Based on the Marvel Comics series by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is about four people in the retro-futuristic 1960s who return from space with superpowers as they become superheroes as they deal with an upcoming threat who wants to destroy their planet. Directed by Matt Shakman and screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer from a story by Pearson, Kaplan, Springer, and Kat Wood. The film is about four unique people with unique superpowers who deal with this threat as well as protecting the future for two of the members of the group. Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an exhilarating and engrossingly entertaining film by Matt Shakman.
Set on an alternate planet earth in a retro-futuristic version of New York City in the early 1960s, the film is about four people who had returned from outer space with superpowers as they face a threat who wants to devour their planet unless they give him something he wants. It is a film that is about a family that is about to have a new addition to the family while dealing with a threat that wants to destroy Earth unless they give him their unborn child. The film’s screenplay is set in 1964 just four years after these four people had gone to outer space and return with new powers as they have become celebrated superheroes and a beacon of hope for Earth. Even as they live in the Baxter building in the middle of New York City as well as resolving issues in and around the city. That all changes when a mysterious figure known as the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives with a warning that Earth is to be devoured by a gigantic cosmic being known as Galactus.
The first act is about this family in Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife Susan Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her younger brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn), and Richards’ longtime friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they all have different superpowers while they also cope with this new threat in Galactus. Richards, whose power is to stretch his body as wide as it can be while he is also one of the smartest scientists in the world, is not so smart when it comes to being social while the idea of becoming a father has him worried about everything. Storm is a woman that can turn invisible and project force fields while is also someone who is good at resolving issues whether it is in the city or for the United Nations as she is also the most grounded of the four. Storm’s brother Johnny has the power to fly and can control fire as he is also someone that likes to be a heartthrob and make jokes with Richards often being the target. Grimm is a man that has a body that is like gigantic rock figure, but he has great strength and is also a man that is down-to-earth as he often visits Brooklyn and is also an accomplished cook. The four together are a family as they are also with their robotic companion named H.E.R.B.I.E. (voice of Matthew Wood) and a new arrival as Susan is pregnant which adds to the stakes of the film as it becomes an unlikely bargaining chip for Galactus.
The second act is about the group’s first encounter with Galactus as they travel through space by tracking through the Silver Surfer’s energy signature as they learn what Galactus wants. During this time, Johnny’s encounters with the Silver Surfer has him trying to get to know her where he would decipher recordings Richards made as he would learn about her ties to Galactus. Even as time is running out for Earth with the Fantastic Four facing backlash over what they are not willing to do upon facing Galactus in the film’s third act.
Matt Shakman’s direction plays into a visual style that is based on its comic and the design work of one of the comic’s creators in Jack Kirby. Shot on location at the Pinewood Studios at Buckinghamshire, England along with some exterior shots set in England and the United Nations building shot at the Palace of Congresses in Oviedo, Spain. Shakman creates a film that does play as a retro-futuristic world set in the 1960s during the space race as the Fantastic Four are already celebrated with Grimm often visiting Brooklyn to get food from local Kosher groceries. There is also a bit of hand drawn animation that highlights the Fantastic Four as an animated TV series created by a team of animators in the style of the 1960s. Shakman’s direction would include a lot of wide and medium shots as it plays into this idea of New York City but also outer space during a key scene where the group confront Galactus in his home base. There are also close-ups and intimate moments in how the group interact with one another as well as Johnny’s own encounter with the Silver Surfer as he admits to be attracted to her while also wondering why she is linked with Galactus.
Shakman does play at the stakes of what the Fantastic Four must deal with as they get a look at what Galactus does with Richards trying to find a solution. Yet, there is the other problem as it relates to the arrival of the new addition to the family as this child is the one thing that can stop Galactus from devouring Earth. It is a sacrifice that Storm refuses to take as the team try to figure out what to do despite the public turning on them after learning from Richards in what Galactus wants. The third act is not just about an experiment that Richards has been working on early in the film but also in luring Galactus out of his throne and spaceship. There is a lot that happens as well as this sense of urgency while there is also some humor throughout the film. Still, the climax is happening where these four superheroes face off against this giant cosmic figure as well as making big moves to save their planet. Overall, Shakman crafts a gripping and compelling film about a family of four superheroes trying to protect their planet from a gigantic cosmic figure who wants to eat the planet.
