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.

First Steps gives a spectacular new story about Marvel's First Family with a bold, breathtaking superhero blockbuster.

In November 2019, Trank took to the movie review social media site Letterboxd, where he left an uncommonly honest two-out-of-five star appraisal of his film which, while tinged with regret, was far from dismissive.

First Steps” grossed $118 million at the domestic box office over the weekend—largely meeting earlier projections, but still placing it behind “Superman” for the biggest superhero film opening of 2025 so far.

First Steps features incredibly visually stimulating and nostalgia-inducing retrofuturistic aesthetics, but falls flat plot-wise as it follows a generic superhero movie formula

The first comic I ever read starring the First Family of Marvel was 2002’s Fantastic Four Vol. 2 #60. The plot centers around a marketing agent tasked with figuring out how to rebrand the team for the 21st century.

Some superhero movies go for real-world relevance. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" succeeds by doubling down on whimsical, wide-eyed wonder.

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.

The latest iteration of the superhero quartet makes a bumpy but earnest attempt at being Marvel’s most daring film in years.

The latest Marvel film, starring Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, is a charmingly retro adventure that focuses on the strongest power of them all—a mother’s love.

On this week's episode of IndieWire's "Screen Talk" podcast, we review Matt Shakman's Marvel needle-reset "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" and parse the latest fall festival announcements.