Rewatching The Fantastic Four: First Steps on Disney+ isn’t the breezy nostalgia trip many fans might expect. What once felt like a promising fresh start for Marvel’s first family now lands differently when viewed with a bit of distance. The excitement surrounding its release has cooled, and what remains is a clearer view of the movie’s strengths, stumbles, and the expectations it never fully met. There’s much to unpack when revisiting what’s meant to be a new start for the MCU.
On a second viewing, the movie’s pacing becomes one of the most noticeable challenges. What initially passed as energetic now reveals itself as uneven. Critical emotional beats are rushed through while the story lingers too long on scenes that add little to the story. It’s this kind of imbalance that’s easy to overlook in the theater but difficult to ignore from the comfort of one’s own home. While revisiting The Fantastic Four: First Steps has its charm, the missed opportunities become clear on every rewatch.
10
The “First Steps” Title is All-Too-Literal
The Movie is an Origin Story Walkathon
Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, and Ebon-Moss Bacharach as Ben Grimm in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’, standing in front of the Fantasticar.Image via Marvel Studios
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is almost comically on the nose when rewatching the movie, because the plot spends so much time on the team’s earliest developments that it really does feel like watching characters learn to walk. The movie sinks deeply into exposition, showing each hero stumbling through the basics of their powers, and the pacing reinforces this by moving scene-to-scene like checkpoints on a very literal journey. It’s not that the title is misleading, but that it might be too honest.
What makes it even more amusing on rewatch is how viewers can almost map the movie’s emotional beats to steps in a tutorial level. The characters test boundaries, make rookie mistakes, and share awkward training-montage moments that feel more like a guided onboarding experience than a narrative arc. It creates an odd charm, but it’s also a reminder for fans that the movie is almost entirely setup for things it never fully delivers.
9
Reed’s Science Rant Hits Different on a Rewatch
None of it Matters After the Third Act
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps standing in front of some interesting technology.
Image via Marvel Studios
When Reed (Pedro Pascal) launches into his big scientific monologue, it initially plays like the intellectual heart of the movie. This moment is where the movie wants viewers to believe it’s built on smart, grounded ideas. On rewatch, though, knowing the plot, it’s clear that the writers put effort into creating complex jargon and theoretical weight, only for it all to evaporate the moment the final battle nukes this story. It becomes unintentionally funny, like watching someone passionately explain instructions for a machine that will get smashed immediately.
The irony is that the scene still works as a character moment in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, even if it collapses as a plot device. Reed’s enthusiasm and confidence shine through in a way that showcases his personality more successfully than the rest of the movie does. Unfortunately, once the third act basically throws away every scientific rule established earlier, the importance of the rant becomes cosmetic only.
8
The Disney+ “Skip Credits” Mocks Viewers
Especially Since the Post-Credits Scene is a Mere 18 Seconds Long
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.Image via Marvel Studios.
Seeing the “Skip Credits” button pop up on Disney+ creates this weirdly mocking tone, because the service knows exactly what fans are waiting for. It’s a reminder that the movie is following the MCU structure by muscle reflex, performing the ritual of a post-credits scene, whether or not it has anything meaningful to add. Then, because the platform automatically highlights the button, it’s almost daring viewers to skip the wait entirely.
Seeing this button at the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is especially funny knowing what the end credits scene actually is. After a buildup of full scrolling credits, viewers get a blink-and-you-miss-it button that barely qualifies as teasing anything substantial. It feels like a contractual obligation where viewers are reminded that while the MCU will technically deliver a post-credit scene, it doesn’t have to matter. The disproportion makes the whole ritual feel both tongue-in-cheek and mildly insulting.
7
The Pacing Suddenly Feels Faster
But Only Because Fans Know Which Parts to Emotionally Prepare For
H.E.R.B.I.E. in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.Image via Marvel Studios
On first viewing, The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ pacing can feel uneven since it’s slow in some areas, jumpy in others. But when rewatching, it makes sense that viewers’ brains would subconsciously fast-forward through memory. Those who are rewatching already know when the emotional beats hit, so the filler sections feel shorter. The result is a strange sensation where the movie feels better paced, not because it actually is, but because your anticipation reorganizes the rhythm.
This effect also highlights how predictable The Fantastic Four: First Steps is once its structure is familiar. Those who have already watched it will naturally be mentally bracing for specific scenes, including the transformation, the fallouts, the big confrontation, so the lead-ups feel quicker and the transitions smoother. It creates an illusion of improved pacing, one that the movie doesn’t earn but benefits from simply due to viewer expectation.
6
Galactus’ Introduction Feels Even Shorter
We Hardly Get to Know Him
Galactus towers over New York City in the first official trailer for ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’.
Image via Marvel Studios
Galactus’ (Ralph Ineson) arrival in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is startlingly abrupt. It’s almost as if the movie is sprinting to introduce him before it remembers it has other plot obligations. The theatrical cut’s pacing already felt tight, but streaming makes it even more obvious how quickly the film moves from “mysterious cosmic disturbance” to “planet-eater spotted at the edge of the solar system.” Without the benefit of a big screen and built-up anticipation, the scene almost plays like a compressed recap of a much bigger sequence.
