In November 2019, Trank took to the movie review social media site Letterboxd, where he left an uncommonly honest two-out-of-five star appraisal of his film which, while tinged with regret, was far from dismissive.

The best thing about First Steps is the aesthetic. It’s far and away my favorite part of this film, and that’s a problem because as much as I do enjoy a solid retrofuturistic aesthetic, it’s not enough to make a mediocre movie worth watching. This is all style over substance.

First Steps, with the general vibe being it's the best Marvel movie in years, I decided to give the Marvel universe another whirl. And, well, erm, really is this the best Marvel can offer? Cards on the table,

First Steps gives a spectacular new story about Marvel's First Family with a bold, breathtaking superhero blockbuster.

Some superhero movies go for real-world relevance. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" succeeds by doubling down on whimsical, wide-eyed wonder.

As Reed, Pascal is convincing as the world’s smartest man who is nevertheless overwhelmed by the irrational flood of thoughts and emotions that accompany fatherhood. As written, Sue is a somewhat thankless character, but Kirby manages to add depth to the Invisible Woman with subtle performance choices.

The latest Marvel film, starring Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, is a charmingly retro adventure that focuses on the strongest power of them all—a mother’s love.

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.

First Steps features incredibly visually stimulating and nostalgia-inducing retrofuturistic aesthetics, but falls flat plot-wise as it follows a generic superhero movie formula

On this week's episode of IndieWire's "Screen Talk" podcast, we review Matt Shakman's Marvel needle-reset "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" and parse the latest fall festival announcements.