“The Fantastic Four: First Steps”, the latest product from Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is a lightweight fun in retro style. Although this is not exactly new or fresh in my humble opinion, it is relatively more entertaining than many of recent MCU flicks, and I could forget my growing exhaustion about superhero flicks at least for a while.

Because there were no less than three movies based on its four superhero characters (and, to put it mildly, none of these movies was not so successful as many of you remember), the obligatory introduction part of the film is fairly quick and brief. In the Earth in an alternative universe different from the one associated with most of MCU flicks, the four prominent scientists, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her younger brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Reed’s best friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), were sent into the space for their scientific mission, but they had an unexpected incident involved with a big wave of space radiation. When they were subsequently back on the Earth, they found that they somehow acquired each own superpower, and they soon became a lot more famous as the dependable guardians of their planet during next several years.

And then there comes an unexpected change to Reed and Sue, who has incidentally been Mrs. Richards and suddenly finds herself pregnant. When they later notify this surprise news to Ben and Johnny, Ben and Johnny are certainly delighted about that, but, alas, their happy time is soon interrupted by what turns out to be the biggest threat they have ever faced as superheroes. This entity in question is a mighty (and humongous) alien named Galactus (Ralph Ineson), and he is mainly represented by a metallic figure nicknamed “Silver Surfer” (Julia Garner), who comes to the Earth in advance for delivering a very, very, very bad new for all the people and every other life forms on the Earth. Galactus is going to devour the whole planet as he has done to many other planets selected by his dutiful servant, and he is already heading to the Earth from somewhere outside in the universe.

Needless to say, our four superheroes quickly ready themselves for confronting their very powerful opponents, but they are reminded again of how daunting the situation is. They try to do some negotiation at first (How nice it is to see superheroes attempting a reasonable talk first instead of going all the way for a senseless fight!), but both Galactus and Silver Surfer do not step back at all, and Galactus corners them into a difficult moment of choice. After sensing how special Reed and Sue’s child really is, he demands that Reed and Sue give up their child to him in exchange for not eating the Earth, and Reed and Sue certainly become quite conflicted about what to do next. Yes, giving up their precious baby for saving the planet as well as the humanity looks like a right and logical choice in this circumstance, but they know too well that this is also a big compromise against what they and their two colleagues have stood for.

 While we can easily guess what our four superheroes will choose to do in the end, the movie keeps us engaged as ably balancing the story and characters between humor and sincerity, and it also has some stylish fun with its futuristic world decorated with a lot of retro touches to notice. Although the technology of this alternative world looks quite advanced on the whole, the production design and costumes of the film are often reminiscent of New York City during the 1950-60s, and this amusing aspect is further accentuated by the busy and colorful design of the main title and end credits of the movie. The score by Michael Giacchino is often as colorful and exuberant as the one he composed for Oscar-winning Pixar superhero animation film “The Incredibles” (2004), and this certainly contributes some extra fun and style to the film.

In addition, like recent Superman movie, the movie is also willing to go further for more hope, care, and optimism. Sure, it eventually becomes quite loud and bombastic when the story eventually reaches to the big climatic action sequence where a lot of things are smashed or crushed across the screen, but it thankfully does not overlook small human moments amid lots of crashes and bangs, while maintaining well its sense of fun as before.

The four main performers of the film click well together as deftly going back and forth between comedy and drama. Pedro Pascal brings enough charm and gravitas to his character, and Vanessa Kirby is believable during her character’s several big moments including the one which may take you back to her Oscar-nominated turn in “Pieces of a Woman” (2020). Joseph Quinn, a British newcomer who previously appeared in “A Quiet Place: Day One” (2024) and “Gladiator II” (2024), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who has been more notable thanks to his Emmy-winning supporting turn in TV comedy series “The Bear”, have each own moments around Pascal and Kirby, and Moss-Bachrach is particularly good whenever he brings a surprising amount of quiet sensitivity to his literally rocky character.

In case of several other main cast members in the film, they fill their respective parts as much as possible. While Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson generate enough menace as required, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, and Paul Walter Hauser are also solid as the substantial supporting characters in the story, and it is rather interesting to see how Lyonne, who plays Ben’s possible love interest, can effortlessly dial down her distinctive persona to some degree.

In conclusion, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”, directed by Matt Shakman, is as promising as its subtitle suggests besides being fairly entertaining enough for recommendation. Although I must point out that “The Incredibles” is still relatively better because of handling its similar superhero story more dexterously and memorably, the movie did its job as well as intended, so I will not grumble for now as having a bit of expectation on whatever will come next.