The abruptness of Galactus’ arrival also emphasizes how little emotional or atmospheric groundwork is laid before he appears. When watched at home, where distractions are easier, and you’re not locked in with theatrical sound design, the scene loses some force. Instead of reveling in dread and wonder, viewers are suddenly thrust into the threat with barely a moment to breathe. The result is a missed opportunity to showcase what a powerful force this character should be.
5
Galactus’ Plan Still Makes Little Sense
Even With the Benefit of Hindsight
Silver Surfer floating before Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.Image via Marvel Studios
Even after multiple viewings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Galactus’ motivations remain muddled. The movie hints at cosmic hunger, balance of the universe, and some vaguely defined chain reaction he’s supposedly trying to prevent, but none of it comes together cohesively. The script seems torn between portraying him as an elemental force of nature, beyond morality or reason, and a strategic villain whose actions can be debated or outsmarted.
The end result of Galactus’ unclear motivation is a confusing narrative where he is neither unknowable nor understandable. This is especially evident in a franchise that has always had an issue with telling consistent narratives with their villains. The explanations provided sound like first drafts of more complex ideas that never make it into the movie, leaving audiences to mentally fill in the gaps. Even worse, the heroes’ responses to his plan assume a level of clarity the script never actually provides.
4
All the Sequel Bait is Frustrating
There Might Not Be Payoff for Years
Sue holds her baby Franklin in front of an angry crowd in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.Image via Marvel Studios
On first watch of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the sequel setups felt exciting because of promises of larger cosmic conflicts, new MCU connections, and unresolved character arcs that hinted at big future payoffs. However, rewatching with the knowledge that the follow-up is years away turns those moments from thrilling to mildly irritating. Scenes that should feel like tantalizing cliffhangers instead feel like the movie has put off key moments that these characters could shine in.
This frustration is amplified on Disney+ because the pacing becomes more transparent. Suddenly, the movie’s detours, including mysterious artifacts, unnamed cosmic entities, and new characters introduced only to disappear, feel less like organic world-building and more like a checklist for future development. It’s hard not to feel a little teased when the movie takes such time to give a snapshot of narratives that might not be revisited for some time.
3
Many of the Scientific Explanations are Half-Baked at Best
It Pulls Viewers Right out of the Universe
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First StepsImage via Marvel Studios
Marvel science has always lived in the space between fun and absurd, but rewatching The Fantastic Four: First Steps exposes how thin some of these explanations really are. The rapid-fire techno-babble that might have passed by unnoticed in theaters becomes hilariously transparent when you’re on a couch, free to pause, and really able to think about what’s being said. Instead of grounding the plot, these scientific explanations feel like placeholders that were never rewritten for clarity.
Disney+ also removes the theatrical momentum that once helped many of these lines slide by. At home, the dialogue sits front and center, sometimes awkwardly so, making the pseudo-scientific leaps feel even more exaggerated. The characters deliver these explanations with absolute conviction, which only highlights how little sense they make once viewers pay attention. While the absurdity can be charming, it does make the movie’s attempts to sound “smart” land with less credibility on a rewatch.
2
Every Quip is Predictable
This Makes Them Less Funny and More Comforting
Joseph Quinn as Jhonny Storm in Fantastic Four
Image via Marvel Studios
One of the strangest issues that emerges when re-watching The Fantastic Four: First Steps is how quickly the movie’s quips lose their spark. On the first viewing, they may land as lightweight, Marvel-style banter, which is to say they’re fine, but nothing groundbreaking. However, on subsequent watches, the rhythm becomes so familiar that viewers can practically recite the jokes before they happen. This diminishes the humor with each viewing.
Although this can be quite jarring on a rewatch, the predictability of the quips makes them oddly comforting. Viewers, particularly long-time Marvel fans, know that there’s a particular charm in this repetitive humor. The quips may not generate many laughs anymore, but they create a sense of easy familiarity, making this the Marvel equivalent of a sitcom rerun. Unfortunately, this comfort comes at a cost. It highlights just how carefully manufactured the movie’s humor is, how little character-specific wit exists beneath the surface.
1
Ben Grimm Still Doesn’t Get Enough Screen Time
It Hurts More Every Time
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Image via Marvel Studios
Ben Grimm’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) minimal presence in The Fantastic Four: First Steps stands out immediately, but it becomes actively painful on rewatch, especially once it becomes clear how grounded and emotionally rich he is as a character. He’s the heart of the team, the human tether in a story filled with science experiments and cosmic anomalies, yet the movie keeps pushing him to the margins. With each rewatch, it becomes clearer how much storytelling potential is left untouched simply because the movie refuses to give him space.
What makes Ben’s limited screen time even more frustrating is the fact that he’ll get a moment of genuine vulnerability or a flash of personality before the story rushes back to the more conventional arcs centered on the other three. This imbalance becomes even sharper when it becomes clear that his absence weakens the team dynamic the film claims to prioritize. Without more Ben, the emotional stakes feel thinner, the conflicts feel less grounded, and the group chemistry lacks the weight it should have.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release Date
July 25, 2025
Runtime
115 minutes
Director
Matt Shakman
Writers
Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Kat Wood, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
