The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Marvel's first step towards getting it's groove back

Logo for The Fantastic Four: First Steps © Disney

I'm going to be honest about something: I have loved all of the Fantastic Four movies that came before this one. Yes, including Rise of the Silver Surfer - I enjoyed its campiness. Yes, including the 2015 Fantastic Four movie, where I went to the movie expecting to make fun of it with my brother the entire time, only for us to look at each other ten minutes in and go, "Wait, this is good?!" So, I fully expected to sit down and have a great time with characters I love, but what I wasn't expecting was how this movie would be so much more.

This is the story of how Marvel got its groove back.

Minor spoilers below - you've been warned.

Poster for The Fantastic Four: First Steps © Disney

Earth 828 (a loving homage to creator Jack Kirby, whose birthday is August 28th) is a retro-futuristic world protected by the Fantastic Four. Set four years after the space adventure where they gained their superpowers, there is no origin story here. Reed and Sue have been married for years, the team is established as this Earth's protectors, and they have this Earth-saving thing down to a science (pun intended). But things change after Reed and Sue find out she's pregnant, ending years of infertility that left them believing they would never be parents. But as Galactus marks their Earth for death, they have to decide what sacrifices they will make - and what sacrifices are too much. I loved the way it dealt with the theme, because it's so easy to take the easy way out in life, and harder to do what is right. And this movie shines a light to answer this question: why is the life of one innocent too much to sacrifice to save a civilization?

The first thing that I loved was that everyone's "superhero names" weren't really a thing in the movie. Mr. Fantastic was Reed Richards' TV scientist persona, very much like Bill Nye, but "Invisible Girl," "Johnny Blaze," and "The Thing" were never once mentioned in the movie. Instead, they were just Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. And honestly, I think this decision made the movie better because they weren't trying to force the aliases into a world where they don't belong. The team doesn't have secret identities; the entire world followed their story from the time they went up to space the first time to their match up with Galactus. And honestly, it made them feel more real. I was so impressed by how Earth 828 both felt familiar and foreign, with worldbuilding that let us best understand how this world works while leaving a few surprises in the mix. Most nations and some pop culture references are the same, which kept me guessing where the similarities and differences were.

Now, as much as I love the previous Fantastic Four movies, they all made the same mistake: making Reed Richards the leader of the group. While it's true he's the brains and the face, it's Sue Storm who is the one in charge. Between brokering World Peace and convincing everyone to disband their military, she's also the one making sure Reed doesn't go too far, Johnny gets the attention and praise he deserves, and quietly encourages Ben to remind him how valued he is. In doing this, it let us see a more comic-accurate Reed Richards, who lets knowledge lead him to the darkest of paths, only to have to be reigned in from worst-case scenarios. While he still holds a lot of guilt for the mission that went wrong, we also see how quickly Reed can go from scientist to madman and back again. It's nice to see a portrayal of him where he knows he is standing on the edge of a knife, wondering how far is too far.

Johnny FINALLY was portrayed to perfection. One of the things people forget about Johnny is that he's an astronaut; that's his calling, and to do it, he has to be smart. Sure, he isn't as smart as Reed, but that doesn't make him any less useful. The fact that they had a balance between cocky goofball and problem-solving cleverness reminds people that Johnny is more than just a hotheaded man with fire powers; he had the brains to do what he needed to it, which lead to some of the most emotional parts of the movie. Which shout out to Joseph Quinn and his ability to make me fall in love with every single character he plays. When it comes to Ben, there was a new take as well. In the comics, Ben is Jewish, and in this movie it was not only the first time he was played by a Jewish actor, but that this part of his background was referenced. We visit the neighborhood he grew up in, we see the Hebrew school he attended, we see the tight community formed there. It's never in your face or preachy, but it's nice to see such an important part of the character represented onscreen for the first time.

Now, if you think you know what happens in this movie based on the trailer, think again. The majority of the trailer came from the first 20 minutes of the movie, leaving lots of surprises and twists I didn't expect. In addition, the mid-credit scene that sets up Avengers: Doomsday was terrifying - especially because the movie smartly never showed Victor von Doom. Any time Latveria's desk is shown within this world's version of the United Nations, it's very pointedly and suspiciously empty. Dr. Doom has never bought into the utopia the Fantastic Four have tried to usher in, and never seeing his face (despite us hypothesizing he's a variant of Tony Stark) honestly makes his presence feel greater than if he had been introduced in this movie.

Overall, fly to the theater and see this movie. Superhero Summer has not disappointed, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps reminds us that family is always worth fighting for.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now.