As Reed, Pascal is convincing as the world’s smartest man who is nevertheless overwhelmed by the irrational flood of thoughts and emotions that accompany fatherhood. As written, Sue is a somewhat thankless character, but Kirby manages to add depth to the Invisible Woman with subtle performance choices.

Pedro Pascal leads a cast of fine actors in yet another sluggish attempt to bring the Marvel comic heroes to life.

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." Credit: Marvel Studios / 20th Century Studios First Steps functions both as an adaptation of a thus-far hard to translate roster (it's the fourth go-around for these characters since 1994),