The whole design of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to be interconnected, so it was only in the early films like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk where you didn’t feel like you had to study previous films to fully understand what the current film was about. In recent years, that unified idea has turned into a deterrent, especially since the quality of the films has gone into a steep decline.

Much like in Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps joins the quartet’s story as it’s already in progress, with the four astronauts-turned-superheroes - Dr. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) - adored by the public in a retro-futuristic New York City that definitely doesn’t seem to be the one that exists in other MCU movies.

When the group learns from a visitor called the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) that a planet-eating giant called Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) is threatening Earth, they spring into action. But when Galactus says that the only thing that will prevent him from destroying the planet is for the pregnant Sue to give up her baby to him, it puts the foursome in the supremely awkward position of putting themselves before the public they usually serve.

Directed by Matt Shakman and written by four credited writers, the film is as much a family drama as it is a superhero showcase. Consequently, the emotion in the story doesn’t come through its CGI battles, but rather the interplay between the tight group (Reed and Sue are married, Johnny is her brother, and Ben is Reed’s best friend). Most MCU movies prefer to show and not tell, but this film is dialogue-heavy, asking audiences to - gasp! - actually care about its core characters.

On the action side, there’s actually relatively little to be had. There’s an early montage showing them taking on villains like Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser) and other sporadic sequences, but the big finale is the only time the team lets loose with their complete powers. With Sue discovering she’s pregnant in the very first scene, the focus of much of the film is the fate of the baby, not how they will defeat the bad guy of the week.

In an homage-to-the-homage, the look of the film - which pairs 1950s/’60s elements with scientifically/architecturally advanced features - will be familiar to anyone who loved The Incredibles (which, clearly, got inspiration from the comic book version of the Fantastic Four). There’s a never-ending buffet of visuals to appreciate, from the gadgets that Reed invents to the mixture of building styles to the throwback clothing. Even the score by Michael Giacchino connects the films, as the composer got his first big movie break with The Incredibles.

The film does get a little loose in its storytelling, with even non-analytical viewers likely able to poke holes in the Fantastic Four’s various plans. But the movie’s other strengths override the story’s faults, keeping it moving at a brisk pace. It doesn’t get bogged down in minutiae like how the group came to get their powers; there are only brief mentions of their origins, showing that the filmmakers trust viewers to figure things out as the story unfolds.

The four heroes are well cast, as Pascal, Kirby, Moss-Bachrach, and Quinn settle into a nice rhythm almost right away. The story relies on the group feeling like they know each other intimately, and there’s never a moment where that’s in doubt. Ineson’s voice is suitably menacing as Galactus, while Garner and Hauser each get moments to shine.

The mid-credits scene - a staple of the MCU - hints at future films, but for a brief, glorious moment, fans are getting a reprieve with this film, which manages to both make the MCU interesting again and become the first Fantastic Four film to actually work. Instead of making viewers worry about having to do homework on characters or stories, The Fantastic Four: First Steps delivers a fun time at the movies where nothing matters except what’s being shown on screen.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25.