Cinematographer Jess Hall does brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography from the exteriors of New York City as well as the nighttime scenes at the Baxter Building interior and exteriors of the city including some gorgeous interior shots for the scenes in the spaceship during the film’s second act. Editor Nona Khodai and Tim Roche do excellent work with the editing in allowing shots to linger for a bit in some of the tracking shots as well as utilizing fast-cuts for some of the action scenes while making sure the audiences understands what is going on. Production designer Kasra Farahani, along with set decorator Jille Azis and supervising art director Nick Gottschalk, does incredible work with the look of the film from the interior/exterior design of the Baxter Building as well as the look of New York City including Times Square as it has this retro-futuristic look that is just astonishing to watch as it is a highlight of the film. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne does fantastic work with the design of the costumes that the Fantastic Four wear in their adventures as well as the casual clothing they wear that plays to the look of the early 1960s.
Hair/makeup designer Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou does terrific work with the look of the hairstyles of the characters as it plays into the look of the 1960s. Special effects supervisor Alistair Williams, along with visual effects supervisor Robert Allman and Scott Stokdyk, does amazing work with the visual effects including the usage of puppetry for the robot H.E.R.B.I.E. as well as the motion-capture design of the Silver Surfer and the Thing as it is a highlight of the film. Sound editors Josh Gold and Matthew Wood do superb work with the sound as it plays into the sound effects in some of the gadgets as well as how crowd sounds from outside a building and other sparse sound effects.
The film’s music by Michael Giacchino is phenomenal for its exhilarating music score that features sweeping orchestral flourishes and themes that play into the drama, suspense, and action with lush string arrangements and bombastic brass and percussive arrangements as it is one of Giacchino’s finest scores. Music supervisor Justine von Winterfeldt creates a fun soundtrack that features a lot of music from the 1960s including Juan Garcia Esquivel, Brenton Woods, George Bruns, Chet Baker, the Bad Seeds, Paul Martin, and Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers as well as an original song from Andrea Datzman played in the film’s final credits.
The casting by Sarah Halley Finn is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Mark Gatiss as the TV show host Ted Gilbert, Natasha Lyonne as Grimm’s love interest in the schoolteacher Rachel Rozman, Sarah Niles as Susan’s friend Lynne Nichols who runs a foundation created by the Fantastic Four, Matthew Wood as the voice of H.E.R.B.I.E., Ada Scott as one of the babies playing Richards and Storm’s newborn son Franklin, and from the 1994 unreleased film version produced by Roger Corman. Alex Hyde-White and Rebecca Staab as two news reporters while Jay Underwood and Michael Bailey Smith as two power plant workers who salute Johnny after he saves them. Paul Walter Hauser is superb as Harvey Eller/Mole Man as a former villain who runs an underground civilization as he becomes a key figure in its third act where he is asked to play a role in saving humanity. Julia Garner is fantastic as the Silver Surfer as a woman with a body covered in silver who rides a surfboard who serves as a herald for Galactus while hiding secrets of her own that allows Garner to flesh out the woman who would become the Silver Surfer through her encounters with Johnny Storm.
Ralph Ineson is excellent as Galactus as this gigantic cosmic figure who has an insatiable hunger that will not stop where Ineson provides calmness to his voice that is chilling while he can be reasoned with but at a price where Ineson does make Galactus an antagonist that is compelling to watch. Finally, there’s Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn in spectacular performances as the Fantastic Four. Moss-Bachrach’s performance as Ben Grimm/the Thing is a delight as this rock-like figure who has accepted what he has become while is also this big brother figure to everyone as he is also full of life and joy as well as remaining humble in his visits to Brooklyn and its Jewish community. Quinn’s performance as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch is fun as this young man who is a heartthrob to women but is also a lot smarter than people give him credit for where he would decipher the Silver Surfer’s language as he is attracted to her but also puts in a lot of time to find out who she really is adding a lot of depth to a character that is often presented as immature and arrogant.
