The Fantastic Four: First Steps (PG) – 114 minutes

Pregnancy, motherhood and girl power are the keys to the success of this reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise.

The location is a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic alternative universe, known as Earth-828.

The Fantastic Four consists of Mr Fantastic, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Richards’ wife, Invisible Woman, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby).

Then there is her brother Johnny Storm aka Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Richards’ best mate Ben Grimm, The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

I should say that they gained their superpowers after being exposed to intense cosmic rays during an experimental space flight years earlier.

Their commitment to keeping the Earth safe makes them wildly popular among the general populace.

And then Sue falls pregnant. The big issue the parents are wrestling with is whether the baby too will have superpowers.

All the tests they have conducted show nothing out of the ordinary.

As Sue is reaching the end of her pregnancy, an unexpected force makes a fiery and unwelcome entrance to Earth.

Riding a surfboard and covered head to toe in silver (which includes the surfboard), she known as Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), later identified as Shalla-Bal.

She carries a message of doom, specifically with these words: “Your planet is now marked for death.”

While the time for the reckoning is short, the entity behind it is known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson).

He is a space god who consumes the energy of life-bearing planets to survive.

And so it is that The Fantastic Four make a beeline for a distant planet to meet with Galactus to try to reason with him.

That doesn’t go well.

Galactus says the only way he will spare Earth is if Richards and Sue give up their unborn child – a son named Franklin.

Galactus indicates that Franklin will have unimaginable powers.

Understandably, Richards and Sue refuse, which doesn’t go down well with the Earth’s residents, who fear for their lives.

And so it is that the build-up to the final showdown continues at pace.

Matt Shakman, who cut his teeth directing TV series, has done a fine job with the material, balancing the personal with the action sequences.

I liked the script that has been developed by Josh Friedman (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), Eric Pearson (Transformers One), Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer.

It combines humour and humanity. There is creative tension between Johnny Storm, who is always wanting to prove himself, and the highly intelligent Reed Richards.

With a razor-sharp focus, Vanessa Kirby is impressive as Sue, someone who confidently goes about her business and generates emotional depth.

While Reed Richards is unquestionably painted as the driver of the quartet, Pedro Pascal exposes his vulnerabilities as a budding parent.

Joseph Quinn brings keenness and frustration to his realisation of Johnny, while Ebon Moss-Bachrach presents as a safe and reliable pair of hands as The Thing. 

The Thing is humble and we also get to see his romantic side, as he expresses more than a passing interest in teacher Rachel Rozman (Natasha Lyonne).

The baby is gloriously cute.

Another of note in the cast is the H.E.R.B.I.E., the helpful family robot/babysitter, as voiced by Matthew Wood. He makes an immediate and favourable impression.

Backed by a strong score, visually, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is most attractive, with the mixture of past and futuristic in the sets, settings and costuming.

The movie has also been expertly edited, linking comic book heroes with live action.

While superhero movies have been wearing thin of late (and I am not talking here about the latest Superman film), The Fantastic Four goes to the top of the class.

Rated PG, it scores an 8 out of 10.