To say “retro is back” is an understatement. From fashion, to cars, to tech, and yes, jean advertising, the commercial appeal of nostalgia has driven a resurgence of retro re-branding. Add the new Marvel film “Fantastic Four: First Steps” to the list.
After the surprising success of his TV Disney series “WandaVision,” Director Matt Shakman takes aim at restoring the legacy of Marvel’s first family with a worthy royal, retro treatment. Four prior big screen attempts failed miserably, all vastly outclassed by Pixar’s animated Fantastic Four-like “The Incredibles.” However, Shakman displays his love of comics and commits to a retro-futuristic model, meaning depicting the future as envisioned in prior time periods, and paying tribute to Marvel pioneer Jack Kirby.
The film boasts stunning sets of pastels, a cool Fantasticar, and retro TV thematic music. Shakman also borrows from Pixar’s family-first theme and attempts to build upon the self-deprecating hero-humor which drove audience connection in “The Incredibles.”
Starting the film several years after the Fantastic Four already have their powers, our new family of four is led by married scientists Sue Storm and Reed Richards, played by Vanessa Kirby and Pedro Pascal, as they race to save Earth from a planet-eating supervillain.
Vanessa Kirby’s performance eclipses the rest of the cast by a multiverse and literally carries the family narrative to a depth not achieved in any other MCU film. However, with a high point of installation of a child seat in Fantasticar, the script lacks any real creative punch. As a result of sparse humor, distractingly bad computer-generated imagery (CGI), and a trivialized role for the plot’s villain, Galactus, this treatment once again fails to rise above mediocrity.
So, on my ski trail rating system, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” earns my intermediate BLUE ski trail rating.
Vanessa Kirby and a strong family-values narrative elevate “First Steps” above its predecessors and make the film a great choice for a family film night. However, this “Fantastic Four” script doesn’t match the creativity of the director’s production vision.
“First Steps” merely serves as an above-average prologue for the cast’s introduction to the MCU, where they next take on Doctor Doom, as teased in a post-credit scene. We can only hope for better things [writing] to come.
“Fantastic Four: First Steps” is playing locally at Megaplex at Park City, with a run-time of one hour and fifty-five minutes. The film is rated PG-13 for action violence, language and gratuitous use of chalkboard math.
