Movie · 2025 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Action · 1h 55m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 4.1/10 (2.2M ratings)
Welcome to the family.
Overview
Against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel's First Family is forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, while defending Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.1/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.35/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: 65
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Matt Shakman
Production
Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige Productions
Cast
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Ada Scott, Matthew Wood, Angela Jones, Maisie Shakman, Jay Underwood, Michael Bailey Smith, Alex Hyde-White, Rebecca Staab, Patrick Miller, Mather Zickel
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, retro-futurist Marvel reboot with strong production design and a more coherent family dynamic than many recent studio entries, but it still sounds like a film where spectacle and setup do a lot of the heavy lifting. The appeal is the vibe, the cast chemistry, and the comic-book worldbuilding more than a truly fresh superhero shape.
Best for
Marvel fans looking for a cleaner, more self-contained team adventure
Viewers who like 1960s-inspired retro-futurism and polished production design
Audiences who enjoy family-as-superpower ensemble stories
Fans of big-scale comic-book spectacle with a lighter, more optimistic tone
Skip if
You are tired of superhero origin/setup stories
You want a villain-driven blockbuster with real menace and surprise
You prefer grounded action over stylized CGI worldbuilding
You are hoping for a radical reinvention of the Marvel formula
Overview
The Fantastic 4: First Steps seems designed to do two things at once: restore the team’s pop-cultural credibility and sell a very specific visual idea. The retro-futurist 1960s setting gives it a distinct identity, and that alone may be enough to make it feel fresher than the average Marvel release. The strongest hook is the family dynamic, which appears to be treated as the emotional engine rather than just a branding slogan.
Worth noting
What keeps it in mixed territory is that the movie still sounds heavily dependent on familiar blockbuster mechanics: cosmic threat, big CGI destruction, and a lot of setup around who these characters are and why we should care. The popular reactions suggest the film lands best when it leans into character interplay and the oddball charm of the concept, and less well when it becomes another effects-first superhero machine.
Bottom line
If you like Marvel at its most polished and least cynical, this is probably an easy watch. If you want the kind of superhero movie that feels truly disruptive or emotionally devastating, this likely won’t get there. It’s more of a successful course correction than a landmark.
Top Letterboxd reviews
allain♡ · 28266 likes
it took 14 years, but Renesmee has finally met a worthy CGI opponent
matt lynch (3★) · 24358 likes
Not bad. Or you could just watch THE INCREDIBLES again.
jonathan fujii (3★) · 24047 likes
Vanessa Kirby fighting for her life for two hours while bro is tryna solve equations
𝐉 (4★) · 19991 likes
Sue Storm was top of her class at Wanda Maximoff school of mothering
Imogen Bella (4.5★) · 16604 likes
She literally mothered her way to saving the world