The best thing about First Steps is the aesthetic. It’s far and away my favorite part of this film, and that’s a problem because as much as I do enjoy a solid retrofuturistic aesthetic, it’s not enough to make a mediocre movie worth watching. This is all style over substance.

As Reed, Pascal is convincing as the world’s smartest man who is nevertheless overwhelmed by the irrational flood of thoughts and emotions that accompany fatherhood. As written, Sue is a somewhat thankless character, but Kirby manages to add depth to the Invisible Woman with subtle performance choices.

Critics seem to at least agree that Fantastic Four is a visual feast and way better than the first three movies Fox made. As someone burnt out on the MCU since Thor: Love and Thunder, I’ll take clearing the low bar over getting walloped in the face by one higher up. Here’s what other reviewers are saying:

It’s been a long time coming, but the Fantastic Four finally have a good movie to their name. The Fantastic Four: First Steps may not be perfect, as IGN’s Clint Gage said in his 7/10 review, but it gets the fundamentals right: the Four themselves are well cast,

This article was originally published on winteriscoming.net as The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: No need to feel blue for the MCU.

First Steps and James Gunn’s Superman respectively hold very different positions within their respective franchises (the former is the 37 th movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and technically set outside of the canon;

First Steps is the 37th theatrical release in Marvel Studios' billion-dollar franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it's coming at a bit of a low point. Marvel has struggled in recent years to reach the heights of their initial run of films,

Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) is Mr Fantastic, the super genius with stretchy powers. His wife, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) is the Invisible Woman, with the power to bend light in order to turn herself and others invisible, or create force fields.

First Steps to bring you an in-depth breakdown of all the Marvel Studios movie's biggest Easter Eggs, comic book references, and cameos. Check it