This film manages to live up to the sky-high expectations preceding its release and is undoubtedly an exciting, imaginative, adventurous kick-starter for a new Marvel Cinematic Universe
Still from The Fantastic Four- First Steps
Film: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Ada Scott, Angela Jones, Maisie Shakman
Director: Matt Shakman
Rating: 3.5/5
Runtime:115 min
This fourth iteration of The Fantastic Four is a fast paced, witty, slick entertainer that gives a booster shot to the new MCU. The screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, doesn’t make “The Fantastic Four: First Steps ” an origin story. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created ‘The Fantastic Four’ comic book in 1961 and this film set in a futuristic alternate universe, Earth-828 is a tribute to their combined creative force.
We get a brief introductory sequence underling Dr Reed Richards and teams superpower origins and an update on how they have been faring as saviors of the world. The team of four led by Richard Reed/Mr Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) with his wife Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), his brother-in-law Johnny Storm/Human Torch(Joseph Quinn) and Reed’s bestie Ben Grimm/The Thing(Ebon Moss-Bachrach) lives in the Baxter Building in Manhattan, retro-futuristic 1960’s New York, and are already world heroes. It’s been four years since their coming out as superheroes and their exploits get aired regularly as they appear on the The Ted Gilbert (Mark Gatiss) Show. One of their greatest achievements, was a peace settlement with the Mole Man, Harvey Elder (Paul Walter Hauser), the ruler of Subterranean.
But the cosmically compromised four are not exactly secure in their world. Reed and Sue are finally going to be parents and keeping in mind their genetic mutations, Reed is worried whether the child will be normal or safe. Ben and Johnny though, are excited to be uncles. The no-nonsense Silver Surfer Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), a silver-skinned alien, herald’s a prophesy that Earthlings will be destroyed by Galactus- a hungry alien devour-er, billions of years old, who eats planets from the inside. In addition to this new threat Reed and company have to deal with 47 criminal organizations that could cause them harm.
Galactus(Ralph Ineson) wants deliverance from his unending vicious hunger and believes that Reed and Sue’s unborn child could save him. So he puts forth the idea that Reed and Sue give up their child in order to spare Earth. They of course refuse but the world’s population turns against them. Will they be able to spare their baby and save their world?
The makeup, costumes by Alexandra Byrne, colour-coded set design by Jille Azis are beautifully resplendent. They aid cinematographer Jess Hall in showcasing the retro futuristic world beautifully and in minutest detail. The script keeps it pacy and humorous. The motion capture with CGI used to create The Thing’s rock-like appearance is creditable. There’s nothing prosthetic about it. The sci-fi environment also includes robot helpers, flying cars and HERBIE (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics) and they do justice to the imaginary set-up.
The perfect casting and vivid imagination aids Shakman’s helming in neatly balancing fantasy and spectacle to score big, thus wonder-whelming the audience. The sizing of characters is the key. The scale of this production is really giant sized and visual effects though creditable is a little underwhelming for that vision. Shakman keeps Galactus in focus to underline the toonish nature of the characters. The individual scaling allows for a greater threat perception and sends the tension sky high. The editing might not be easy on the eye or senses but the film is absolutely focused on creating a spectacle that trips you up. The CG effects allow for greater belief in this fantasy world but there are times when its not kosher too.
The mid-credits sequence and the post‑credits scene directed by Joe & Anthony Russo provide a dekho into what is to come next. This film manages to live up to the sky-high expectations preceding its release and is undoubtedly an exciting, imaginative, adventurous kick-starter for a new Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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