‘First Steps’ does Marvel’s First Family justice by grounding the story, delivering plenty of great action and visuals

Ironically enough, the Fantastic Four have never had a fantastic movie. The 2005 “Fantastic Four” was … fine. The 2007 “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” wasn’t even that. And the less said about the 2015 reboot, mystifyingly styled “FANT4STIC,” the better. But that losing streak ends with “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” proof proper that a movie about Marvel’s First Family can indeed be fantastic.

The latest reboot, directed by Matt Shakman from a script by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, drops us onto Earth-828 (as compared to the mainline Earth-616), an alternate, retro-futuristic 1960s planet where our heroes are praised (and marketed) the world over. (So much branding, so much merch.) Much like with the new “Superman,” there’s no real origin story being told here (one quick, well-done montage aside). Rather, these heroes — Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal); Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Reed’s wife; Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), Sue’s brother; and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Reed’s best friend — are known quantities in this world; anything you don’t know, you’ll pick up along the way.

(For those unaware, the group — all astronauts, brilliant in their own way — gained their powers while exposed to cosmic radiation during a space mission.)

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Four “Stop flirting with Silver Surfer, Johnny!” stars out of five.

Photo caption: Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” (Courtesy of Marvel Studios)