Reel Reviews: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Yeah, all right, So now let's talk about the movie The Hour the Fantastic for the first steps. Now, if you notice that, I'm gonna pull it down so you can see both Charles and I are wearing our four hats. We had an opportunity, as we said early in the show, to go down to the Air and Space Museum here in Washington, d C. Where they had the grand opening of their Imax theater, grand reopening. Excuse me of their Imax theater.

Thank you, Charles.

We're still smaller than the air bussing. I have to keep referencing that because I'm like, it was nice. It's nice.

Now.

I will also.

Add and and and as I add this, this has nothing to do with how I felt about the movies. But I thought it was pretty cool. They gave us some swag. They gave us candy coupons at Cane with water and popcorn and candy whatever you want.

I thought that was cool. Don't forget the popcorn.

Yeah, yeah, so they can give you think they gave you a closed bag.

And they have what six options?

Five six options?

Yeah, they had cheddar and sod cream.

Gave you options of candy, candy, like grab something to drink, grab your little hat and get it. Then sit down and watch this movie. And uh, this is the thirty.

Seventh movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Let me set this thing up because I don't want Charles thinking I'm disrespecting the Fantastic Four, because we have a we have a lot to say about this movie, the thirty seventh movie.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe and.

The first in the sixth phase Phase six, Phase six.

Okay, got you, thank you. That's a good point.

Based on the superhero team, the Fantastic Four, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney. H We talked about it being in thirty seventh film and it's series in the second reboot of the Fantastic Four film series.

The earlier one was two thousand.

And five, and then they did another reboot in twenty fifteen, so it's every ten years we keep trying to make the Fantastic Four. And we'll talk a little bit about that momentarily. The film was directed by Matt Shackman, who was in the house last night. I sat in the same row.

Yes, yeah, he said, in our role last.

Night, I walked by him at the end squeezed the show that I was like.

Good job, Maddie, spoiler job.

The film features an ensemble cast which includes Pedro, Pascal Vanessa Kirby, Ebon, Mars Bacarack, and Joseph Quinn as the titular team, alongside Julia Gardner and Sarah Niles, Mark Gastus, Natasha Lynn, Paul Walter.

Hauser, what did I call her?

Man? Thank you?

Natasha Leone, Walter hay Hauser and Ralph. That's why we have Charles here, because Charles is always about names, all right, So Charles Kirkland Jr. The film focuses on the Fantastic four whos who must protect the nineteen sixties inspired retro futuristic world from a planet devouring cosmic being Galactus.

Uh. And this is taking place now, this is key taking place on Earth eight twenty eight, right now. That's a that's a good detail.

It's a very good detail because and I'll explain, because everything that we've seen in the MCU has taken place on sixty sixteen six six sixteen. I thought it was sixty two six? Is it sixteen sixes? I thought it was six sixteen? Okay, six one six. Okay, okay, all right, so everything we've seen is already comic books, but you know I remember numbers. Well yeah, okay, so yeah, we're in a different universe and what we're used to.

And so you.

Said in the first thirty six films, which happened in for the most part, and the MCU were all on planet six one six universe in the universe six one six, and now we're in universe eight two eight, correct to kick off phase six.

Correct?

Wow, all right, I just wanted to make sure I set it up for the audience, go ahead.

And it's perfectly logical wide because if it were, if the Fantastic Four were part of six one six, people be like where they were, where they've been, because we've been going through some stuff here. They're fighting a guy that is going to destroy the world.

You know, why can't you have about he's destroying trying to destroy the world in eighty two.

Eight and eight to eight, not in six one six.

Yeah, but in six one six we did fight a guy that was trying to destroy the well in the universe.

We got colde we got colds go ahead, man.

So yeah, that is a really good setup to let us see how this world is totally different in how the Fantastic Four, who's been by the time we joined them in this film, they've been a team for four years, so they kind of take that Superman approaches. We're not giving you the whole origin story. We just want to drop you in the story and.

Let you roll with it.

And so I really appreciate that because again we've all seen it. We we know what's happening. And then they moved to some of the things that have happened to them and how they got to where they are, So we get to see this developed team come together and fight again a foe that they've never experienced before. These literally in this world, the Fantastic Four are the protectors of the Earth. There's no other superhero team that we know of this on A two eight, and so they're

Europe or fighting a mole man?

Well that's you know, as another story, but even that part, you know, they didn't give you that story. I mean, they didn't give you that battle. They just gave you the story and let you roll with it, so which was very interesting how they presented it. So I mean, am I supposed to say give my review of this film?

Of what I thought?

I think that this film is very successful in everything that they attempt, the story as well put together. The actors are very credible in their roles, the relationships and

Thank you, Charles.

That was very well done, I wrote. And you know, I thought that the film, which featured a mid nineteen sixties tone, Matt Shackman and his production team really lean into the production design of the film, which I thought.

Really really worked, really really well.

I'd shared with Charles and we had a very heated conversation early this morning pre show. He did the way. I was like, Charles, you man, you never mind, but I was.

I said that two times we talked earlier in two thousand and five, and then I think in two thousand and seven they did fantastic for the Rise of the Silver Surfer, and then twenty fifteen they came back and did another rebook, awful reboot.

