In an alternate, retro-futuristic 1960, astronauts Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) encounter cosmic waves on an outer space mission and return as celebrity superheroes. Four years later at a family dinner, Reed and Sue announce that they are expecting, when the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives to announce that Earth has been marked for destruction by a planet-devouring cosmic being known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson).

Every 10 years or so, 20th Century Fox released a Fantastic Four movie lest they lose the cinematic rights until its 2015 effort tanked and the studio was bought by Disney/Marvel. Forgoing yet another origin story reintroducing Marvel’s ‘first family’, the movie instead hits the ground running in the same vein as Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), serving a quick update and, unlike Superman (2025), patiently and clearly sets up its world.

The retro-futuristic architectural and mechanical design is nostalgic and fantastic, creating a real-world ambience of a city populated with diverse citizens who all love the heroic adventurers who have had such a direct impact on their lives and lifestyles. Like Star Trek (1966-present), the family represents hope, peace and a love of discovery through science with their heroic personas taking a backseat. Foremost they are a family, which also includes their neighbours and their world, which is threatened by Galactus who takes a direct interest in the team’s newest and youngest member.

Verdict: A surprisingly strong and measured optimistic sci-fi family adventure.

3 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net, viewed at Dendy.