The critics have spoken and agree that The Fantastic Four: First Steps lives up to the heroic team’s name, with initial reviews on Tuesday celebrating the film for its character-driven storytelling and strong performances.

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praises Marvel for shifting its focus toward character development. “There’s a fresh willingness to prioritize character over the usual barrage of interchangeable CG action sequences that often overwhelm them, instead giving us relatable folks to invest in,” Rooney writes, highlighting the film’s commitment to emotional depth amid the spectacle.

More from Gold Derby

Directed by Matt Shakman, the film is set in the early 1960s and stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Reed’s wife Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Sue’s brother Johnny, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Julia Garner appears as the mysterious Silver Surfer known. Rooney notes, “The actors are so terrific and their chemistry so palpable that the hangout scenes in their fabulous Baxter Building penthouse — with a domestic droid that’s like Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons meets Number 5 from John Badham’s Short Circuit — are some of the movie’s most appealing interludes.”

Rooney also highlights Moss-Bachrach’s performance, stating, “Stranding an actor as magnetic as Moss-Bachrach behind motion-capture technology that makes him look like the rock monster from Galaxy Quest might seem a limiting choice. But it’s remarkable how much warmth and sensitivity he injects into the character — also known as the Thing in the comics. Despite his stony features and musclebound body, he’s the most vulnerable of the group, his sad eyes seeming to convey his belief that he’s unlikely ever to experience love.”

First Steps represents the first time the classic characters have been adapted for Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe following after two previous incarnations from 20th Century Fox: 2005’s Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story and starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis (which performed well enough to get a lesser 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) and Josh Trank‘s disastrous 2015 reboot, with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell.

Variety’s Peter DeBruge praises the new film’s fresh approach: “Marvel’s back-to-the-drawing-board The Fantastic Four: First Steps succeeds where earlier attempts have faltered.” He adds, “True to its subtitle, the film feels like a fresh start. And like this summer’s blockbuster Superman reboot over at DC, that could be just what it takes to win back audiences suffering from superhero exhaustion.”

Over at RogerEbert.com, Matt Zoller Seitz commends the cast’s performances, noting that while it may take a moment to adjust to Pascal as a superhero, “the chemistry between him and Kirby is so strong that you not only believe their relationship but absorb their anguish at an impossible proposal that turns them from heroes to villain to a populace that thinks it’s worth considering.” He emphasizes the emotional core of the film: “There are a lot of tears in this film, and they’re all deserved. The world of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one that you can happily get lost in.”

Damon Wise of Deadline echoes this sentiment, calling the film “satisfying and stylish Marvel adventure” and pointing out the smart script and emotional weight: “Really quite moving performances from its four charismatic leads, being arguably the best of Pedro Pascal’s releases this year.”

Overall, the film has tallied an 89 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a slightly less enthusiastic “generally favorable” score of 65 on Metacritic.

Maureen Lee Lenker at Entertainment Weekly, falls into that latter group, giving the film a B and noting that the screenplay occasionally feels uneven. “Working from a script by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer (if the screenplay feels a bit cobbled together, which it does, it’s almost certainly because of the number of cooks in the proverbial kitchen),” she explains. Despite this, Lenker praises Pascal’s performance: “The Marvel Cinematic Universe has long excelled in its casting, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps is no exception. Pascal at last gets a superb filmic vehicle for his charms, one that allows him to exude both his classic movie star swagger and his more modern sensitivity, which simmers beneath the surface every moment he’s on screen.”

Best of Gold Derby

Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.