Imagine yourself travelling through the cosmic void aboard an interstellar rocketship on a mission to explore the deepest reaches of the cosmos. Suddenly the alarms are screaming and the ship begins to shudder under the stress of some unknown danger. Thankfully you are not alone on the craft and you are accompanied by your fellow crew members, all of who are, just like you, the top scientific minds in the World.
The ship begins to lose shields and begins to tear apart, the crew works frantically to regain attitude and control but it’s too late, the threat has descended upon the vessel, yourself and your crew. Then before you can properly analyze the situation or find a solution you are hit by a wave of unknown cosmic radiation which surges through every fiber of your being as you sit strapped into your chair, helpless and cooked.
Sounds like a good origin story for a group of astronauts who after a bizarre accident in space, miraculously survive and become mutant superheroes who eventually save the world over and over again. Sounds like fate, sounds almost too good to be true… because it is sadly not reality but in truth the premise for a science fiction comic book, the Fantastic Four.
Don’t be sad though, the reality is that the comic book series the Fantastic Four has been around for over 60 years and has had several movies and tv shows derived from its irradiated premise. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four has been a very successful franchise in the comic book industry.
Back in January I wrote a IMO regarding the Fantastic Four in light of my anticipation regarding the release of the new Marvel adaptation of the comic book series of the same name. Today I return from that voyage of discovery, my trip into the unknown universe of Earth 828 where this new movie takes place. Today I return with my ship intact and undamaged, all traces of lingering doubt and apprehension cast aside.
Today, I return to my dimension and bring my (spoiler free, as can be) review of Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The film stars Pedro Pascal as a rogue mercenary who travels the galaxy with his small green companion with large ears in search of a safe place to hide from the spore infested zombie creatures who are taking over the badlands after the apocalypse… No Sorry, my mistake…
Pedro Pascal who stars as the handsome and swashbuckling adventurer the Red Viper, who after a failed attempt to seek revenge for his sister’s murder is brutally… no wait, sorry, again, wrong character… Pedro Pascal as the Brilliant and talented businessman Maxwell Lord who through his desire for power and wealth seeks a magical dreamstone artifact to take control of the world… Again, my apologies… Seems I’m a little Pedro confused here.
Okay we’ll try again, Pedro Pascal who stars as the Brilliant and talented scientist Reed Richards who leads his superhero team to once again save the day. His team of course is the Fantastic Four which is composed of Reed, the stretchy guy and his wife the Beautiful and equally talented scientist Sue Storm played by the equally beautiful Vannesa Kirby (Jack Kirby relation?? Idk but seems fitting).
Sue who has this impressive power to turn herself invisible along with everything she touches is accompanied by her wise-cracking brother Johnny Storm who bursts into a human torch with the command ‘Flame-on’. Johnny is played by Stranger Things star, Joseph Quinn who is tbh, my favorite actor at the moment taking over the mantle from worthy contenders such as Captain America, himself, Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan who also plays the bad guy in the Black Panther movies.
Considering Michael B. Jordan and Chris Evans have now both played two characters in the MCU, does this mean Joseph Quinn will get another role in a future Marvel film, perhaps he could play The Beyonder? I mean, why not, RDjr is playing Dr. Doom?
The team is rounded up to four with the indestructible and loveable Thing, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach who’s Thing is somewhat downgraded in this film to comic relief commanding less of the emotional arc that they created for him during the original Marvel Fantastic Four films. I thought that was odd because the new film ‘First Steps’ takes a lot of cues from those other Fantastic Four films. It doesn’t copy them but they do influence the overall storyline.
Is that a bad thing? Not really, I actually enjoyed those other films, they were made in a different time and did the best they could with a difficult comic book superhero skill set such as the Fantastic Four.
The new movie tackles this conceptual translation from comic books to the big screen in a different approach this time around and I have to admit nails the overall appearance and feel for the movie. It is fresh and fun and right from the gate handles the quirkyness and strange nature of the Fantastic Four in a fashion that surprises and inspires. The film takes place in an alternate universe and this was no secret in the marketing strategy nor the film’s depiction and dynamics of modern day life.
After what we as an audience have endured from Marvel over the past 20 years regarding the multiverse this shouldn’t come as a surprise, what shocked me was the multiverse was the films ultimate saving grace.
I really don’t think you could make this film 10 or twenty years ago, the style of art is dangerously close to AI but you know that’s not the case. Marvel employs a talented array of Artists and studios who obviously worked very hard on this film, I hope they win an award.
Take for instance The villain of the movie is directly taken from the story books and the original films, although I will say is a much better version this time around thanks to the improvement to the world of special effects. I didn’t even mind the new version of the Silver surfer played by my favorite hillbilly, Julia Garner even though the effects were taking a hit on the internet for being sub par.
One thing I will say for certain however is that this film isn’t all special effects, even though it technically is… the movie, the film, the story is still based upon a dysfunctional family who is thrust into a crazy situation and does their best to deal with impossible situations and this film is full of those. There were some really intense scenes which I sat watching in starstruck awe.
In fact, I left the theatre with a huge smile and a similar feeling that I had just watched something special, like when I first saw Captain America, the first Avenger. If Marvel intended to reboot their universe with this movie I think they might have hit the nail on the head while screaming, It’s clobbering time!
Art work is once again thanks the sculpt and rigging done by HardGutem, @asapberg
All rights of the character belong to NetEase Games, Marvel Entertainment and Disney.
Animation and extra art provided by me, Cosmic-books.com in accordance with the free use.