THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

Name: THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS
Item: THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS
Author: Review

"Exciting, Powerful Defense of Children and Family"

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS introduces Reed Richards; his wife, Sue Storm; Sue’s brother, Johnny Storm; and their close friend, Ben Grimm. Four years after the four astronauts were gifted with strange superpowers, Sue tells Reed she’s unexpectedly pregnant. The loving couple, especially Reed, wonder and worry if their baby will be healthy. Then, an enigmatic woman from outer space tells the team Earth has been marked for death. A giant and ravenous cosmic being named Galactus is coming to devour the planet and everything on it.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is one of the more entertaining, engaging, exciting superhero movies. It also has one of the most heartwarming, powerful premises in years, because it focuses on protecting the family. As such, it stresses the importance of fathers and mothers. THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS has a strong moral, pro-family, redemptive, patriotic worldview. The plot problem is solved by sacrifice, ingenuity and taking a stand against meaningless destruction. FIRST STEPS has lots of action violence, a scary villain and much peril involving an infant. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.

Content:

(BBB, CC, PP, FR, L, VV, A, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Very strong moral, pro-family, pro-life, redemptive, patriotic worldview focuses on protecting the family, protecting everyone, stressing the importance of fathers and mothers, sacrifice, death and resurrection, the villain is a demonic character who comes to destroy and devour and who threatens mother, child and family, and someone says “Godspeed,” plus there are verbal lines referring to a giant cosmic being as some kind of “space god,” but the ending shows he’s no god;

Foul Language:

One or two light obscenities and two light profanities, plus father smells that his infant son has urinated in his diaper in one scene;

Violence:

Strong and light action violence includes a montage of superheroes battling various foes in the past four years, superheroes battle scary giant cosmic being with laser and strength superpowers in both outer space and a cityscape, people hiding underground shake in fear as the giant being threatens to crumble the subway and other underground facilities where they’re hiding, giant villain destroys some buildings and threatens people, giant villain threatens mother and her infant son, superheroes face many deadly situations, female superhero has telekinetic superpowers to use against villains, etc.;

Sex:

No sex (young superhero is attracted to a humanoid female alien being encased in a form-fitting silver metal shell that appears to have taken over her whole body;

Nudity:

No nudity (a malevolent alien covers a woman with some kind of silver metal, which fits snugly over her body or has transformed her whole body, to protect her from outer space so she can serve as his herald to the leaders and people of various planets the being must devour to live);

Alcohol Use:

Brief alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Villain tries to blackmail and extort a family, someone wishes four superheroes good luck, and there’s a reference to Charles Darwin’s infamous book promoting the disproven theory of evolution, but it turns out to be a joke.

More Detail:

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS introduces Reed Richards, his wife; Sue Storm, Sue’s brother; Johnny Storm, and their close family friend, Ben Grimm, in an exciting story where the four superheroes must defend Earth from a ravenous cosmic being from outer space called Galactus and his enigmatic messenger, the Silver Surfer. THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is a wonderful, crowd-pleasing, moving science fiction adventure, with a strong moral, redemptive, patriotic worldview celebrating life, love, family, sacrifice, and community, but the movie has lots of action violence, a scary villain and much peril involving an infant, so caution is advised for older children.

FIRST STEPS is set in a 1960s-inspired, futuristic world. It begins four years after Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben were genetically transformed by cosmic rays, giving them unique superpowers. In the bedroom, Reed is preoccupied with finding some iodine when Sue enters and informs Reed that she’s unexpectedly pregnant. Joy gives way to concern as Reed worries and wonders if their baby will be affected by the radiation like they were. Those worries preoccupy Reed’s scientific, inventive mind, creating in him a deep desire to protect their baby. The problem is, Reed’s mind sometimes can only imagine the worst possible scenarios.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Ben are jazzed about the news. Both are committed to being the best uncles possible for the little tyke, even though Ben isn’t related to the family.

As Sue’s pregnancy occupies the family’s time and Reed looks for ways to ensure the mother and baby’s health, a national television host prepares a montage of the family’s history as superheroes and protectors of Earth. It’s all part of a TV program celebrating the Fantastic Four. Sure enough, all of America celebrates the announcement of Sue’s pregnancy.

Everyone’s joy gives way to fear when an alien traveler encased in radiation proof silver metal arrives. She tells the Fantastic Four that Galactus, a ravenous superbeing, has marked Earth for destruction. Galactus devours planets to live.

The superheroes decide to rocket into space to confront Galactus, who’s still light years away. However, when they reach Galactus, the giant cosmic being proves too powerful for them. He also makes an evil demand they can’t possibly fulfill.

The Fantastic Four races back to Earth to figure out some way to stop Galactus. Meanwhile, Johnny hopes he can find a way to appeal to the voracious space god’s herald, the Silver Surfer, for aid.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is one of the more entertaining, engaging, exciting superhero movies. It also has one of the most heartwarming, powerful premises in years, because it focuses on protecting the family, especially children. As such, the script stresses the importance of fathers and mothers, as well as one’s extended family. Sacrifice plays an important role in this narrative. Director Matt Shakman, an acclaimed television director, and his editors display a marvelous knack in building the movie’s premise to a fever pitch that will enthrall most moviegoers and even expertly pluck their heartstrings.

FIRST STEPS also has a lot of comic relief and humor. The humor helps engage viewers during the movie’s slower, more dialogue heavy moments.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS has a grand scale of scope involving its unique comic book villain and the Fantastic Four’s commitment to space exploration. There’s also some really cool action involving the Silver Surfer who glides swiftly and nimbly across outer space landscapes.

MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for pre-teenage children because of strong action violence, a scary villain and much peril involving an infant. Happily, the movie has a minimum of foul language. The biggest drawback to FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is that it may leave viewers wanting more.

FIRST STEPS is a stirring, powerful, heroic defense of children, family and life. It also shows that mindless destruction and rapacious greed can never find satisfaction and will never truly ease one’s pain.