Pascal’s performance as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic with the power to stretch his body to great lengths adds humor to a man that is extremely intelligent but is socially awkward as he tries to do what he can to protect his unborn child while struggling to find answers to save his planet and child where Pascal adds layers to the character. Kirby’s performance as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman is the heart of the film as a woman that can bring everyone together while is also dealing with a child coming into her life where Kirby has a gravitas to a woman that is so hellbent on protecting her child. Whether it is through her force fields and ability to be invisible or through just talking to the people as it is a performance for the ages as Kirby creates one of best portrayals of a superheroine captured on film.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a sensational film by Matt Shakman that features great performances from Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the titular heroes. Along with its supporting cast, gorgeous visuals, outstanding art direction, dazzling visual effects, a heartfelt story on family, and Michael Giacchino’s enthralling music score. It is a film that exceeds its namesake in many ways while also being a superhero film full of adventure, humor, and heart. In the end, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a phenomenal film by Matt Shakman.
Shangri-La (Isabel Sandoval) is set during the Great Depression where it opens with text relating to anti-interracial laws where couples from different races couldn’t marry one another. Notably as Sandoval plays one of the protagonists as she herself is a Filipino-American as she plays a woman who goes to a confession to talk about her love for a white man. Notably as she is having dreams that include futuristic alternate realities that has Sandoval wear the Miu Miu clothing as her dreams to be with this man could come true. It is an incredible short that explores a woman dealing with love that was considered forbidden in the 20th Century.
I and the Stupid Boy (Kaouther Ben Hania) revolves around a young woman texting her boyfriend for an upcoming date until a young man takes her phone and causes trouble for her leading to a lot of trouble as she takes action over his stupidity. Starring Oulaya Amamra and Sandor Funtek, the film that is set in France as it plays into this young woman who wears some cool clothes but deals with this bland pretty boy who is harassing her and trying to get her to go out with him. Yet, he ends up bringing more trouble as well as the fact that he’s a fucking dumbass. It’s the weakest short of the entire series so far though it has a good ending.
House Comes with a Bird (Janicza Bravo) stars Kelsey Lu who watches over a posh house that many rich buyers are interested in but it comes with a bird. Also starring Natasha Lyonne, Pedro Pascal, Katherine Waterston, and Poorna Jagannathan, the short is definitely one of the best as it play into these people wanting this unique house with Lu watching over everything as she also does the score for the short film. It is definitely one of the best shorts in the series.
Letter to My Mother for My Son (Carla Simon) has Simon reflecting on her own pregnancy as she writes letters to her mother about the arrival of her son. Starring Angela Molina as Simon’s mother, the short is shown through different time periods where a lot of the women wear these amazing designer clothing but also play into the idea of womanhood. It is another tremendous short in the series that also stands out as it has a richness that is rarely captured on film.
Eye Two Times Mouth (Lila Aviles) is a 23-minute short film that revolves around a young woman training for an upcoming opera audition as she works in an art gallery where she feels stifled in the world as she turns to two people to help her with her upcoming audition. It is a rich and gorgeous short set in Mexico City as it stars Akemi Endo as Luz who is helping an artist with her gallery but works with a blind musician (Alan Pingarron) and a Japanese interpreter (Irene Akido Iida) to help prepare for her audition in the opera in Madame Butterfly. It is a tremendous short that features stylish clothing inspired by Japanese robes as its climax has Endo do her operatic performance for the audition with all of its tremendous clothing.
Based on the DC Comics series by William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman 1984 is the sequel to the 2017 film that has the titular character deal with an oil baron who gains the power of a mysterious object that allows him to grant wishes to everyone but with a price as the Amazonian princess deals with a wish that she made where she is reunited with her true love in Steve Trevor. Directed by Patty Jenkins and screenplay by Jenkins, Dave Callahan, and Geoff Johns from a story by Jenkins and Johns, the film explores the idea of truth and the fallacies of wishes where Diana Prince deals with her choices and its costs but also in unexpected foes including a woman who wanted to be like her as Gal Gadot reprises her role as Prince/Wonder Woman and Chris Pine also returns as Steve Trevor. Also starring Pedro Pascal, Kristen Wiig, Connie Nielsen, and Robin Wright. Wonder Woman 1984 is a wondrous and exhilarating film from Patty Jenkins.
