The Fantastic 4: First Steps

The best Marvel movie since "Avengers: Endgame", THE FANTASTIC 4: FIRST STEPS brings back what we love about Marvel films.

Big laughs, killer villains, heroes we care about and exciting action scenes.

FINALLY, a Fantastic 4 that delivers.

From the opening moments, Director Matt Shakman (WandaVision) creates a retro world that feels mid-century, 1960's pop modern.

Similar to Gunn's "Superman" that just hit theaters two weeks ago, Shakman isn't interested in boring us with the origin story of our power quartet. Maybe because I sat through Josh Trank's absolute crap last version of this story in 2015, I had zero desire to see how they got their powers.

We're plopped into this alternative Earth, and through the newsreels on a Vintage ABC network TV special about them, we see how they got their powers. It sets the story up beautifully, with drama and humor.

The cast this time out is flawless.

Pedro Pascal is terrific as a brilliant but introspective Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic. He blames himself for the incident in space that transformed them all. Reed has the ability to stretch in all the right ways, but I loved that the film used it sparingly, with well placed humor, saving the best of his talents for the finale.

Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning) is fantastic (no pun intended) as Sue Storm, Invisible Woman, Reed's wife and newly expecting Mom. Rarely has a new baby played such a pivotal role. Sue has the power of invisibility and creating massive force, which proves very handy more than once.

Joseph Quinn (Gladiator II) is hilarious as Johnny Storm, The Human Torch, Sue's single brother who has an eye for the ladies. Following in Captain Kirk's footsteps, it doesn't matter what planet they're from. Quinn is a blast and unrecognizable as the same actor who played a crazy Emperor Geta in Ridley Scott's Gladiator follow up last year.

Last but certainly not least is Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Fringe) as Ben Grimm, The Thing, whose face of rock doesn't prevent him from being one of the most expressive of our heroes. His reluctance to say his cartoon catch phrase delivers laughs and a superb payoff.

Their idyllic alternate Earth is shattered by the arrival of The Silver Surfer, Shalla Bal, embodied to shiny perfection by Julia Garner (Apartment 7A). For the first time, this character has weight, has a back story that resonates and provides an emotional through line for the tale.

She has arrived to announce the approach of Galactus, Eater of Worlds.

When I heard the story line, I was pretty hesitant. How would you depict the size of that villain on screen? I can assure you that on screen, especially in the IMAX 3D format I saw it in last night, the scale of Galactus is jaw dropping and more importantly, cool as hell.

Galactus is voiced by Ralph Ineson (The Creator, Nosferatu) with power and surprising humanity for a guy that's here to eat your planet. The sound design team, led by Josh Gold (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) delivers in every scene, providing the gut punching sound to match the visuals throughout.

The story is nuanced and emotional and I'm not diving into it here, no spoilers.

The predicament is clever and how The Fantastic Four address it is unexpected, dramatic and fun.

The last time I felt like this watching a Marvel movie was the grand scale action and emotional punch that "Avengers: Endgame" delivered. There's more humor and consequence in every scene.

The film gets everything right.

The supporting characters are funny, well cast and important to the story.

The Fantastic Four's lair is stunning and their rocket and launchpad just a stone's throw from their building is a total throwback in all the right ways.

Like "Superman", the film feels like a sincere attempt to honor the source material.

As anyone who knows my detest for robot companions and goofy sidekicks knows (Yes I'm talking about you, Ewoks and every Star Wars robot since R2 and C-3PO) I have to say that the Fantastic 4's robot sidekick Herbie is brilliantly executed.

Fun without slipping into kiddie-cute, Herbie's a great add.

Their flying car is perfect...

Speaking of perfect, Michael Giacchino's music score is one of his all-time best. That seems fitting, since he also wrote the music for "The Incredibles", which for me, was the best Fantastic Four adaption in film history before this one. From soaring themes to suspenseful tracks and Disney like, full-choruses and orchestra singing "Fantastic Four!", the score roars.

Come on, this version delivers what Fantastic Four fans have waited decades for. I have never been a fan of the characters because my only exposure to them was the lame 2005 version with Jessica Alba & Chris Evans, followed by the even worse 2015 version slammed above.

This is a great Marvel movie.

It's a powerful story of family and friendship.

It's got the best finale surprise since Han Solo flew in to save Luke's butt in "Star Wars".

In short, THE FANTASTIC 4: FIRST STEPS is exactly that, FANTASTIC.

Stay seated when the end credits roll for the best mid-credits Marvel scene in many moons.