I grew up reading Marvel comics, but never really got into the Fantastic Four. Always just a little too clean cut and perfect, when compared against the cool outcast kids in the X-Men, so I never got particularly invested in the characters.

I’d watch the last 3 attempts at bringing the Fantastic Four to the big screen and they ranged from mediocre to plain bad, so did nothing there to really whet the appetite.

Additionally, Marvel Studios has also been on somewhat of a mediocre run over its last few films. No absolute clunkers. But outside of Deadpool & Wolverine, nothing to really write home about either, although Thunderbolts showed the odd flicker of life.

Which is all to say that I didn’t expect this film to be anywhere near as good as it was. It’s a real return to form for the MCU.

That’s not because of what the film does; it’s still broadly a fairly generic Marvel superhero beat-the-enemy-of the-day kind a film. There are no wild storytelling tricks here, but the story itself is landed solidly enough.

It’s more abut how the the film does what it does, and how it feels. The set, costume and other design, with its 1960’s retro-futuristic feel, is very well done and gives the film a very unique feel amongst the Marvel oeuvre. The casting is pretty much spot-on (and yes, it does seem as though Pedro Pascal can do no wrong at the moment) and the relationships and chemistry between the main cast – who are meant to be family – actually feels like family.

There’s plenty of for long-term fans of Marvels First Family to be happy with, the explicit calls to baby Franklins future potential, nods to the Future Foundation, a host of Golden-Age villains making cameos and, most importantly, Galactus. A giant, purple-armoured cosmic behemoth of unfathomable in full Kirby-esque regalia.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Marvel film without the inevitable post-credit scene tying it into the rest of the upcoming Marvel movie slate (and the first onscreen appearance of a certain Dr. Doom) but it’s the fact that the rest of the film is so devoid of these tie-ins and doesn’t require any prior knowledge on the part of the viewer that make this film feel so much fresher.

All in all, a very welcome return to form that has me genuinely intrigued by what’s coming next.