Review | The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie review – Marvel’s original superhero team returns

4/5 stars

“I will eat your planet slowly while your child watches.” So says Galactus, the world-destroying entity – and enemy – of The Fantastic Four in Marvel’s latest offering.

As lines go, it is one of the better put-downs in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) history, and Galactus – aka The Devourer of Worlds – is arguably the best villain since Thanos clicked his fingers. All this adds real bite to this big-screen return for the superhero team created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a stylish work from director Matt Shakman, who brings the same retro-cool aesthetics to this as he did to the Marvel TV show WandaVision.

Far superior to the two Fantastic Four films from the early aughts, as well as 2015’s previous reboot – all of which First Steps overrides without a thought – this new reboot/restart brings us a whole new cast, one that is destined to become integral to next year’s anticipated Avengers: Doomsday.

Set on Earth 828, an alternate to our own planet, the film begins with a rapid-fire intro that reveals it has been four years since a quartet of astronauts returned from a space mission, their DNA changed by a cosmic turbulence that has given them superpowers.

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