On July 25, 2025, the long-awaited “Fantastic Four: First Steps” movie came out. Starring Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic, Vaness Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, the film was directed by Matt Shakman. Although there are already four films dedicated to the Fantastic Four released prior to this one, this one will be put above most of those. 

To start, this film had a great plotline. Everything from Galactus to the return of the Silver Surfer, this film has watchers on the edge of their seats. The film focuses on themes of family and love and gives a faithful atmosphere. There’s not a point in the movie where I was bored. 

The plot is so good, in fact, that the runtime was too short. Recorded as the third shortest film in the Marvel Creative Universe, Fantastic Four was condensed and abrupt, leaving viewers unsatisfied. The characters are underdeveloped, allowing for more than enough questions by the end of the film. Certain scenes set these characters up for great character development, but they are completely discarded as the film progresses. All in all, the film is well written, yet underdeveloped.