Release Date: 2025 Length: 114 min
“I herald his beginning. I hearld your end. I hearld Galactus.” -Shalla-Bal
Director: Matt Shakman (Known for Cut Bank) Writer: Peter Cameron (Known for Werewolf by Night, Lost in the Pacific) Actors: Pedro Pascal (Known for The Mandalorian, Last of Us, Gladiator II), Vanessa Kirby (Known for The Crown, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Known for The Bear, The Punisher), Joseph Quinn (Known for Stranger Things, A Quiet Place: Day One, Gladiator II)
Summary: Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer. -IMDb
Overall Thoughts: If I’m being perfectly honest, this film and The Thunderbolts have renewed my faith in the future of Marvel. I love how this film has done something completely different with the characters and story than the previous Fantastic Four groups. This is especially nice for people like me, who are not huge fans of the Fantastic Four series from the early 2000s, and most definitely did not like the 2015 Fantastic Four film. I think that the writer was really smart to not only have this film be on a separate Earth from the previous Avengers films, but to also have the film be set in the 60s. That gives the writer and director a lot of room for creativity and the ability to create a sense of nostalgia for the audience. It was pretty impressive to see all of the set props and costumes that were made in reference to that time in history. In my opinion, Marvel picked the perfect actors for these roles. I was already a huge fan of Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach before I saw this film; however, for me, Vanessa Kirby, an actress that I honestly had not seen in that many things before this, steals the film with her emotional performance as Sue Storm. I think that one of the flaws of the previous Fantastic Four films that this film does really well is that they didn’t highlight the really cool things that Sue Storm can do. Sue especially has a great scene close to the end of the film where she gets to showcase her power in incredible ways. Overall, though, this film’s greatest strength is in the chemistry between these four actors. They truly display to the audience a close-knit family that both supports and leans on each other. My favorite relationship is actually the friendship between Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm because they are completely different and yet complement each other very well. For people like me who are really close to their family, I think that the connection the characters have with each other will hit close to home. Julia Garner should also be praised for her incredible performance as the Silver Surfer in this film. I think, actually, if I had to think of a critique for this film, it would be that there weren’t more scenes with Julia Garner because she is just so cool to watch. I also feel like the full extent of the Silver Surfer’s abilities wasn’t completely capitalized in this film (although that may happen in another Marvel film, we’ll see). However, the Silver Surfer is a great addition to the characters and story. The Silver Surfer was even more compelling to see than the actual main villain of the film, Galactus. Spoiler alert, but the credit scene was also very exciting because it introduces the villain for the next couple of films, and how the Fantastic Four family may tie in to future storylines. In summary, I think that any fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should see this film. Although this film is not the absolute best Marvel film ever made, in my opinion, it really is a breath of fresh air from previous movies. I’m excited to see the Fantastic Four appear again in future Marvel films.
Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87% My Rating: 87%
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