The Fantastic Four: First Steps Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 14, 2025

Fantastic Four, you say? How about Fantastic Five or even Fantastic Six, Seven, or potentially more, depending on your counting regimen, since that's how many screen adaptations of this particular Marvel quartet have graced (or not, as the case may be) the silver (surfer?) screen. It's almost comically ironic to hear the comic book described in a supplement as the "savior" of Marvel back in 1961, when Stan Lee and his cohort were teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy, since both television and film adaptations of Fantastic Four have not always been successful. It's interesting to note that Marvel was starting to go the "multimedia" route as early as 1966, when the animated series The Marvel Super Heroes premiered (in syndication rather than on a particular broadcast network, also interestingly) and ran for two seasons. That second season saw the arrival of animated Marvel fare on a broadcast network (ABC), with the still well remembered 1967 debut of Spider-Man. What doesn't seem to be as well remembered is the fact that the very first adaptation of Fantastic Four was in fact an animated series (by Hanna Barbera) partnered with Spider-Man for Saturday morning consumption. Unlike Spider-Man, this initial cartoon adaptation only eked out one season.

Another one season animated The Fantastic Four appeared around a decade later in 1978 (trivia alert: one of the voice actors was Ted Cassidy of Lurch fame). 1994 was the next major way stop for the franchise, with yet another animated The Fantastic Four being part of a syndicated alternately titled Marvel Action Hour or Marvel Action Universe series. 1994 also saw the first live action adaptation of the tale with the imprimatur of one Roger Corman, though as the documentary Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four details, the film itself was (largely) unreleased and served only to secure rights for the property in the long run.

"Actual" (as in widely released) feature film properties started showing up with 2005's Fantastic Four (more trivia: this film came out so early on 1080 Blu-ray it's number 22 in our database). That was followed two years later by Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which (along with several other franchise installments) has distinct tethers to this particular film. In what is turning out to be a "once every decade on the '5's" tradition, 2015 saw Fantastic 4 (which somewhat hilariously I had completely forgotten I reviewed here back in the day). And now a decade after that enterprise (with some, yes, arguable interstitial "cameo" appearances) Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bacharach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) are back (or baaaack, as the case may be) in an outing that has some really appealing elements, especially with regard to production design, but which still may leave some fans jonesin' for a "definitive" treatment of at least an origin story, which this film pretty much intentionally eschews.

Instead, the appropriately subtitled First Steps ends up being centered on expectant parents Reed and Sue, post-cosmic ray exposure, with their tot catching the attention of super villain Galactus (Ralph Ineson). "Messenger" Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) is on hand to deliver Galactus' apocalyptic pre-show, with sure destruction awaiting Earth 828 if Reed and Sue don't hand their infant over to Galactus. The "family" element here (which of course extends to other members of the quartet) is one of this outing's strengths, even if it's undeniably the same general emotional template that has informed countless other MCU (and, let's face it, Disney) properties for what seems like untold millennia.

Where The Fantastic Four: First Steps actually may make (to purloin a famous space age phrase) "one giant leap" for this franchise is in some impeccable production design choices, along with some really fun CGI that helps to bring several characters fully to life. There is some impressive practical effect work as well, including puppetry for H.E.R.B.I.E. This is "MCU" epic filmmaking at several key junctures, including the expected "Final Boss" showdown which pits the focal four and "convert" Silver Surfer against Galactus, with the baby acting as a lure. It's perhaps expected, then, that it's an infant in distress rather than a damsel that informs the climax, though (again, not exactly surprisingly) there's a scare involving Sue as well that probably qualifies in that particular idiomatic regard. Aside from any plot histrionics, though, it's the sheer look of this film that probably will stay with viewers the longest, one which offers an "alternate" New York informed by Reed's hi tech wizardry that is in the words of a supplement "retro futuristic".

Brian Orndorf's review of the film provides a bit more plot (and subplot) information, for those interested.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista and Marvel Studios with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists the Arri Alexa 65 and a 4K DI as the relevant data points (there was evidently some actual celluloid utilized for some supposedly "archival" material). (Fans will already know an IMAX version offered different aspect ratios.) Whatever qualms some may have with the story here, from a purely visual perspective this is another winning entry in the MCU offered in an often resplendent 1080 version, though I'll cut to the chase and certainly recommend fans of the film opt for Disney's 4K UHD release, which also has the added allure of an Atmos audio track. Practical items like sets and costumes typically offer excellent fine detail levels, including everything from the rubbery ridges on the Fantastic Four's uniforms to more picayune textures like the teal maternity sweater Sue wears somewhat late in the story. CGI is rather artful for the most part, and really organically woven into live action material, though some may feel a number of the flame effects in particular aren't completely convincing (something that may be even more noticeable in the 4K UHD presentation). The palette is awash in various blue tones, all of which pop really well throughout. A number of either red or red-orange moments (in both production design and lighting/grading territories) also offer some very vivid hues.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As tends to be the case with a lot of Disney releases, this 1080 disc features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track while the 4K UHD disc offers a Dolby Atmos track. I can't really honestly suggest there's a real "deficit" in the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, since it's really a model of consistent immersion, but there's also no doubt that the Dolby Atmos track really takes things to a new level, and, yes, that's kind of a pun, given that this film features so many flying scenes, both in vehicles and without them. For that reason, as mentioned above in the video section, Disney's 4K release may provide some enticement in both the video and audio arenas. All of the foregoing said, the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on this disc can offer often almost overwhelming surround activity in the set pieces, notably a lot of the flying material (which, yes, gets more overhead "oomph" in the Atmos track). The low end is also well utilized, as in several explosions late in the film or the launching of Reed's spaceship. Michael Giacchino's score is frankly not my favorite of his, but it's perfectly appropriate for the film and also receives a really fulsome surround presentation. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and is even nicely prioritized in some very noisy action sequences. Optional English, Spanish and French subtitles are available.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Meet the First Family (HD; 9:08) introduces the major characters and principal performers while giving some lip service to the franchise in general.


• Fantastic Futurism (HD; 13:04) focuses on the incredible work of production designer Kasra Farahani.


• From Beyond and From Below (HD; 9:37) looks at some of the associated subplots involving the Silver Surfer, Galactus and denizens of an underground society.


• Gag Reel (HD; 2:56)


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 6:25)


• Audio Commentary with Director Matt Shakman and Production Designer Kasra Farahani

Disney sent their 4K UHD release for purposes of this 1080 review, but it looks like the standalone 1080 release also includes a digital copy, and we're listing it as featuring a slipcover.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fact that a lot of this film is centered around a superpowered couple having a superpowered baby probably can't help but recall another Disney adjacent enterprise, The Incredibles. That's just one clue that there are definitely some recycled ideas suffusing this property (in more than one way), but the film's really wonderful production design may help to offset at least some of that "familiar" feeling. This may indeed be damning with faint praise, but this is probably the best of the big screen Fantastic Four outings thus far, though there is of course a sequel already on the way. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements enjoyable. With caveats noted, Recommended.