The Fantastic Four: First Steps (in theaters)

It's better than Marvel’s previous attempts at bringing these superheroes to the big screen.

Of course, given the previous attempts, that's not saying much. And “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” feels like the definition of a safe swing at bat, meant to avoid terrible but not nearly strong enough to be great. It's more style than substance, full of “Jetsons”-style retro-futurism and completely lacking in the deeper, more powerful emotions that leave you glued to the screen. The family cares about each other, and that's great, but you barely get a sense of who they are as people beyond their roles in the family. It’s like it was made by people who had seen a comic book once, maybe even read one, but never spent any further time with the characters.

The trailers outline the plot of the movie pretty clearly, and the newsreel at the beginning catches you up on the Fantastic Four’s backstory. It's set in an alternate reality from the rest of the MCU, and though it requires no background knowledge as a result it’s definitely setting up the MCU’s next big multi-character crossovers. Maybe that's why it never feels like the stakes are huge, even though Galactus is threatening to eat a planet.

The characters are relatively flat, but there are still a few standouts. Ebon RoMs-Bachrach brings a lot of nuance to Ben Grimm, particularly with his voice. Vanessa Kirby is also excellent as Sue, brimming with a lot of the complicated feelings that come with new motherhood.

Taken all together, it’s not a bad movie. But it's not the movie I was hoping for.

Grade: Two and a half stars

Drop (Peacock)

Nothing is scarier than a blind date, especially when potential homicide is involved.

Watching it, though, can be pretty entertaining. “Drop,” the latest from director Christopher Landon, is an exhilarating one-location mystery that has fun with several classic clichés. It’s far less irreverent than Landon’s other work (the script is by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach) but he keeps the tension high, the twists plentiful, and the visuals interesting. Add in a great cast and you have the best terrible date you ever got to watch from a distance.

The title comes from two sources – the AirDrop that tells Violet (Meghann Fahy) that she needs to kill her date or her son and sister will die, and the very, very high skyscraper restaurant all this is happening in. It feels like a Chekov’s gun from the moment they step inside, but it’s hardly the only element of the space the movie has fun playing with. Everything from reflective surfaces to the in-house pianist gets a turn, and no matter what you never forget how isolated and high up they are.

Fahy is fantastic as Violet, expressive enough to convey a ton of emotion and nuance in quick moments. It helps her feel both well-rounded and relatable, which is important to help us stay on her side through everything that happens. She’s also got great chemistry with her date, played by Brandon Sklenar, which adds even higher stakes to the question of whether she’ll be able to make herself kill him.

I won’t answer the question of whether she manages it. The best dates need to have a few surprises.

Grade: Three stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at [email protected].