I have to admit that I groaned when Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps opened with a title card informing me that it was taking place on “Earth-828.”

You have to understand that all of the multiverse nonsense is the one of the main things that led to me losing interest in both the Marvel and the DC films.  The idea that there are multiple Earths out there and they’ve all got different versions of the same heroes and villains just feels incredibly lazy to me.  It’s like a get out of jail free card.  If you make a bad movie, you can just claim that it was took place on another Earth.  If a character dies on one Earth, it doesn’t really matter because there’s another version out there.  What are the actual stakes when there’s a million different Earths to choose from?  For that matter, if I’m presumably living on Earth-1, why should I care about Earth-828?  Earth-828 has nothing to do with me.

Imagine my surprise, then, when one of the best things about the film was that it turned out to be that it was taking place on an alternate Earth, one that mixes the culture of the 1960s with advanced technology and a retro-futuristic style.  This is a rare Marvel film that is enjoyable just to look at.  The production design is top-notch, mixing the past with the future in a very playful way.  As much as I dislike the whole multiverse thing, Earth-828 does seem like it would be a fun place to visit.

Earth-828 has advanced technology because of its only team of super heroes, the Fantastic Four.  Fortunately, Marvel seems to understand that 1) origin stories tend to be bland in general and 2) viewers have already had to sit through two disappointing and presumably unrelated Fantastic Four films that centered around them getting their powers.  So, First Steps opens with the team having already taken their trip into space, the one that led to them returning with altered DNA.  Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) can stretch himself.  His wife, Susan Storm Richards (Vanessa Kirby), can turn invisible and knock things around with …. invisibility rays, I guess.  Susan’s brother, Johnny (Joseph Quinn), can burst into flame and fly.  (Wow, DNA is amazing!)  And their friend, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), has skin that has been transformed into a layer of orange rock.  Ben can knock holes in walls but he can’t seem to get the world to understand that there is an intelligent and kind-hearted soul underneath the fearsome exterior.  The citizens of Earth-828 are worshipful of the Fantastic Four and the team has ushered in an era of peace.

When a naked silver woman on a surfboard (Julia Garner) appears in Times Square, she announces that Earth has been selected as the latest feast for Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a giant creature who is so powerful that he must consume planets in order to satisfy his appetite.  Galactus offers to spare Earth but only if he is given Reed and Susan’s baby, Franklin.  Galactus says that Franklin possesses the “power cosmic,” which is something that I assume we’re going to be hearing a lot about over the next few MCU films.

As far as later phase Marvel productions are concerned, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an entertaining-enough film.  Vanessa Kirby is a bit on the dull side as Sue but it should be noted that, in all of the various film versions of The Fantastic Four, Sue has always been the least interesting member of the group.  Pascal is likable as Reed, even if his stretchy superpower feels a bit silly.  Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn both give strong performances, with Quinn especially bringing some depth to a character who, in lesser hands, could come across as being shallow.  Ralph Ineson is a properly intimidating villain and Julia Garner has just the right amount of sad-eyed intensity for the role of the morally ambiguous Silver Surfer.  The film looks great, the retro style holds the viewer’s attention, and there are a few moments of genuine wit that harken back to the best moments of the 1st phase of the MCU.  That said, it’s hard to ignore that this is yet another Marvel movie where the whole thing ends with a fairly predictable battle and a healthy dose of Dues Ex Machina.  The film is entertaining but it definitely sticks to the established MCU formula.

The film ends with a mid-credits scene and a promise that the story will continue in Avengers: Doomsday.  I wonder what Earth that one will take place on.