QUESTION ASKED: Fantastic Four Review: Did Marvel Actually Deliver Something Worth Watching?

I didn’t know what to expect going into my local Alamo Drafthouse to see Disney-Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. The company had taught me not to expect much over the past handful of years and, to be honest, the gushing reviews by the access media weren’t exactly giving me high hopes.

They also taught me that they’ll lick the boots of studios at their whim. It’s how they keep getting the access in their namesake.

But as the film kicked up I was instantly drawn in by the setting, and as the film continued I realized I wasn’t bored. In fact, I surprisingly found myself invested. Then about midway through the film, I realized that the movie had actually endeared itself to me in a way… then it got silly, but not in a way that really made me hate it.

Folks, I think we might have a decent Marvel film on our hands.

The Critical Drinker concurs: “It probably would have been considered thoroughly ‘mid’ a decade ago. But in these dark days of cinema, well, it’s by far the best superhero film of 2025. Make of that what you will.”

Earlier: James Pethokoukis on Fantastic Four’s Googie-inspired production design: Beyond The Jetsons: New Fantastic Four trailer offers a new vision of a fantastic future that never was.