The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Fails to Wow
Thunderbolts* may be kicking off the summer movie season this year, but Marvel’s First Family is going to take it to new heights – or that’s the plan, anyway. Today, Marvel released a new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the first instance of the Four appearing in the MCU (outside of a particular cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine). Taking place on another Earth in the vast and confusing multiverse, The Fantastic Four: First Steps presents the FF as having transformed their world into a futuristic utopia, only for some of Reed Richards’ experiments to have gained the attention of cosmic threats, particularly Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bacharach as Ben Grimm/the Thing; Ralph Ineson also stars as Galactus, with Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, plus John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne in undisclosed roles. Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will arrive in theaters on July 25, and you can see the new trailer below:
As with the last Thunderbolts* trailer, this one seems to have been made out of desperation. For Thunderbolts*, the desperation was in the box office predictions for what will almost certainly be Marvel’s next bomb. In the case of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, I think it was those comments Joseph Quin and Vanessa Kirby made to Entertainment Weekly that spurred Marvel to try to change the narrative with a new trailer. The problem is that the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer is very underwhelming. I don’t hate it – in fact, I quite like parts of it – but it doesn’t make First Steps feel like the big event it needs to be, which is almost a feat in itself, considering the villain of this movie is Galactus. Regardless, I like some of it very much, especially the tone, which is lighthearted and familial, as befits the Four. I love the look of the world they inhabit, and it made me smile to see the Thing walking down Yancy Street, lifting a car to make the local kids cheer. This is one of the better things alluded to in that Entertainment Weekly interview, and I hope there’s at least a mention of the Yancy Street Gang, the Thing’s regular hecklers. It’s also kind of neat how the Fantastic Four have helped usher in an age of peace and enlightenment not only through their heroics but through Reed Richards’ scientific breakthroughs. This air of optimism and the sight of heroes bringing out the best in humanity are pleasing, and I also like that Reed makes a mistake, pushes his space exploration a bit too far, and opens up the world to new threats it may not be able to counter, even with the Four around. This is all good, and it should make a good backdrop for a Fantastic Four movie.
What I don’t like is that most of those good points are inferences, and while that’s fine because this is just a trailer, it’s also necessary because the trailer itself is bland. There isn’t much excitement going on, even in the clips of action scenes we see. It could very well be that these scenes work better in the movie and need to be seen in their entirety to have the proper effect; I hope so – otherwise, I don’t know how they managed to make the Thing crashing through columns feel dull. Maybe I’ve just seen too many of these films in the past decade and a half, and it’s hard for them to wow me anymore, but the action in the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer doesn’t get me pumped. I also still don’t care for the Thing’s voice or demeanor, which is too friendly and not combative enough. The Thing is a surly character, constantly angry because of his lot in life and all too willing to take it out on those around him; he wouldn’t be making sure HERBIE’s feelings weren’t hurt so much as saying something like, “Beat it, ya’ flying can opener!” Ebon Moss-Bacharach is a fine actor, but he’s a weird choice to play the Thing, and so far, he’s not impressing me. I’m not sure what to make of the other three members; Johnny and Sue seem fine, and I liked Pedro Pascal more in this trailer than I did in the last one. I still think he’s miscast, but he may not turn out to be too bad. (I wish he’d shave that goddamn mustache, though.) And, of course, the elephant in the room is the female Silver Surfer, and I’m sorry, but this is the very definition of woke because as soon as she shows up, you’re taken right out of the movie. We all know exactly why the Silver Surfer is a woman, and it has nothing to do with those obscure comic book issues they’re touting as validation; she’s there for diversity’s sake, and her arrival makes you roll your eyes. There aren’t any hints of the things Joseph Quinn and Vanessa Kirby were talking about in that article – unless you count Sue being the one to speak for the Four when Lady Surfer addresses them, but other scenes position Reed as the leader, so it doesn’t bother me. But seeing this version of the Surfer brings all of their comments to mind, and it undoes what I believe the point of the trailer was. As far as I’m concerned, The Fantastic Four: First Steps can still go either way.
Let us know what you thought of the new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the comments!
***
Get a META PC today; use code “199” to save on all purchases!
If you want to know what kind of political leanings movies have or just talk about cinema, check out the movie ratings community Criticless.
Get Your Geeks + Gamers merch here!
