The Fantastic Four: First Steps
for action/violence and some language.
Reviewed by: Raphael Vera
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Average |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults Young-Adults |
| Genre: | Sci-Fi Superhero Action 3D |
| Length: | 1 hr. 55 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2025 |
| USA Release: |
July 25, 2025 (wide release—4,125 theaters) DVD: October 14, 2025 |
1960s-inspired retro-futuristic parallel Earth
Superheros protecting world from the planet-devouring cosmic villain Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer
Good versus evil
| Featuring |
|---|
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Pedro Pascal … Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic Vanessa Kirby … Sue Storm / Invisible Woman Joseph Quinn … Johnny Storm / Human Torch Ebon Moss-Bachrach … Ben Grimm / The Thing Ralph Ineson … Galactus Julia Garner … Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer Natasha Lyonne … Rachel Rozman Paul Walter Hauser … Harvey Elder / Mole Man Sarah Niles … Lynne Nichols / F4 Chief of Staff Mark Gatiss … Ted Gilbert Matthew Wood … H.E.R.B.I.E. See all » |
| Director |
|
Matt Shakman |
| Producer |
|
Kevin Feige Marvel Studios 20th Century Studios See all » |
| Distributor |
In an alternate reality set in the 1960s, the superhero family known as The Fantastic Four are respected and beloved by the whole world. During a television show retrospective, it flashes back to their beginnings and their heroics over the past few 4-years as they have met and conquered every challenge faced, until now.
Sue, aka The Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) tells her husband Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), the great news that they will finally have their first child. Reed, being the scientist, is understandably concerned that the cosmic accident in space that gave the four of them their powers, may affect their baby’s DNA, but for now all seems well.
Joined by the other members of the team, Sue’s brother, Johnny aka The Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Reed’s best friend, Ben aka The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) they begin celebrating the happy turn of events. Almost immediately they are interrupted by a cosmic being known as The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) who, flying in from space, informs the whole world that she is the herald of Galactus and that the planet’s end is coming.
Reed then decides to take the team into space to meet Galactus before he gets to Earth. The Fantastic Four will soon confront this cosmic force of nature and learn whether or not they can make a difference against a threat this unstoppable.
“Fantastic Four: First Steps” is not an origin story, and drops the audience into an already established universe. No expectations are built for a dramatic, character-driven story, but rather a mostly light-hearted, campy, action filled movie. However, there is some content of concern.
Objectionable Content
LANGUAGE: Occasionally Heavy. The Lord’s name is taken in vain 7 times (OMG 1x, god 2x, space god 2x, Jesus 2x). Cursing consisted of; b*ll-sh** once. Sue orders someone to “kill” [the enemy], and Johnny describes the female Silver Surfer as sexy twice. A relatively low count by modern standards, one has to ask why the profanity was needed at all.
VIOLENCE: Moderate. The violence ranges from comic book-like during a flashback showing The Fantastic Four engaging with various villains over the years to real-time confrontations with The Surfer and Galactus. Sue goes into a forced labor, Reed is shown being stretched to the breaking point, in anger Sue destroys a TV with her force-field power, the audio of the screams and cries for mercy from various planets as they are being consumed is overheard, fire is blasted from Galactus’ eyes, a building is swallowed up by the earth, and Galactus is seen destroying a planet. The threat on their baby, Franklin Richards (Ada Scott) is present throughout the second half of the movie.
SEX/NUDITY: Minor. Reed and Sue are shown kissing twice and the female Silver Surfer is technically nude, although with her silver coating no detail is visible. Sue’s Fantastic Four outfit is skin tight, highlighting her form, but without being revealing.
WOKE—Men/Women dynamics: Contrary to the comic-book source material, Sue is shown to be a leader equal to and often surpassing her husband. For example, Sue singlehandedly gets the world’s nations to disarm and negotiates a peace deal with the subterranean King, The Mole Man. Modern Hollywood screenwriting does not understand that talents between genders is not a zero-sum game, and that one does not need to reduce the male characters in order to elevate the female ones. Both can be equally fantastic.
WOKE—Gender swap: The Silver Surfer, always an established male character, has been made a female for this film.
WOKE—Evolution: Darwin’s book on the now proved flawed theory of evolution, The Origin of Species, is mentioned implausibly to be a child’s favorite book. Secular propaganda is to be expected.
Lessons
The film delivers several messages that deserve a deeper dive including salvation, child sacrifice, end-of-days and resurrection.
