Directed by Matt Sharkman, of “Game of Thrones” and “Wandavision” fame, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” was released on July 25.

The movie is set in a 1960s retro-futuristic world, like “The Jetsons,” and depicts “Marvel’s First Family,” including Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing, becoming the Fantastic Four after being exposed to cosmic rays during a space mission. The film, thankfully, is not connected to the larger Marvel storyline in any meaningful way.

The casting seemed fitting, with the notable exception of Pedro Pascal. I love him as much as anyone, but to me, it seems he is starring in a few too many roles, and the same actor in almost every show I see takes me out of the world the film is trying to present.

The film’s pacing is fast, but not too fast. The movie strikes somewhat of a balance between a kid’s movie and “Infinity War’s” runtime. It focuses on family throughout the movie, until the obligatory bad guy shows up and starts wrecking everything. The Silver Surfer makes an appearance as well to tell the news to the main cast.

There has also been a lot of online talk about the movie, similar to “Morbius” back in 2022, but this time, the movie can stand on its own merits.

Overall, the movie is a nice refresher, in my opinion, and is a sign of good things to come from Marvel, after what felt like a lull in quality after the success of “Endgame” and them not having as much of an overarching direction.

I would recommend this movie to anyone looking to see a Marvel movie without needing to do any homework, that is, to have prior knowledge of a connected universe before seeing a film, and I would give it an 8/10.

26imoreno@usd489.com