What’s it about?

After an accident in space gives them wacky superpowers, four astronauts establish themselves as the planet’s pre-eminent guardians. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) now have to face their biggest challenge yet – A really hungry bloke who’s keen on eating the planet.

What’d we think?

First Steps wastes no time in getting right into things, dropping us into a retro-futuristic take on 1960s New York straight out of a comic book and deftly introducing our main characters and the delightfully colourful world they inhabit. This is a bright and optimistic world where the public reveres scientists and even the villains we see are a little more Saturday-Morning-Cartoon than we usually get to see in movies. The Fantastic Four have been doing their thing for four years by now, they’re on cereal boxes, they have toys, but they’re still doing science and are as comitted to the superhero bit as you could ask for. Right when they appear to really on top of things, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) turns up to let them know that her boss Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on his way, and that when he arrives he’ll eat the planet. Obviously the team isn’t having a bar of that, and start working on a plan to stop him.

This is silly comic book stuff through and through, but delivered in such an earnestly-crafted package that it lands pretty much perfectly. The cast has terrific chemistry, the production design and costumes are absolutely gorgeous, and the story moves along at such a great clip that there’s no time to get bored.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a treat for the eyes, has lots of heart, and most importantly was a really fun time at the movies.