What I Thought Going In And Coming Out Of Fantastic Four: First Steps

Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios have delivered the newest in the MCU, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. And judging by the box office, they've got a winner on their hands. But this is only week one, and from here, anything can happen. Cinephiles everywhere are looking at Fantastic Four: First Steps for various reasons.

Marvel, once known for billion-dollar juggernauts at the theater, has suffered some letdowns in recent years. They've had to face the facts about their plans in the post-phase three years, and the stars that they cast into key roles. Just look at what happened to Captain America: New World Order. Marvel barely squeaked out a profit on a reported 400 million dollar investment.

Thunderbolts was a lively movie, filled with some decent new talent, and led by Sebastian Stan and Florence Pugh, whose characters have perhaps the strongest ties to the original Avengers. Even with all the bluster of Thunderbolts, which was later rebranded as "The New Avengers," and given a soft ending tying to the Doomsday storyline, it underperformed compared to any of the phase-three outings.

And perhaps that's why many people were skeptical about Fantastic Four with Marvel Studios. If you were a skeptic, you weren't alone. As an avid fan of the Marvel movies, Fantastic Four: First Steps initially appeared as an idea that would flop with fans. It is the introductory movie that brings the characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and thrusts them into the Avengers: Doomsday storyline. There is so much to say about what the studios and writers are doing that it's mind-boggling.

And the entire appearance, how retro 1960s can you get?

So, could they get away with Fantastic Four: First Steps in this form? Well, they did! With a great opening and buzzworthy response, what Marvel's done appears to be one of the best releases since their decline in phase four. By the time the numbers came in, Fantastic Four: First Steps raked in over 100 million for Friday, July 25. In all likelihood, they could see a 250 million dollar opening weekend, which is good for a late July opening.

So, did it meet with moviegoers' expectations? That's the bigger question. What are people going to say about The Fantastic Four: First Steps as they see it, and how might that define the remaining theatrical run of the movie?

I was extremely skeptical at first, but Vanessa Kirby and Pedro Pascal were enough to get me to give it a shot. While initially, people weren't fans of the Silver Surfer being a female, I knew there was a female Silver Surfer in the canon of the Fantastic Four. And as long as they didn't overly focus the movie on the Silver Surfer character, I expected the casting and writing around the character wouldn't matter as much as it did in the original run at the movies, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. And if you're a fan, you wouldn't want to miss Galactus coming to Earth.

That's what we knew for certain going into the theater, and despite the skeptical side of me after a few years of the studios putting out far less impressive projects, I went for those reasons above.

Now, if you continue on, there will be some details from the movie, so consider this your spoiler alert.

One of the best approaches used in making the Fantastic Four: First Steps was to avoid giving us all another origin story. It saved time and didn't bore people. Considering there'd been a reboot attempt starring Miles Teller, we didn't need to see the origin of how they get their powers again. It's an accident in space that alters their DNA and changes them. There, I've just filled you in in case you weren't aware.

As the Silver Surfer appears to herald the destruction of Earth, Reid and Sue are expecting a child. Good old Johnny flames on and takes off after the Surfer, ending much the same way it did when Chris Evans's Johnny Storm tried it in the other Fantastic Four movie.

Astronaut heroes, as they are, launch themselves into space to find Galactus and solve the problem. That is, until Galactus offers to spare Earth in exchange for the unborn Franklin Richards, a baby of incredible yet to be seen powers.

That will ultimately bring the fight to Earth, where Reid will have to use that big brain of his, and the team must find a solution before Galactus can take away the child.

All in all, this is a fun summer event movie, and I'm doubting that many, if anyone, leaves disappointed. Watching a movie in the superhero genre isn't supposed to be overly educational, informative, or mind-altering. No, they're supposed to be entertaining escapes from reality. And Fantastic Four: First Steps does the job.

Overall, I'd score this at 4.5 out of 5 stars.

But Wait! There's More! With any Marvel Movie, you have to stick around at the end. We have all been clamoring for his big return, even though he's wearing a different colored suit. The appearance of Victor has finally happened on screen. Welcome back to Marvel, Robert Downey Jr.