Set on a retro-futuristic alternate Earth, “First Steps” allows the story of the Fantastic Four to play out unencumbered by ongoing storylines or characters from other movies and TV shows, making it the most accessible and straightforward MCU movie in years.

Is the new “Fantastic Four” movie fantastic? No, and not everyone will love the amount of downtime in this one. But good is good enough for a Marvel superhero movie these days.

Critics seem to at least agree that Fantastic Four is a visual feast and way better than the first three movies Fox made. As someone burnt out on the MCU since Thor: Love and Thunder, I’ll take clearing the low bar over getting walloped in the face by one higher up. Here’s what other reviewers are saying:

Set in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, the film presents a new iteration of Marvel's First Family: Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

The acclaimed movie scored the top preview of the year to date and the best since fellow Marvel superhero pic 'Deadpool & Wolverine' exactly a year ago.

Early reviews for The Fantastic Four: First Steps are in: It’s a reboot worth watching.

The dust has yet to settle on Marvel’s latest MCU entry, but Fantastic Four: First Steps is off to a strong start this weekend. In terms of critical reception, it’s doing about the same as James Gunn’s Superman, at least as far as Rotten Tomatoes is concerned.