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hail-dondus · 5 days ago

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I saw The Fantastic Four: First Steps last night (Thursday) and I have some thoughts!

**Spoilers for the film below! Please read at your own risk!**

First of all, the world owes Joseph Quinn a massive fucking apology for all the hate they spewed at him when he was cast because he was perfect as Johnny Storm and I’m already seeing those haters eat their words!

Honestly I loved all four of the main cast, they truly felt like a family 🩵 they were all so perfectly cast and had amazing chemistry together

The chemistry between Reed and Sue was perfect ❤️ Pedro and Vanessa have such great chemistry, and I loved the relationship between Reed and Sue so much!

The film is set on Earth-828(?) which I think is a reference to when Jack Kirby, one of the creators of the Fantastic Four comics, was born. The film is also dedicated to him in the end credits

I love the way it’s presented that Reed and Sue tried for years to have a baby but it didn’t happen, and so Franklin is so special because of it 🥹

(These aren’t exact quotes but the general gist) “We talked about it for years” “Well, the talking isn’t the important part of it” - ASDFGHJKL

It makes the dinner scene even more poignant when you rewatch it knowing that Reed and Sue struggled with fertility because the way Ben looks at them and he just knows? 😭 And the fact Johnny is so excited for them because he probably knew they had some trouble? 🥺

Speaking of Johnny, he’s such insufferable little brother vibes and I love it, his heart is clearly always in the right place even if he likes to mess around and be a nuisance (to Reed)

I love the set up of how they got their powers being briefly explored via a talk show special so we have the background context, and the shots of the Four saving the world (also Johnny saving a little girl 😭)

Sue: “That last person speaking was my baby brother Johnny, and yes ladies, he’s very single” - ASDFGHJKL

I’m still not over the Coppertone ad where you almost see Johnny’s butt 💀

When you see all the people going “we love you Fantastic Four!” and there’s a group of women just screaming “We love you Johnny!” 💀 I mean same-

H.E.R.B.I.E.!!! 🥹🩵 I would die for H.E.R.B.I.E., and I’m not even joking, he is so loveable and cute and I love him so much

“I don’t have a 2:15” *Johnny enters* “Oh, that 2:15 😑” ASDFGHJKL

Also Johnny pestering Reed about new spacesuits because Johnny loves space and wants to go back despite what happened last time (the cosmic radiation) 😭 he just loves space so much!

Ben being annoyed by Johnny is such a mood lmfao I love their friendship so bad

I love how the Four are celebrities in this universe to the point where people are speculating about the gender of the baby and whether it’ll have powers or not

Reed is definitely autistic, and I’m not even projecting anything onto him I swear - he is so autistic or at least autistic coded

I can’t get over Reed wanting to monitor the baby constantly, wanting to make sure they’re healthy, wanting to make sure everything is perfect and okay, literally inventing new machines to monitor Sue and the baby 😭

Sue using her powers to show little Franklin safe and sound in the womb to reassure Reed that their baby is perfect 🥺

No but H.E.R.B.I.E. building a crib?!? 😭🩵

I love how obvious it is that despite his literal rock hard exterior, Ben is clearly a giant softie when it comes to kids and he loves doing things to make them happy like lifting up cars and pretending to throw them

What gets me about Ben is that he clearly is sad that he looks like he does now, that he no longer looks like a human being, and yet he’s so beloved by the entire planet, especially the children, who cheer for him and wear masks of him for Halloween. He is so loved by the planet 😭

Ben having a little implied romance with that schoolteacher lady (Natasha Lyonne) was so sweet omg 🥹 I wanted more of them so bad

Reed baby proofing the world 😭

Everyone trying to make Ben say “it’s clobbering time” and him beleaguered saying he doesn’t say that, it’s just the cartoon 😅

“😀 Hey Ben, what time is it?” “😑 it’s dinner time”

Loving the cool Silver Surfer vibes honestly, she was kind of very cool and I got intrigued every time she was onscreen. I also love that she wasn’t evil, she was clearly regretful about heralding the planet’s end but had no choice and was advising Earth to make the most of their time left with their loved ones

The visual of Johnny flying up to the Silver Surfer in space and his face being reflected on her face was so cool oh my god

“I get it: Johnny loves space, Johnny loves women, suddenly there’s a sexy space woman” 😭 he is so unserious

Reed making new spacesuits so they can go up to space to speak with Galactus and try to negotiate, and Johnny getting excited when he saw the suits before saying he takes back every bad thing he said about Reed… in private… to himself 💀

The fact Reed made Sue a spacesuit to cater to her being heavily pregnant 🥺

Sue: “I love my new spacesuit” / Reed: “It’s the same as your old one just bigger” / Sue: 😲 / Reed: “Bluer! I said bluer!”

