‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Won’t Fix The Big Marvel Problem

Within the first 15 minutes of “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” members of the superhero team gain their powers, save New York, defeat a supervillain and broker world peace. And that’s all before the title card.

No, this isn’t a breathless recap of some preexisting movie you were supposed to watch ahead of time. Instead, it’s from an in-universe TV special celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Fantastic Four — who are already established as the beloved protectors of Earth 828, a retro-futuristic world with no direct connection to the one populated by Marvel’s Avengers — when “First Steps” begins.

This clever conceit allows Marvel to sneakily bypass an origin story we’ve seen onscreen (twice) before. In the process, it reveals a streak of indecisiveness that courses throughout the film and keeps Marvel Studios’ latest outing from ever achieving greatness.

From start to finish, director Matt Shakman’s take on Marvel’s groundbreaking First Family loudly rejects and then quietly incorporates the peskier elements allegedly holding back the superhero movie genre. The result is a film that at times feels aimless and empty, despite being packed to the brim with great acting, complex characters, gorgeous visuals and a sweeping score. The pieces are all there, but without a clear mission statement, they never quite add up to a memorable movie.

With their well-trod origins (a trip to space, cosmic radiation, superpowers, etc.) out of the way, “First Steps” opens on a world at peace under the watchful eyes of its superhero saviors. But it doesn’t take long for chaos to unravel this happy status quo.

First, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) reveals to her husband Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) that she’s pregnant. Soon afterward, a being from outer space (Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer) arrives, heralding the arrival of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a primordial goliath who plans to swallow the Earth whole. When diplomatic attempts fail, the Fantastic Four must come up with a plan to save the planet — without sacrificing their morality in the process.

While Sue and Reed form the emotional core of the movie, it wouldn’t be the Fantastic Four without two more heroes: Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm/The Human Torch (Joseph Quinn).

The group dynamic between all four characters is layered…