I left Fantastic Four: First Steps with the feeling of having watched a promising trailer stretched into a two-hour film. It looks good: the sixties retro-futurism is eye-catching, the production design is polished, and Michael Giacchino delivers an elegant score. But when it comes to heart, the movie falls flat. The script is so cautious it feels like it’s tiptoeing: it sets things up, hints, speeds up, and rarely delivers. It neither surprises nor excites. The cast does its job, but rarely shines. Pedro Pascal feels odd as Reed, more worried looks than a mind at work; Vanessa Kirby holds the drama with skill, Ebon Moss-Bachrach brings humanity to Ben, and Joseph Quinn adds some spark… occasionally. The cosmic threat is visually impressive, sure, but dramatically it weighs less than it should: the climax is serviceable, nothing more. The worst part is the drowsiness that creeps into the second act: scenes drag, jokes fall flat, and choices chase cheap applause instead of building tension. I get why some praise this “back to basics,” but to me the essence of the Fantastic Four is unleashed imagination, family using ingenuity, and set pieces full of ideas. Here, the wrapping is there, but the engine is missing.