretty comic accurate so how much did I really have to complain about. It was also nice that the team wasn't super useless outside of Reed. Thankfully, they actually knew how to use the technology. My only minor complaint is that I wish Herbie had a real voice, I had no idea what he was saying at all I don't get why he just had to be like Chewbacca. 

Final Score: 75/100

    I really need to start being a bit more positive in my reviews. Ultimately, I felt like this movie was more of a stepping stones movie. It's hard to juggle with trying to create and cram a whole new universe and team into two hours, it just feels like this film either would have benefited from not committing at all, or just not choosing to do the whole Galactus is destroying the universe bit. I'd complain about Franklin being the most obvious CGI baby I've ever seen, but also it's a baby I don't really know how you make them look better, especially considering what they were having this "baby" actually do. I'll be interested to see where they go with this team. Will they merge with the main universe? I feel like you kind of have to. I also think they should have just made the film more grounded, but at this point I'm rambling so who cares.