Reed feels so guilty for what happened to the four of them, even though none of them hold any ill will towards him 🥺

Ben telling Reed he isn’t the smartest man in the world because he failed his driving test 😅

THEY BROUGHT H.E.R.B.I.E. WITH THEM AND HE HAD HIS OWN LITTLE NOOK TO SLOT INTO ON THE SHIP 🥹

I was going to ask how come Sue’s clothes disappear when she does and how come Franklin also disappears but then it makes sense because we’re shown that she can make things disappear when she’s touching them, including their spaceship

I knew something was up when the scanner scanned Sue’s belly and Silver Surfer said Galactus would see them now

Johnny trying to flirt with Silver Surfer was so funny I can’t lie 😅 I love that she was fine translating the phrase she said to him before in her own language but when he asked if the surfboard was attached to her body she straight up just flew further away

“So she dumped you already” - ASDFGHJKL 🤣

Fuck me Galactus is fucking MASSIVE holy shit?!? He makes Thanos look like a puny grape! No wonder the guy is always fucking hungry holy shit

Galactus saying he would spare Earth in exchange for Franklin because Franklin is destined to be a very powerful being??? And he wants to put his mantle of being eternally hungry etc on an unborn baby (And obviously the four of them say no)

My jaw dropped when Galactus straight up managed to accelerate the pregnancy and induce labour in Sue to make the baby come 😳

Johnny only has 10% oxygen left because using his fire in the suit drained the oxygen fast, but he used that 10% to attack Galactus and give Reed some time to help Sue escape 😭 baby bro loves his big sis so much

Not Silver Surfer trying to yank Franklin out of the womb 😔

Johnny referring to Silver Surfer as the “Sexy Alien” 💀 and he was so annoyed he had to get rid of her lmfao

“I don’t tell you how to drive the ship, don’t tell me how to kill the sexy alien!” - 🤣

Sue giving birth while they’re being chased by Silver Surfer and there’s zero gravity on their ship… honestly Vanessa Kirby is the heart of this film as Sue

Sue being afraid to give birth because she’s now worried that something is wrong with the baby, and “what if he’s a monster” and Reed reassuring her that there’s nothing wrong with their child 🥺

Her being so scared (and stressed out) that she turned herself invisible just as she made the final push oh my god give the woman a hug 😭

BABY FRANKLIN RICHARDS 🥹🩵

I love that Reed and Sue never worry about Ben holding Franklin because they know despite how tough and hard Ben looks, he’d never hurt the baby 😭 they love and trust Ben so much-

The people on Earth being pissed off that they wouldn’t give up their child to save Earth like excuse you bitch??? Of course they’re not giving up their newborn baby to a giant space god who eats planets! I know the general public probably isn’t aware of the struggles Reed and Sue had with fertility and yes, they’re terrified of being killed by Galactus, but still, no parent in their right mind would sacrifice their child.

The fact Earth were protesting against the four because of this like??? Girlies, I know you’re scared and upset but these people have saved your lives how many times???

Franklin looks more uncannily CGI in some scenes than in others and it’s very unsettling at times 😭 I get it, you can’t have a baby doing dangerous shit but even in scenes lying in his crib he looks weirdly CGI at times. It’s not in all scenes, there are scenes where Franklin looks normal and I know they had a baby actor as well, but still

Johnny finding a little action figure toy of himself in the cereal and annoying Ben by making it go “flame on! Flame on! Flame on!” - only for Ben to crush it and go “flame off” 🤣

Sue realising Reed thought about the possibility of giving Franklin to Galactus - not that he *would*, but he had to consider the possibility in his calculations

“I have to imagine the worst things so I can make sure they don’t happen!” - Reed 😭

Sue bringing Franklin outside to the crowd and giving a speech about how there’s been a lot of talk lately about him, and how she would move heaven and earth not only for Franklin but for all of Earth 🥺 “I won’t give up my child for earth - but I will not give up earth for my child” kind of thing

^slightly off topic but it kind of reminded me of when Lucilla in Gladiator II said she’d gladly give her life for Rome but she won’t give her son’s - idk just kind of interesting given Gladiator II also had Pedro and Joseph in it (and Pedro was the one in that scene Lucilla was talking to)

Sue’s speech giving Reed the idea to move Earth to a new galaxy where Galactus won’t find them??? I just love how good they are together

