Fantastic Four: First Steps: The Marvel Family? Much better, thanks (***)

The story is well-known. The Fantastic Four were born in 1961 with the healthy intention of saving us all. Not just Marvel Comics, which was then at its lowest ebb, but also humanity as a whole from the almost usual threats: arrogance, abuse of power, testosterone-fueled exhibitionism, arrogance, and bad scripts. In the dysfunctional family composed of an invisible woman (here, the subconscious played a trick on her), a clever and, therefore, very flexible guy (good), an overly fiery young man (the metaphor seems obvious), and an individual as tender on the inside as he was rocky on the outside (the best and most tortured, without a doubt), they were all superheroes, but less so. They were, in short, extraordinary men whose greatest power lay very close to their greatest weakness. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee perfectly read the signs of the times and created a myth worthy of it. Exactly.

Matt Shakman's Fantastic Four take up the original challenge, and, as they did back then, they too are hitting theaters with the mission of rescuing the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the utter apathy it currently finds itself in. Let's just say, to give a sneak preview of the result, that they succeed, and they do so without fanfare, aware that their heroes are what they are and more concerned with all the mistakes they need to avoid than with a spectacular solution to overwhelm the audience. And this, which may seem half-hearted, is actually the best possible news. It's not about imitating for the umpteenth time the murky, existential abysses of The Dark Knight à la Christopher Nolan and his Batman; nor about reestablishing the original essence of the comic from its foundations à la James Gunn and his recently released Superman ; nor about setting up a 30-ring circus in which to lose oneself à la the Russo brothers and their Avengers awaiting an imminent resurrection.

Now, things are much simpler. Shakman relies entirely on a dazzling staging set in an idealized 1960s infected with a contagious optimism. At times, the film breathes more the spirit of Star Trek than any other well-known saga. Fantastic Four: First Steps runs hand in hand with a script laid out in a straightforward manner that seems designed for contemplation rather than action in its most monstrous sense. Far from insisting once again on origins, the story now speaks of a late-term pregnancy and the fear of complications given the parents' genetic abnormalities. And so it goes until the voracious world-devouring Galactus sends his herald (a surprising Julia Garner) to further complicate the child's gestation.

As he did in WandaVision —the best Marvel has been able to do to date—Shakman plays with duplicate worlds; with classic television shows that replicate the forms of another, necessarily mythologized time; with comics transformed into elemental animated series; with the film itself as a space for representing the first superhero comics. Representation of representation. Without overdoing it, but taking great care to pamper the viewer's memory, what emerges is a film that is essentially evocation, mystery, and tale. Nothing more.

What's seductive is, as contradictory as it may seem, the explicit renunciation of enthusiasm. The special effects dazzle with their affection and respect for the imagination, without insisting on the ritual CGI retinal bleeding and leaving aside the very masculine salads of freestyle punches. And the same goes for a measured, non-invasive sense of humor, far removed from the glee only suitable for fans. It may seem naive, or just hallucinatory, but presenting a superhero story from the apparent (only apparent, the joke cost 200 million) humility of a pleasant family comedy is quite similar to replicating Kirby and Lee's original play.

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Directed by : Matt Shakman. Starring : Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner. Running Time : 130 minutes. Nationality : United States.