I rewatched it recently, but I'm still excited to share my thoughts about First Steps! Instead of liveblogging, however, I'll simply separate my thoughts into sections about each character plus the plot, action and themes!:
Reed Richards is probably my favorite character in this movie, and someone I am extremely excited to see more of in the future. He reminds me of how Tony could be in Iron Man 1 and 3: Someone desperately trying to protect the world and the people he loves, so much so that he often hurts them because of this. His anxieties, worries, and hatred of not knowing what to do were incredibly compelling, especially because of Pedro's soft spoken portrayal. The old Reed was extremely confident, charismatic and charming, a pure 1950's-1960's dad type, the old type of masculine hero, something you'd see get parodied on Venture Bros. now. This Reed feels a lot more Intune with modern sensibilities while retaining that "I MUST be right" air. He feels very... Broken. When he says there's always been something wrong with him, you don't find it exaggerated or fake. You can see that this is a man who's actually really good at ONE thing (he can't even drive), and he's desperate to use it right. This is a Reed who would have joined the Illuminati, made Ultron or found a council of Reeds, not out of arrogance but out of pure desperation. I don't know if I want to hug him or fear him, but that's what makes him so fascinating. I'm curious if Doom will be presented like that a bit at first, to trick us, before the true selfish evil is revealed. Regardless, I love Pedro's performance. It's extremely gentle and never falls into any action hero tropes. When he tries to save Sue from dying, it's heartbreaking. Personally, his scenes with Franklin hit the hardest. I swear you can feel the love and fear in every word out of his mouth. They nailed it.
Sue is often hailed as the main character of the movie, which I'm not QUITE sure is true? It's very much an ensemble piece, and I feel like Reed is the main character but Sue is the main hero, if that makes any sense. Like, if Reed is the Tony, Sue is the Cap. She's delivering the inspiring speeches, she's steadfast and true, she's the heart and he's the brains. It's clear from the opening scene that Sue keeps this family together, when Reed can't even find the iodine while Sue retains her composure at having Franklin. In essence, the entire movie is about a family adapting to a baby WHILE also fighting a terrible threat, and Sue is the reason they don't all collapse. Still, she's allowed her fragile moments, which I love to. When she screams at Reed for his plan, turns invisible, then calms down with him without saying a word, I really do adore that. There's no need for a big, dramatic apology scene. We know he's sorry, we know she knows he's right, it's played as a perfect domestic moment. From that alone we can tell these two have been together for years. Sue's big hero moment at the end is also incredibly awesome, as she stops Galactus with pure maternal strength, while the rest of her family support her. They even made her fake death work out, damn it. Of course, her speech is the best part, in my opinion. It's at that moment when you really feel what the movie is about, and why it's honestly so inspiring. This and Superman really got us all feeling hopeful.
Johnny was a huge surprise for me, in the best way! I was expecting the usual dumbass Johnny stuff, and instead we got an incredibly fascinating character, one who seems to know he's not nearly as special as the others (in his mind at least), one who wants to go back to space because that's when he was at his best, one who goes from wanting adventure to being the one to make the sacrifice play, if it weren't for Shalla-Bal. I think, for the first time in a movie, Johnny felt actually charming AND sweet, instead of a sex icon. He felt like the Johnny from the comics, a kid with wide eyes and a big heart. Him figuring out her language still kills me, and I think he's the most underrated part of the movie. I NEED to see him and Peter interact NOW.
Ben is probably our least utilised member, but I honestly don't mind? We have so many things to juggle here, not everyone can have an arc, and we've had "Thing Angst" in 3 movies before this. Thing can have that arc when he moves into the 19999 earth, or heck, he can have a new thing to do! He's a far more layered character who doesn't need to go back to the sad well every single time, so I'm happy he just gets to be a charming presence here. I swear I feel such a smile everytime he's on screen, especially when he smiles. The CGI is immaculate and he feels like an incredibly warm presence. Yes, OG Thing from 2005 is probably still the most accurate character, but I love Ebon's version greatly, and I can't wait to see more of him!
Franklin is precious. That's it.
Okay but fr I wanna see where all that goes! Is he gonna have crazy powers? Is he bringing Valeria at one point? Is he a mutant? What is going to HAPPEN?
I LOVED the Silver Surfer here, way more than usual? I know that many people were stupidly annoyed by it not being Norin Rad, but that can always be another movie! This version of the Surfer felt so tragic and compelling, her visual look was GORGEOUS, and her arc with Johnny felt really moving, emotional? When the music swells as she sacrifices herself, it's just... Wow. I really, REALLY love how they handled her, and I still find her opening lines about Galactus chilling.
Galactus was EXACTLY what he had to be. Yes, there wasn't a HUGE fight like some of us expected, but, truthfully, how COULD there be? Hit him too hard, and he looks weak. Besides, the FF are heroes of science, brains, thought. I far prefer how they beat him with hearts and minds rather than with a fist fight. That's far more inspiring, to be honest. Plus, dude was scary and a giant purple man, fuck yeah. I LOVE when he says "Clever little bugs", that's Thanos esque to me.
The world building in general is so appreciated, that it hurts this is the last we'll see (mostly) of Earth 828. I do think that Secret Wars will combine all the timelines and give us some of that awesome look, but still. It's so fun to spend some time in this world, and it does give me hope that more AU stories like this could happen in shows or movies.
Honestly, I don't know what else much to say, I just REALLY love this movie! I hate that it got drowned out a bit by Superman, and while I agree that movie was excellent, this one was just as fun and inspiring, imo! Can't wait to see them in Doomsday!
Up next I have 3 x-men movies (Days of Future Past, Origins Wolverine and Apocalypse), so I'll see you after those when I have some What If Episodes to cover!
baratheonpilled
areudirty
turnnoffyourmind
ellievsbear
snowghoul
jbbartram-illu
theartofmadeline
dailybridgerton