SALVATION. Galactus is a colossal, cosmic being whose insatiable hunger compels him to consume planets to survive. Enter the child of Reed and Sue Richards, baby Franklin, who Galactus bizarrely declares upon seeing him, “You are my salvation, my deliverance.”
Before considering the salvation theme, remember that no matter how many planets Galactus consumes, his appetite is never sated. In fact, the Word of God states that for all of us, a focus solely on one’s pleasures or appetites can only lead to death.
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” —Romans 8:5-6
As for a savior, you may seek one in this world, you may even find temporary solace, but Holy Scripture is clear that God has provided to all of mankind a single savior, Jesus, if you will only put your faith and trust in Him.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” —John 3:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” —Romans 1:16
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ —John 14:6
Galactus is referred to several times as a ‘space god,’ but I would be remiss if I did not mention that there was a time in comics (FF Volume 1, #213, Dec. 1979) when Galactus himself admits, “Even Galactus whose every passing whim becomes reality, even Galactus is no god!”
CHILD SACRIFICE. Galactus says he will spare Earth if they will give him the Child. Unfortunately, there is a long history of child sacrifice in our world going back to ancient times. This practice was such an abomination that God calls special attention to the demonic practice that it is.
“… Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.” —Leviticus 20:2-3
Filmgoers may universally agree that a child sacrifice for the ‘benefit-of-many’ as presented here is abhorrent, but would they also condemn the everyday sacrifice of the unborn for the sake of convenience? May we never forget that as God’s creation we are called to expose evil in all forms including that of the most defenseless and innocent.
“Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.” —Ephesians 5:11
END OF DAYS. The former villain known as the Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser) comes to New Yorkers aid when things are darkest, admitting that they are in the ‘end of days.’ As fascinating as fantasy/sci-fi films can be, it is a wonder how God is almost never included anymore in movies, except as a sentence ‘enhancer’ or expletive.
The very real end times are revealed within Holy Scripture by any number of God’s prophets including: Ezekiel (Chapters 37-39), Daniel (Chapters 2, 7, 9, 11) and Isaiah (Chapters 13, 14, 24, 34) to name just a few. The second coming of Jesus Christ, as highlighted in the book of Revelation, describes the terrible judgment of God that will be thrust upon the whole world before He returns. I encourage all to be prepared and to do your own study of God’s Holy Word, for your own sake and for that of all of those that God blesses to be within your orbit for a time such as this.
RESURRECTION. A character dies, is unable to be resuscitated and yet ends up being supernaturally returned to life. Based on our Christian beliefs, this is offensive for we know that only God holds the keys to life and death. We should always view any displays of ‘god-like’ power with not just a suspicious eye, but a disdainful one.
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” —John 11:25
Final Thoughts
The film’s 1960’s retro style visuals is akin to a live action version of “The Jetsons” cartoon from 1962. It is also a mostly lighter change from some of the even darker efforts released of late by Marvel Studios. Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack, one of his best in years, deserves recognition for the playful and futuristic tone it evokes reminiscent of “Meet the Robinsons,” yet it can be bombastic and ominous when needed.
Director Matt Shakman’s 1960’s imagined vision of the future succeeds in conveying a sense of wonder and nostalgia, even for people too young to remember a time when men wore suits and hats daily and women likewise wore dresses as a matter of course.
“Fantastic Four: First Steps” is an action packed, campy comic book movie intended for families, yet better suited for adult audiences. This begs the question, why? While the movie reflects a brief return to the simplistic fun that a super-hero film can be, it is none-the-less tainted by sporadic profanity and features planet sized devastation along with the constant peril placed on the baby Franklin. Finally, always be wary of the underlying messages inserted by today’s filmmakers as they prove they do not have yours or God’s best interest in mind.
- Profane language: Moderately Heavy
- Violence: Moderate
- Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
- Wokeism: Moderate
- Nudity: Mild
- Sex: None
- Drugs/Alcohol: None
- Occult: None
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
Biblically speaking, there is plenty of violence, but in a welcome change from most superhero photoplays these days, no blood is seen, and a sporadic amount of profanity, and brief partial rear nudity, and mild innuendo, and some drinking.
There is nothing woke about having The Invisible Girl exceed her husband in intelligence. God made women and men smart in different areas. Regarding a certain gender swap, watch the animated series Silver Surfer afore watching “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” You will be glad you did.
