After the third attempt, Marvel has found a way of making a half-decent film about Marvel’s first family. By sidestepping the origin story drama that surrounds these heroes, the film instead focuses on their toughest mission yet: defeating the planet-destroying Galactus.

Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) make up the Fantastic Four. Reed and Sue discover they’re having a baby, and Reed is anxious about whether the baby will be genetically altered, like they have been. Deep into their pregnancy, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) visits their planet to warn them that Galactus is coming and there’s nothing they can do to stop him from destroying their world. The Fantastic Four visit Galactus, and he offers them a deal they can’t accept.

The Fantastic Four marks a bold new step for Marvel, which has steadily become blander with its output since Endgame. Recently, there has been an anxiety in the brand to tie everything together, and a lack of polish in their screenplays. In this new alternate universe version of the 1960s, however, there is a freshness in the retro-futurism aesthetic from the production design team. There are flying cars and fun little robots, but at the same time, they still have CRT television sets and space-race age optimism for astronauts. It feels like the first time since Guardians of the Galaxy that Marvel has transported the audience into a brand-new world that feels monumentally different from the conventional universe we’re used to seeing. All of the below-the-line departments have come together to make this as seamless as possible — the costuming is a real highlight, especially Grimm’s outfits, which elevate his character much more than the previous iterations, who just had him naked.

The first act of the film is strong; in the space of five minutes, you have all of the information you need about the background and creation of the Fantastic Four and the relationships between each other and the public. The banter between all of the characters works, and it makes you think about how the filmmakers of the previous films got it wrong for so long. Once they meet Galactus and the second act begins, I do feel that the writing and the structure fall off the cliff a little bit. Having conflict between these characters isn’t as compelling and well-written as when they banter, especially given how close they were at the beginning. The third act isn’t much better, and it includes a plot point that can only be described as alluding to the second coming of Christ…

One thing that the film gets perfectly right is the casting of all the characters. Pascal is a brilliant Reed, bringing this mid-Atlantic accent and a believability of his genius in his performance. Kirby is a good choice for Sue Storm, a protective mother and powerful being — the film also gives her a great monologue in the middle. Quinn as Johnny Storm is inspired casting, he has the comedic timing and the boyish charm to carry this character better than anyone has before. The same can be said about Moss-Bachrach, who we needed even more of, and I look forward to seeing how his character develops during future Marvel films.

Overall, it’s certainly much better than the previous attempts at a Fantastic Four film, but if the script were a little better, it could have been up there with the best Marvel has ever done. The design of the film is immaculate, and the cast phenomenal, but perhaps the end result was a little overworked.