Set in 1984 during the Cold War, the film revolves around Diana Prince who works at the Smithsonian as an anthropologist while doing hero work as Wonder Woman in secrecy as she and a gemologist discover a mysterious gem that grants wishes as a failing oil baron gains access to the stone and becomes the stone to gain power prompting Prince to stop him. It’s a film with a simple premise of sorts yet it explores the idea of wishes but also the lesson about the cost of a wish. Patty Jenkins and co-screenwriters Dave Callahan and Geoff Johns do explore the themes of wishes in the form of this object though there are some spotty moments in exploring that theme but also in some of the character development for a few characters. The film begins with a brief sequence of a young Prince (Lilly Aspell) who takes part in a multi-stage athletic competition that plays into lessons she would have to learn from both her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright) as it would play into everything Diana would have to face.
The antagonist in Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) is an oil baron who is also a TV personality who wants to present this idea of success as a way to improve the life of himself and everyone else but is already in debt as he hopes to obtain this ancient stone to make himself rich and powerful. Lord isn’t an evil person as he has a son in Alistair (Lucian Perez) he cares about but his desire for greed and power makes him lose sight of things. Another person who becomes entranced by that stone’s power is a gemologist in Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) whom Diana befriends as Minerva is this shy and awkward woman that wants to be like Diana yet the wish she makes has her becoming a stronger, confident, and sexier person but there’s some flaws into the development into how she sides with Lord. The story about this stone is a strange MacGuffin of sorts as Trevor, who returns because of Diana’s wish, believes that the stone is a variation of a Monkey’s Paw where whoever grants the wish is forced to sacrifice something and the only way it can be stopped if that person renounces its wish. For Diana, she is forced to make some difficult decisions just as she copes with what she has lost upon the wish that she made.
Jenkins’ direction has these elements of something grand in its opening sequence of a young Diana to this weird sense of nostalgia set in Washington D.C. in 1984. Shot on various locations at the Warner Brothers Studio at Leavesden, England as well as location shoots in Washington D.C. and its nearby areas as well as parts of London, the Canary Islands, and Almeria, Spain. The film does play into this air of 1980s Cold War but also what the 80s was like in America as one of its early sequences involve a robbery at a jewelry store that is foiled by Prince as Wonder Woman as it has this element of humor but also nostalgia for those times. Jenkins does use a lot of wide shots to establish these locations but also in the world that Prince ventures into including Egypt and other parts of the world in some broad action set pieces. Still, the film is grounded by some close-ups and medium shots to play on this sense of loss that still looms over Prince as it relates to Trevor as her wish, that she unknowingly did, to have him back would come true but it also plays into the fact that she’s had trouble moving on and still holding a torch for him as he’s inhabiting another man’s body as it does play into some of the humor with Trevor being the fish out of water as it relates to 1980s culture.
While the film does have some humor as well as light-hearted moments in the action, there are still this air of suspense and danger that Prince does encounter as it relates to what she sacrifices upon making her wish. Especially during the film’s second half where Lord gets more powerful to great extremes though some of the execution relating to his development does get spotty as well as the development in Minerva who would make another wish that leads to the film’s climax. The climax is grand though it has some clunky moments as it relates to what Minerva has become where the visual effects don’t really do justice despite the stakes of what Prince has to do. Her confrontation with Lord in that scene does say a lot about the fallacy of wishes and the need for truth though its execution is clunky despite its good intentions. Overall, Jenkins crafts a compelling and thrilling film about an Amazonian princess battling an oil baron and an unexpected foe to save the world from greed and lies.
