The Fantastic Four: First Steps Movie Review (2025)
A dynamic superhero movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is like The Jetsons meets comic books, even if the CGI baby misses the mark.
I have never watched a Fantastic Four movie before. They were never really on my radar, and since my son is an encyclopedia of comics and lore, I never felt like I needed to. For the first time, though, the trailers piqued my interest, so I thought I’d check out this 2025 release.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is about a group of four superheroes who were exposed to cosmic radiation and it changed their DNA. Reed Richards is super-stretchy, Sue Storm (Reed’s wife) can become invisible and make other things invisible, Johnny Storm (Sue’s brother) can light on fire and fly, and Ben Grim (Reed’s best friend) is a super-strong rock guy. At the beginning of the movie, Sue discovers that she is pregnant. A few months after, the Silver Surfer arrives on earth to declare that it is marked for extinction. The Fantastic Four swing into action to try to save the world from Galactus, who intends to eat it.
This movie was a lot of fun. There were at least a dozen good chuckle out loud moments and the tone is often light and airy, even when things get a little more serious. I even got chills and choked up on two separate occasions, which surprised me, but with a tone like this, the serious moments are even more impactful.
I loved the setting of the movie, as it was seemingly the 50s (along with all of the television science sets and clothing), but also futuristic. It reminded me a lot of The Jetsons. It is a great combination.
Most of the visuals were dynamic and the CGI was excellent most of the time. Let me stress that. Most of the time.
There is a lot of the film that was created behind the scenes because this is a superhero movie. They’re in space, they fly, they light on fire, it all makes sense. But there are several scenes where you see the baby, and it’s painful. Particularly when Ben (The Thing) is holding him – it is double CGI. And for whatever reason, The Thing looks perfect and the baby looks like someone added him in on a digital stick. Luckily, there are scenes where the baby is just the baby, but sadly, you will know the difference when you watch it. Someone made a comment about how this reminded them of the awful Renesmee sequences in Twilight, and I have to agree.
That said, you can get past it while you watch. The cast is fantastic – very funny and dialed into their characters. The way Pedro Pascal speaks as Reed Richards both surprised me and welcomed me every time. Vanessa Kirby’s eyes were continually mesmerizing. That is both because they are a deep alluring blue and because she is incredible to watch. Either way, yes please.
Overall, and with what has to be the first “giving birth in a speeding spaceship” scene (with no cleanup afterward, but we won’t talk about that), this is a fun and engaging film, even with the baby. It’s worth your time.
Runtime: 115 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: Free on Disney+, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
