Within the first 15 minutes of “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” members of the superhero team gain their powers, save New York, defeat a supervillain and broker world peace. And that’s all before the title card.
No, this isn’t a breathless recap of some preexisting movie you were supposed to watch ahead of time. Instead, it’s from an in-universe TV special celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Fantastic Four — who are already established as the beloved protectors of Earth 828, a retro-futuristic world with no direct connection to the one populated by Marvel’s Avengers — when “First Steps” begins.
This clever conceit allows Marvel to sneakily bypass an origin story we’ve seen onscreen (twice) before. In the process, it reveals a streak of indecisiveness that courses throughout the film and keeps Marvel Studios’ latest outing from ever achieving greatness.
From start to finish, director Matt Shakman’s take on Marvel’s groundbreaking First Family loudly rejects and then quietly incorporates the peskier elements allegedly holding back the superhero movie genre. The result is a film that at times feels aimless and empty, despite being packed to the brim with great acting, complex characters, gorgeous visuals and a sweeping score. The pieces are all there, but without a clear mission statement, they never quite add up to a memorable movie.