Johnny pointing out that yeah, Reed moved an egg six feet across the room but it blew the power in the building so how are they going to move the planet

The most unrealistic part of this film is believing that everyone across the world would actually be selfless enough to turn off their power in order to conserve the energy needed to move the planet 💀

Ben trying to “shave” when the power goes and then he ends up growing a “beard” 💀

I do love that at first it seemed like Johnny was poking fun of Ben being unshaved but he was in fact being genuine when he said Ben looked good with a beard, and he kept complimenting him. It’s just nice because despite how they might banter, they’re still a family 🥹🩵

Johnny listening to recordings from other planets Galactus destroyed and learning the Silver Surfer’s language??? Oh he’s not dumb at all, he’s actually so smart

Johnny being so proud of himself for making a breakthrough with the translations and the other three being like “yeah no we’re trying to move a whole planet here” lmfao

They were so close to doing it and then Silver Surfer appeared and started breaking their bridges 😭

Johnny broadcasting all of the different messages in her language (messages from her planet thanking her for her sacrifice and saving them) and making her stop, and then speaking to her in her native tongue and using her real name (Shalla-Bal) was probably one of my favourite moments

The flashback showing how she was once living with her daughter on her own planet, and then when Galactus came to destroy her planet she offered herself as his herald to spare her planet… she basically sacrificed her life to save her daughter and her planet. And then Johnny plays the recordings of the planets who weren’t spared, the ones she helped Galactus destroy, the recordings of people screaming and crying for help, and she flies away distressed 😭

The only bridge left is the one in Times Square and so Reed decides their best option is not to transport the planet but to transport Galactus away - but they would need to use Franklin as bait because Franklin is the one thing Galactus wants 😭

Sue just screaming “I know!” And turning invisible to escape because while she knows Reed wouldn’t actually give their son up, just the thought of using their son for bait was distressing

Ben and Johnny having a conversation and bantering over who’s going to go and do something - and then Sue suddenly turning visible on the bed next to Ben and scaring them both 🤣

Sue using her diplomatic skills to get the Mole Man guy to agree to take in all of the city’s people underground so no one gets hurt by Galactus, I love her 🥹

The Mole-Man guy antagonising the guys and then saying “Don't be upset, Johnny, I didn't dress you this morning” and Johnny needing to be held back 💀 I don’t even think Johnny was dressed that weird lmao Mole Man just wanted to piss him off

There’s a scene where Reed is in his lab with Franklin and he says he built the machine to monitor Franklin but he’s done with trying to figure out what Franklin is because he’s decided he’s going to let Franklin tell him who he is and I love that 😭 he also says most fathers dream their sons are like them, but he hopes Franklin is the opposite, and he said something like “something is wrong with me” and it just screamed “autistic Reed” to me 😭 idk maybe that one is projection on my part though

(^ this is not me saying there’s something wrong with autistic people, I am autistic myself. But as an autistic person I grew up feeling there’s something wrong with me because I wasn’t like other people, and I think when you’re an undiagnosed autistic person - like Reed probably is - there’s that feeling of “something is wrong with me” when you don’t fit in 😔)

The final night before Galactus comes, and Reed and Sue are in bed with their baby son cherishing these perhaps last moments together 🥺😭

Ben going to visit that woman (I think her name is Rachel?) at the synagogue and her complimenting his beard, saying it makes him look distinguished 🥹

I could feel the vibrations of Galactus walking when I was at the cinema and I wasn’t even in an IMAX screening 😭

So they use Franklin in his “bullet proof water proof fire proof etc” carrier to bait Galactus into coming into range of teleport thing, then Johnny blinds him with fire, Reed quickly switches the carrier with an empty one, and Johnny flies Franklin up to the Baxter Building to stay with H.E.R.B.I.E. (Who is clearly the best babysitter ever omg)

It’s not a bad plan as such but like…they know Galactus can scan things, right? He was able to scan their ship earlier and see Franklin in-utero, did they not think he’d notice the baby carrier being empty suddenly or that he’d scan the buildings nearby after?

^This is exactly what happens obviously lol

I love that Galactus called them “clever bugs” because that’s literally what they are compared to him - little bugs 😭

Galactus flinging Ben into outer space and Johnny flying up to save him 🥺

Not Galactus stretching Reed to beyond his limit 😭 I thought we were about to have a repeat of the MOM Reed Richards fate Jesus Christ-

“WHAT TIME IS IT BEN?” “NOT RIGHT NOW, JOHNNY” “WHAT TIME IS IT, BEN?!? SAY IT, BEN! SAY IT!!!” - ASDFGHJKL HE IS SO INSUFFERABLE I LOVE HIM

^Does Joseph have a clause in his contract stating he has to scream in all of his projects? 😭 Stranger Things, Gladiator, AQPDO, Warfare, F4…The man is a SCREAMER, his vocal cords must be TIRED.

