Marvel has lost its fastball
Let’s just start here: I’m out on the MCU. I’ve been out for a while. Ever since Infinity War—which, let’s be honest, was the absolute peak of the entire cinematic universe—Marvel just hasn’t been the same. Even Endgame, for all its box office dominance and cultural impact, left me feeling cold. And everything since then? A slow, awkward decline into mediocrity.
So when Fantastic Four: The First Steps came around, I hoped it might shake things up. A new universe, a retro-futuristic 60s aesthetic, a fresh start. A clean break from the tangled web of the main timeline. I wanted to believe this was Marvel’s shot at redemption.
It wasn’t.
Let’s be clear: this movie is meh. Completely detached from the MCU timeline, which sounds refreshing in theory—but in execution, it just feels weightless. There’s no emotional core, no stakes, and worst of all, no juice. It’s a flat, undercooked entry into a franchise that’s already feeling bloated and aimless.
Matt Shakman directs, clearly inspired by Interstellar and other grounded sci-fi epics, but without the emotional heft or narrative discipline. The cast? Star-studded, sure—Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach—but honestly, it all felt miscast.
Let’s talk about that.
The early MCU was built on smart casting—actors who fit the roles, not necessarily the biggest names. RDJ was a risk. Chris Evans? Safe but unproven. Hemsworth? A complete unknown. And it worked because they became their characters. Here, though, Marvel’s gone full flavor-of-the-month. Hot names, cold fits.
Pedro Pascal is a fine actor. He’s a presence. But he’s not Mr. Fantastic. Vanessa Kirby and he have okay chemistry, but it’s just not electric. Joseph Quinn probably comes out best as Johnny Storm, but even he feels like he’s on cruise control. Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Thing? Criminally underused. He’s basically just a voice actor here. Doesn’t punch anything. Barely gets to say “It’s clobberin’ time,” and when he does—he clobbers nothing. What are we doing?
The entire movie feels like it got chopped up in post. Pacing issues abound. There’s this looming sense that this was once a two-and-a-half-hour film—shaved down to 1:55 for the sake of tempo, and now it just feels like a gutted outline of something more ambitious.
There is one major bright spot: the score. It’s phenomenal—sweeping, emotional, and at times it single-handedly lifts scenes that would’ve otherwise flatlined. It gives the movie a sense of scale and grandeur it doesn’t always earn. Honestly, if they’d handed this project to a different composer, I might’ve rated the whole thing even lower. The music’s doing heavy lifting here.
And strangely enough, the true MVP of the film? Herbie. Yep. The little robot sidekick, who somehow stole the show in a movie about the Fantastic Four. He’s charming, endearing, and has that near-silent, expressive quality that calls back to WALL-E. Which, frankly, just underscores how underwhelming the actual leads are. If a droid with blinking lights and whirring sounds has more presence and heart than Reed Richards, that’s a problem.
Silver Surfer? Looked great. Julie Garner gave a strong performance with the scraps she was given. But again—no substance. A 30-second backstory and a completely predictable arc. Galactus, meanwhile, is set up as this god-level, world-ending, planet-eating presence…and then just gets punked. Neutered. Turned into a cosmic scarecrow. It’s hard to fear the villain when the movie doesn’t even try.
And then… the stinger. The big tease. The “red meat” moment for fans. Doctor Doom. This was Marvel’s chance to win back trust—show us Robert Downey Jr. in the mask, give us something. Instead, it’s just some vague figure in the armor. No reveal. No voice. Nothing. Just cowardly, corporate teasing with no payoff. We paid good money for this. We’ve waited through five mediocre-to-bad MCU entries for this.
I left Superman feeling invigorated—hopeful about the DCU for the first time in years. I left Fantastic Four feeling… nothing. Just another missed opportunity. Another reminder that the MCU is no longer the gold standard—it’s just content. Glossy, empty, safe content.
To summarize:
Weak script Barely any action One decent space chase Miscast across the board The Thing is a non-factor A Galactus arc with no teeth A Doctor Doom tease with no payoff An excellent score doing all the emotional heavy lifting And Herbie the robot, the only one who actually showed up to work
And yet… I’ll still be seated for Avengers: Doomsday on day one, because apparently, I’m a sucker for punishment.
This movie had no aura, no swagger, no momentum. Marvel’s fastball? Long gone. At this point, they’re tossing underhand changeups and hoping we still swing.
Fantastic 4: First Steps = 62/100
