THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Breaks Rotten Tomatoes Curse for Marvel’s First Family
Marvel Studios just scored a major win. With 130 reviews counted, The Fantastic Four: First Steps holds an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, officially earning the coveted Certified Fresh seal. This marks a huge moment for the MCU and a much-needed victory for the superhero genre.
Recent Marvel releases have had mixed results. Thunderbolts* was a critical hit but underperformed at the box office, topping out at $382 million. Captain America: Brave New World faced harsh reviews and barely crossed the $400 million mark worldwide. Against that backdrop, First Steps is a breath of fresh air for the studio.
What makes this milestone even more cool is the history behind it. Every previous Fantastic Four film has been critically panned. Tim Story’s 2005 take earned a dismal 27%, while its 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer managed only 37%.
Then came Josh Trank’s infamous 2015 disaster, which crashed and burned at 9%, making it one of the lowest-rated superhero movies of all time. Even Roger Corman’s unreleased version, which somehow made it onto Rotten Tomatoes, sits at 33%.
This new chapter changes everything. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the first entry produced by Marvel Studios and the only one to score Fresh, let alone Certified Fresh. It’s a monumental turnaround for a franchise long considered cursed.
The critics’ consensus sums it up perfectly: “Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack at The Fantastic Four does Marvel's First Family justice.”
I loved the movie, and I’m looking forward to watching it again! The movie was visually awesome and there area couple of badass action sequences that fans are going to flip over! Galactus was also incredibly cool! You can read my review here.
Marvel has actually figured out how to bring Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm to life in a way fans and critics can enjoy and appreciate. This is definitely the beginning of something epic for the MCU as it sets up Avengers: Doomsday, which is going to be insane.