Galactus smashes through the upper building to get to Franklin and OH MY GOD IS H.E.R.B.I.E. OKAY?!? 😭 NOT H.E.R.B.I.E.!!!

Sue truly said “alright men are useless, let me show them how it’s done” lol

^that’s obviously a joke, she didn’t say that

Sue overexerting herself to push Galactus towards the teleportation thing, Ben knocking out the supports of a building Galactus tried to grab onto, Reed turning on the device and quickly swinging up to grab Franklin, I love their teamwork

The fact it looks like they did but but before the teleportation thing closes Galactus reaches through, and Sue passes out because she’s overdone it and actually straight up drained herself 😭

“Tell Franklin his Uncle Johnny loves him” - EXCUSE ME DONT YOU FUCKING DARE-

It’s the way Johnny looks at his watch, sees they have 10 seconds before the portal closes, and decides he’s going to sacrifice himself for his nephew 😭 he loves his little nephew so much-

Silver Surfer knocking Johnny out of the sky when he goes to sacrifice himself and then flying straight into Galactus, sacrificing herself instead to knock him back in and save the planet because Johnny made her have a change of heart 😭

Reed does CPR and mouth to mouth on Sue but she’s not breathing and doesn’t have a heartbeat, and he can’t bring her back?!? What- What do you mean she actually fucking DIED?!?

Honestly seeing the team cry over her - Reed losing his wife, Ben losing one of his dearest friends, Johnny losing his big sister - was so heartbreaking oh my god

Franklin crying and screaming until Reed puts him on Sue’s chest 😭 it’s obvious, I knew what was going to happen, but still I nearly gasped when Franklin’s eyes glowed and Sue came back like he straight up resurrected his own mother?!?

It flashes to a year later and the team are getting ready to go on the Ted Gilbert show - and Ted Gilbert has his assistant give them a little playsuit for Franklin with the number 5 on it 💀

“He wants Franklin to wear it and have it on in one minute” // Reed and Sue: …NO.

Johnny pretending to eat baby Franklin and playing with him was THE cutest thing oh my GOD 😭 he’s such a good uncle 🥹

Reed is the smartest man on Earth, Ben is the strongest, Johnny is the hottest, they are three of the best scientists in the entire world… and yet the three of them together couldn’t figure out how to fit the baby seat into the Fantasticar 💀

Sue just standing there with Franklin all bemused and waiting for them to get the thing in was SO funny oh my god, it reminded me of that meme during the F4 press tour where it was like “Vanessa & her three boys” and that cartoon of someone with three feral people on harnesses 😅

^This is how you know they’re all perfect casting lmfao

That mid credit scene of Sue reading The Hungry Caterpillar to 4 year old Franklin was so sweet 🥹

So then Sue is like “you want the other book don’t you?” And Franklin nods so she gets up, H.E.R.B.I.E. then gets out Charles Darwin’s “The Descent of Man” book?!? And Sue is like “no we had that one yesterday” 💀

DOCTOR DOOM IN FRONT OF FRANKLIN?!? 😲 GET AWAY FROM THE CHILD-

There’s kind of an end credit scene at the very end, but it’s literally just the opening credits of the F4 cartoon they have in-universe (I’m not sure if it’s one for an actual in real life cartoon show) and then H.E.R.B.I.E.’s hand appears and turns it off

It was amazing, 11/10, I want to rewatch it again and I want to do it at Odeon in IMAX because they’re giving out bag tags on opening weekend 😭 I’m at work on Sunday and Trans Pride is Saturday but we’ll see!

I’m admittedly a little annoyed that Avengers Doomsday and the sequel to that are the next time we’ll see the F4, like I’m sorry but I’m done with Avengers 😭 especially since given how many cast members are in the Avengers film, barely any of them will have substantial screentime quite frankly. It’s not that I don’t love other Marvel characters because I do, I loved Thunderbolts so much, but putting so many characters together in a film like they’re going to in Avengers Doomsday doesn’t give any characters decent screentime or storylines. I’d honestly love if they just kept doing films like Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four as individual stories.

#the fantastic four: first steps #fantastic four #pedro pascal #vanessa kirby #joseph quinn #ebon moss bachrach #marvel #reed richards #sue storm #johnny storm #ben grimm #mr fantastic #invisible woman #human torch #the thing

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