Is the new “Fantastic Four” movie fantastic? No, and not everyone will love the amount of downtime in this one. But good is good enough for a Marvel superhero movie these days.

First Steps is in such a hurry to set everything up that it forgets that the reason these stories have endured is the characters.

Set in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, the film presents a new iteration of Marvel's First Family: Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

Matt Shakman’s direction embraces a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic New York that’s both groovy and cosmic. It’s all colorful suits, weird tech, and moody lighting. The Fantasticar soaring through the skyline? Chef’s kiss. And Michael Giacchino’s jazzy, celestial score doesn’t just support the world – it becomes part of the storytelling.

There is a documentary that promises “all of the secrets, stories, and legal shenanigans that have kept ‘The Fantastic Four’ a ‘lost’ film will be revealed.” Okay, this one is probably ringing a bell,

In ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps,’ Marvel Studios does right by its founding superfamily.

The Fantastic Four is a sci-fi family, and both of those things are equally important. Fantastic Four #31 does a wonderful job of presenting them as a family, working together to solve their problems.

First Steps marks a triumphant return for some of Marvel’s most loved characters, offering both a fresh take and a deeply faithful adaptation of the beloved Lee and Kirby characters. Directed by Matt Shakman,