The Fantastic Four: First Steps Hailed As a ‘Fresh Start’ for Marvel in Glowing First Reviews

The first reviews are in for The Fantastic Four: The First Steps.

Film critics got their first chance to see Marvel’s First Family in action ahead of the movie’s July 24 release. As initial reviews poured in on Tuesday, July 22, many praised the core cast — Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn — while also hailing director Matt Shakman’s visually pleasing addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney wrote, “The actors are so terrific and their chemistry so palpable that the hangout scenes in their fabulous Baxter Building penthouse — with a domestic droid that’s like Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons meets Number 5 from John Badham’s Short Circuit — are some of the movie’s most appealing interludes.” Rooney adds that director Shakman “skillfully balances the humor of the family dynamic with the gravity of the situation they are facing.”

Entertainment Weekly critic Maureen Lee Lenker also commended Shakman for his take on the iconic Marvel foursome, writing “Shakman leans into the comic book kitschiness inherent to the material, embracing it with gonzo gusto, as opposed to trying to achieve any degree of gritty realism” while adding the film’s setting “is Fantastic Four’s secret weapon, making the otherwise ridiculous stretching abilities of Reed Richards, the radioactive gentle giant that is the Thing, the den mother vibes of Sue Storm, and the cocky womanizing wiles of Johnny Storm into something quaint and retro cool.”

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Variety critic Peter Debruge calls the film a “fresh start” for Marvel, noting relief the Marvel film is one that doesn’t require having to have seen multiple MCU pics beforehand to understand the plot or characters. “It’s common knowledge that The Incredibles writer-director Brad Bird had the Fantastic Four in mind when he conceived his beloved Pixar cartoon, which resonated with audiences because it focused on the domestic concerns of a superhero family. Now First Steps returns the favor, adopting what worked so well in that animated homage — especially the mystery of what mutant abilities their adorable computer-generated baby might inherit.”

The Wrap‘s William Bibbiani offered pros and cons to Shakman’s take on the heroes. “The film evokes the grandeur of an early Fantastic Four comic, and the many moments of humanity, heft and even whimsy that come part and parcel with that legacy,” Bibbiani explained. However, “sometimes-unconvincing CG on The Thing” and a script that left more to be desired when it comes to the Fantastic Four’s journey from humans to heroes knocked the pic down a peg.

For IndieWire, critic David Ehrlich commended the film’s visuals but found the feature lacking when it came to showcasing superpowers amongst the Fantastic Four, noting “Shakman is too afraid of how silly his characters’ superpowers look in live-action to have any fun with them, which is a problem The Incredibles solved too well, and with too much comic ingenuity, for this movie to simply try and ignore.”

The movie is in theaters Thursday, July 24.