Oh you admit that one. Oh yeah, I told you Michael B. Jordan as Johnny and Human Human Torch.

I just said for the record that I Tim Gordon didn't like either of these versions of the earlier films right either iteration and as a guy that didn't read the comics, Which is why it's fascinating that Charles and I have these conversations around comic book films. I may not have read the comics, but I get to watch the movies that you present, right, so they sometimes they're

Watching a movie now.

In my mind, before I even went in to watch the movie, after the first two attempts by Fox to make these stories, I was like I used to always say, especially when the MCU started, I was like, Man, if Marvel lever got their hands on the Fantastic Four, I think they could do a really, really good job with this because Marvel really excels in storytelling, right, So that aspect of the film, I was absolutely right. Now, I'll also say that my feelings about the three previous films, the.

Bar was so low.

Marvel just had to show up and just give me a story and it would have worked, right, So let's just start there that I went in even with my popcorn and my candy and my drink and my Fantastic four hat, and I was like, man, they just put a story on the screen. This is a win, right,

Right, even though you don't know what the story.

Doesn't really matter, because my point is is that when you ask me to watch something, I'm looking at execution, cinematography, production design, costume design.

Screen I'm listening to the screenplay.

I'm looking at how to score, I'm looking at all the elements that make up a project, right, whether it's streaming, whether it's on the big screen. And Marvel, of course, really does a very good job because.

There are a lot of comic geeks that.

Work at Marvel, So even when they're telling original stories, there's still enough stuff sprinkled in. Like there's a great scene that happens earlier.

In the film.

I think Sue is going to the United Nations to do an address, and I didn't understand what was happening is they're pay in the audience.

There's a certain character from a nation.

Who's absent, who's absent, And I was like, everybody like, who, So I said what happened?

And they told me I went, oh, yeah, okay, so that makes sense.

So mar Marvel does a really good job of the details, right, And I thought that the story actually worked. I was told a little bit about the movie by somebody who had watched it earlier this week, and he was actually right that, you know, if you're going in looking for like huge action, this is not really a movie. This is sort of an origin story to build up because later on in the MCU, they're gonna be things that we learn in this story that will help us when

If you really think about.

It, it's a fantastic for their press agent, the adversary below.

Yeah, yeah, it's not.

A lot of there's not a lot of not a lot of dialogue like not a lot of characters. It really centers on these four individuals and what they have to do to kind of move it along in a two week now Here is where we diverge, right, because going into this, Shane I thought, this is the fourth comic superhero movie of the year, right, and.

Let's be let's just call it what it is. I was not a big fan of.

Captain America A Brave New World, and I really wasn't a big fan of Thunderbolts, right. I really like Superman. I really thought that what James Gunn did with Superman was amazing. And I see this film by virtue what I told you about. It's an origin story and we're going to build up these characters later for them to do amazing stuff. For me, I still think Superman is the best comic superhero film in the first.

Half of the year. That's my opinion, right.

And I had to go back in and change my grade on this movie because I had it rated as high as Superman. I was like, Superman is better. It's just a better movie at this stage. Now, I can be wrong that later on the Fantastic Four could develop, like maybe in Part two, maybe Part three, when there's some more adversaries and some more action. Maybe we got a different story. This story is good. I'm not saying it's bad. It's easily the best of the Fantastic Four iterations that has been out there.

Marls, Marls. The thing with this, you know, the cast is superb.

I thought, you know, the whole sixties aesthetic works really, really well.

It's a well done movie. So having said that, I gave it a B, a straight beach straight B. I had it at a B plus, but then I had Superman at a B plus and it's not Superman.

A Fantastic Four B.

Now I know there are hardcore comic fans who are like Tim, you don't know what you talk about. You're trimping. All I can watch, Charles is what you give me. Right, So there's no more to it, no less. I'm not hating, why says I'm glad to see that the Fantastic Four is finally brought into the MCU and it's.

Actually treated with some love. It looks good, it plays well, it's got a short run time.

There's a lot of positives. It's just not a lot there other than the origin set up.

For me.

Now I'm looking forward to what they can do with this, and I'm positive that no one marvel with you know, there's two part.

Avengers they coming up is this Secret Wars and then.

It's it's Doomsday first and Doomsday and then what secret Wars?

Okay, there, you know, So I gave it a B. So what did you give it?

I wanted to give it an A minus, but I stayed with the B plus. And I look back and I say, it's the same grade that as Superman. But unlike you, I think that this film is superior in theme and tone than to Superman, because there were some things about Superman that just didn't line up. For an instance, they really were mad with Superman because he was an alien coming to this planet, but they didn't have a problem with Hawk Girl and she's an alien it come to the planet and she's in.

Part of the Justice Gang. Why what did she get into that kind of hate?

So there, I mean, there were some things that I felt like that happened in Superman. Superman is a great film, but I think that as the time that goes by, that some of the themes that were relevant and important that Superman express will have dissouaited and the themes that are in The Fantastic Four about family and hope and and building the community, those things are going to last. And I think that over time that this movie will be last a lot better. It will communicate, you know