There are several scenes I would have rewritten, and I would also have recast Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn with shorter male actors opposite Miss Vanessa Kirby. The middle and post-credits scenes are worth sticking around for.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is rated PG-13, but it could just have been rated PG just as easily were it not for the level of violence.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.
Fantastic Four harkens back to a slightly more retro, if not innocent, age of superhero movies. Recently, we’ve gotten gritty reboots and over convoluted storylines from this genre. But in between this and Superman, superhero movies seem to be becoming a little more light-hearted again, which is probably what we need in this day and age.
Tone-wise, this film aims for a good helping of goofiness as it’s all about Marvel’s first superhero family. And fortunately, it’s the right kind of goofiness, the kind that we’ve lost since Endgame, where the humor works because it’s situational and built off the chemistry of the leads instead of crammed unnecessarily into inappropriate moments. And the leads do have some great chemistry, the best we’ve seen from Marvel in years. Everyone here is likable in their own way, with their own unique character traits that play off one another while also grounding them with a sense of heart and respect for each other so they don’t get overblown.
That’s not to say Fantastic Four: First Steps is just a goofy flick. When Galactus comes in, he is a legitimate threat who gives the movie a lot of gravitas. The movie has plenty of serious moments, especially surrounding Reed and Sue’s baby, that it allows to play out with all the respect it deserves. But the whole film’s undercurrent is about sacrifice and familial love. The Fantastic Four members would sacrifice themselves for each other and never sacrifice anyone else for themselves, and you believe it. The film succeeds in many areas, but it’s the heart found in the family’s relationships with each other that really shoots it into the stars.
From a Christian standpoint, of course, there are the aforementioned examples of love, family, heroism, and sacrifice. I don’t want to tell you how they’re fully demonstrated in the movie as it would spoil a good amount of it. But trust me when I say they hit hard, and they hit really hard because these characters really do put themselves on the line for the people they love, and even ones they don’t.
Quite surprisingly, the content issues are very light for a superhero movie in 2025. Superhero violence and action is present as always, and I don’t want to tell you the death count as, once again, it would spoil the film. But it’s tasteful and never graphic. In fact, I’d say the threat of Galactus is of more intensity than any on-screen violence. Language is limited to one instance of “b*llsh*t,” one or two uses of “h*ll,” one abuse of Jesus’s name, and a couple OMG profanities. As a Spirit-filled Christian, of course I’d prefer no bad language. But it’s honestly so mild here that I’m surprised the MPA listed it as one of the reasons they gave the film a PG-13. Sex and nudity is almost entirely absent, save for the Silver Surfer’s almost naked, Barbie doll-like appearance (ala Beowulf, her private parts are missing) and a few stray comments of Johnny Storm finding her sexy.
I’m sure some Christians will try to draw an anti-God subtext out of a story of a huge alien planning to destroy Earth and a few humans trying to stop him, as people such as the ones at Little Light Studios have done (though they’re actually SDA). But any sort of analogy to that point would quickly fall apart. Once again, this is merely to be taken as a story of what happens when a flawed individual decides he should be the one in charge and the devastation that could follow if he carried his plans out.
In short, Fantastic Four: First Steps is honestly one of the years biggest surprises, in many different ways. While I went into F1 expecting it to be great, I was subtly concerned about this one. Thankfully, those concerns turned out to be unwarranted. The storyline is genuinely engaging, the characters are all likable and have excellent chemistry, the stakes are high, the humor works, and the emotional moments hit. Best of all, you don’t have to be caught up with all the MCU lore to enjoy it. It’s a simple, but sincere and fun superhero movie with the kind of heart the MCU’s been lacking of late, so have most all other movies recently for that matter. And I highly recommend it.
Is it a kid’s movie? Well, it wasn’t intended to be that. But in my opinion, this could’ve very well been a PG. There is some peril, superhero style violence and action, and brief language. But all of those issues are far more subdued here than they typically are in other Marvel movies. I feel the MPA gave this one a PG-13 by default because every superhero movie has been getting one. I get that all children, heck even all Christians, have different sensibilities. And some might find some parts of this film offensive, and that’s fair. I myself am forced to give the film a “better than average” rating instead of “good” because of the blasphemous language, however occasional, and the semi-nudity. But as for my recommendation, I’d give it to anyone 10 and up. This is a pretty lightweight flick that, even if not perfect, embodies plenty of the good characteristics we’ve been missing in superhero movies nowadays.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½