Cinematographer Matthew Jensen does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of vibrant colors for some of the daytime exterior scenes in Washington D.C. and Cairo as well as the usage of low-key lights for some of the interior/exterior scenes set at night. Editor Richard Pearson does terrific work with the editing as it has some stylish rhythmic and jump-cuts to play into the action as well as some of the suspense and drama. Production designer Aline Bonetto, with set decorator Anna Lynch-Robinson plus supervising art directors Alex Baily and Peter Russell, does amazing work with the look at some of the places that Prince goes to including her own apartment in Washington D.C., the interiors of the Smithsonian, and at a communications base for the film’s climax. Costume designer Lindy Hemming is brilliant for not just the design of the 80s clothes of the times that feature some funny and awkward moments but also in some of the designer dresses that Prince and Minerva wear as well as a legendary costume that Prince wears for the film’s climax.
Hair/makeup designer Jan Sewell does fantastic work with the look of the characters including the look of Minerva from her nerdy look to being this confident yet dangerous woman. Special effects supervisor Mark Holt and visual effects supervisor John Moffatt do some superb work in the visual effects in some of the set dressing and action set pieces though the design of Minerva’s final evolution as Cheetah is one of the clunky aspects of the visual effects where it doesn’t feel like it’s finished. Sound designer Michael Babcock, along with sound editors Jimmy Boyle and Richard King, does fine work with the sound in creating some sound effects as well as maintaining a raucous atmosphere for some of the big scenes in the film. The film’s music by Hans Zimmer is wonderful for its bombastic music score as it play into the action along with serene orchestral textures for some of the dramatic moments of the film while music supervisor Carmen Murlaner provides a soundtrack that largely features the music of the 1980s from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Clinton Shorter, and John Murphy doing a piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The casting by Kristy Carlson, Pat Moran, and Lucinda Syson is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Gabriella Wilde as Lord’s secretary, Natasha Rothwell as Minerva’s boss, Kristoffer Polaha as the man Trevor inhabits, Amr Waked as an Egyptian oil baron that Lord makes a deal with, Stuart Milligan as the U.S. president, Oliver Cotton as Lord’s frustrated investor Simon Stagg, Kelvin Yu as a colleague of Minerva at the Smithsonian, Ravi Patel as a mysterious man who knows about the history of the stone that Lord wants, and Lucian Perez in a grating performance as Lord’s son Alistair as a kid who just whines all because he wants to be with his dad. Lilly Aspell, Connie Nielsen, and Robin Wright are excellent in their respective roles as the young Diana, Queen Hippolyta, and Antiope with Aspell reprising her brief role as the young Diana for the film’s opening sequence while Nielsen and Wright’s sole scenes in the opening sequence do provide some gravitas to the lessons that Diana would instill on her journey.
Kristen Wiig is alright as Barbara Minerva as a geologist/gemologist who admires and wants to be like Prince as the wish she makes would have her go from awkward geek to a strong yet cold woman as its development is hindered by the fact that Minerva is underwritten in how she loses some of her humanity and how she would become the villainous figure that is Cheetah. Pedro Pascal is amazing as Maxwell Lord as a TV personality/oil baron that wants to succeed as he believes that this ancient stone would give him everything he wants as Pascal displays some charm but also a man who loses his own humanity that makes him a complex villain of sorts. Chris Pine is incredible as Steve Trevor as Diana’s former lover who returns mysteriously due to a wish as Pine gets to show a lot of humor in his interaction with 1980s culture but also some truth about why he is back as it is a grounded performance that allows Pine to be someone that has to remind Diana about some of the darkest realities of the world but also the good aspects.
Finally, there’s Gal Gadot in a phenomenal performance as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman as the Amazonian princess warrior who moonlights as an anthropologist at the Smithsonian while secretly being a superheroine as Gadot brings some charm but also some vulnerability as a woman still driven by loss and the reluctance to let go. Notably in her scenes with Pine as it plays into a woman that still carries a torch for Trevor as she does come to terms with this loss as Gadot brings in these somber moments in another defining performance for the famed superheroine.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a remarkable film from Patty Jenkins that features a towering performance from Gal Gadot. Along with the strong supporting performances of Chris Pine and Pedro Pascal as well as grand action set pieces, some humorous moments involving 1980s nostalgia, and its exploration of greed, wishes, and truth despite a few spotty moments. The film is still a heartfelt superhero film that does bring in a lot of adventure but also wonderment and the need to accept what people have instead of what they want. In the end, Wonder Woman 1984 is an incredible film from Patty Jenkins.
