Has Marvel Regained Its Magic? Critics React to Fantastic Four

The 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is "Marvel's best film in a decade," according to the Telegraph, while the Guardian claims the company has "regained its buoyancy."

Other critics, however, brought the returning comic book superheroes back to reality. According to The Independent, the retro-looking film is "no disaster - but it's no Superman, either".

The latest effort at a Fantastic Four remake comes after a 2015 version that bombed at the box office and earned negative reviews from critics.

The new film stars Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing.

Set in the 1960s, the heroes are compelled to defend Earth from a hungry space deity known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

Variety in the United States was impressed, with the headline: "Marvel gets its Mojo back with a satisfying retro-styled reboot."

Reviewer Peter Debruge felt it was good to step back from "the overcrowded feel of recent offerings," adding: "There's relief to be had from a Marvel film in which you don't need to carefully study multiple other movies to make sense of what's going on."

According to him, changing the Silver Surfer's gender is "the biggest - and likely most controversial" change in the story, resulting in a "intriguingly flirtatious dynamic with [Human Torch] Johnny".

He concluded, "True to its subtitle, the film feels like a new beginning." And, like with last summer's smash Superman remake at DC, it could be all it takes to re-engage fans tired of superheroes.

Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the reboot four stars, saying it "feels like the start of an exciting new chapter for Marvel".

"First Steps is earnest, colourful, upbeat," he added, "and asks its audience to bring nothing to the table beyond a willingness to be wowed."

"It makes the viewer wish that Marvel had reached this point years ago," he said.

"Why does Pedro Pascal's elastic-limbed Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby's Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach's rock-skinned Thing, and Joseph Quinn's fiery Human Torch form such a refreshingly human quartet of heroes?"

"It's partly because the casting allows all four to play to their strengths - and as the team's steadfast matriarch, Kirby is especially good value - but also because the film keeps putting them into the sort of human spaces where human behaviour naturally occurs."

In a three-star review, Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian wrote that "in a retro-futurist version of early 1960s New York, Mr Fantastic and Sue Storm are living together as a dysfunctional family with the Human Torch and the Thing - with a baby on the way."

He said that the outcome "hangs together as an entertaining spectacle in its innocent self-enclosed universe of fantasy wackiness, where real people read the comic books that have made mythic legends of the real Four".

He kept going: "I have expressed my dissatisfaction recently with superhero films which have to finish with AI cities collapsing - and, yes, this is what happens here, but at least this finale emerges from the established story premise, and works well with the tone of uncomplicated fun."

Continued: "Overall, a very silly movie - though it's keeping the superhero genre aloft."

Embrace wonder again

Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent likewise gave the film three stars, stating that while actress Kirby "is a standout as Susan Storm and the set design dazzles," "this franchise-starter is still weighed down by the usual unfunny banter and pathological Marvel aversion to risk."

She wrote: "It's Reed and Sue's marriage that gives birth to one of the most compelling ethical quandaries Marvel's ever presented on screen - and, yet, it's somehow beautifully resolved roughly three scenes later.

"Truly, anguish isn't in the cards for Marvel right now. And it's good to see the genre embrace wonder once more."

Director Matt Shakman has stated that his latest attempt to introduce comic book characters to the big screen resides in its own "universe," so fans should not be concerned if they have not seen all or any of the other 36 MCU films.

John Malkovich was supposed to play Red Ghost in the film, but Shakman told Variety it was "heartbreaking" to have to leave his scenes on the cutting room floor.

Over the weekend, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased that the studio has "a seven-year plan" that includes the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in summer 2026, followed by two Avengers films.

He told Hollywood trade outlets, including Variety, that the extended universe with its numerous overlapping characters and plotlines "used to be fun," but that recently, some viewers may have wondered, "Do I have to know everything about all of these [characters]?"

He explained why he liked competitors DC Comics' recent hit Superman film "a lot". "I like how you just go right into it. You don't know who Mister Terrific is. Tough, but you will figure it out. "This is a fully developed world."

According to BBC Culture's Caryn James, Marvel's own 2025 release, its rendition of the Fantastic Four, is "pleasant enough but lacks tension".

"Despite strong performances by Pedro Pascal and others - and for all its 'breezy competence and flair' - this retro vision of the future from Marvel doesn't have enough suspense," she went on to say.

"The subtitle First Steps says a lot - this film feels like a warm-up, introducing characters who will become major parts of the MCU."

Empire's Dan Jolin rated it four stars.

"If the script doesn't hit quite so many comedic high notes as some other Marvels, it at least brims with sincerity, presenting a heroic squad committed to protecting the Earth, while encouraging the whole world to link arms and do its bit, too," remarked the filmmaker.

"Those are the kind of heroes, it feels, that we need right now."