Warning: mild spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps may be in play. Please keep that in mind before proceeding.
Dear friends, readers, and true premium format believers - welcome back! The cavalcade of 2025 movies has been a fruitful assortment of added bells and whistles, and now it’s The Fantastic Four’s turn to join the parade. Which means we must return to To 3D or Not To 3D, everyone’s favorite show, where we put you in the know on how to go!
Through a generous grant from ReedTech and the Future Foundation, I’m here to walk you through whether the 3D/4DX presentation is worth your hard-earned money, or if you’re better off buying a H.E.R.B.I.E. concession vessel of your own. If you want to know more about how this picture plays as a traditional narrative experience, you should check out our The Fantastic Four: First Steps review.
For those of you still with us, let’s slip on those polarized glasses and get fantastic with Marvel’s First Family of Heroes.
Overall Fit Score - 4/5
Surprisingly enough, premium formatting is a new frontier for this storied Marvel saga. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the first flick featuring this team to be a premium format experience, and that makes it a pretty natural fit for the various versions it sports. (Don’t forget, this was “Filmed for IMAX,” after all.) For my money, I’d say this is the best Marvel movie of the year - both in terms of the narrative and its flashy enhancements.
Overall Planning & Effort - 4/5
Love and Care translate into Planning and Effort in the world of 3D/4DX thrills. That’s something that is very much a part of this Fantastic Four voyage, as both sides of the house hum along rather well. Though, as you might expect, there are some aspects here and there that lag behind just a little bit, with one nemesis factor seeing a slight improvement.
3D Before The Window - 4/5
On the whole, the “Before the Window” portion of this 3D product is very solid, but stops short of flinch-inducing. The projection of items and characters out of the screen is well played, and holds up throughout the entirety of First Steps.
However, the most impressive shot is a scene where Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner) is flying towards the camera, with an extreme close-up on her face. It’s a very impressive image, which enhances a moment of third-act drama with great effect; similar to how No Time To Die's 3D presentation gave us a deeper look into Daniel Craig's facial structure.
3D Beyond The Window - 5/5
Spacefaring epics and superhero adventures both serve as potential launchpads for a 3D movie to show great depth. Whether it’s the farthest reaches of space or a crowd of New Yorkers on Earth-828 watching The Fantastic Four make first contact, the “Beyond the Window” segment of the film at hand holds its own in spectacular clarity.
Spatial reasoning is nice and crisp with the characters and environments on offer. I have to also highlight that Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) truly is the MVP of both Before and Beyond the Window, both sides taking advantage of her powers.
3D Brightness Score - 3/5
This may not come as a surprise to you, but the Brightness in this presentation took the usual hit that seems to come with 4DX. At least, that’s what I’ve observed with my auditorium of choice; so keep in mind that your mileage may vary depending on how your local moviehouse maintains its equipment.
You won’t have a problem making out the action, even in the depths of the ship that carries Galactus (Ralph Ineson), but there’s definitely room for the brightness to be bumped up - especially on such a vibrantly colored spectacle.
3D Glasses Off: 5/5
When you take your 3D glasses off, you might notice that things get so blurry you’d swear Sue was altering the image in front of you. That’s because there’s usually a huge amount of blur that goes into such a special version of something like The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Typically, the more blur there is, the more your image is being manipulated to present the 3D effect. If you want to test the shift in blur between items in focus, flip your shades up during Galactus’ third act stare down with one of the team members. You’ll know the scene, and you’ll be able to see how the heavy blur transitions from one character to another in the middle of an epic conversation.
4DX Water Effects: 5/5
I did not expect the water effects to be very present in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and rightfully so. After seeing the film in IMAX for my first screening, I knew there were a couple of moments of moisture here and there, but nothing too heavy. I was proven wrong in that assumption, and in a way that seriously stunned me.
You can thank several moments of Shalla-Bal silver surfing through space for that, as whenever she rides fiery currents of deep space debris, you get more than just a seat-based sprinkle. That’s right, the ceiling-based fans and sprinklers are put through their paces, adding even more excitement to some of the most breathless runs of action in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest return.
4DX Scent Effects: 2/5
Time for a double-edged scenario, my friends! I’ll start with the good news - The Fantastic Four actually gets some sequences with scent effects, and it works rather well. The bad news is that it’s only one scent, and it’s mostly used whenever Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) flies with his flame powers. It was nice to see an old friend back for the ride, but I’m still rather sad that we’re not getting a more varied olfactory palette.
4DX Light/Air/Smoke Effects: 3/5
Speaking of the “Human Torch,” I was baffled to see the lack of smoke effects present in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Even amidst the wildest of presentations of motion effects, you’d notice the smoke coming from below the screen in your auditorium. There was also very little usage of the strobe lights, save for one scene where it went off. What’s really carrying this segment is the air effects, thanks to the fans helping us feel like we’re either Shalla-Bal surfing the galaxy, or the Fantastic Four springing into action.
4DX Motion Effects: 5/5
The bread and butter of any 4DX-perience, you can usually count on the motion effects to be solid. You may think this is the easiest portion to calibrate for a big blockbuster, but after F1’s “fine-tuned” 4DX variant, I’ve learned my lesson. Just like the Air effects, the Motion segment in First Steps lets you feel like you’re each member of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s superpowered team.
Throw in some antics with the Fantasticar, and you only sweeten the pot further; however, the real cherry on top is how the seats seemed to vibrate with the folk song “Let Us Be Devoured,” which plays over the end credits. Be sure to check out Regal Cinema's 4DX safety regulations before heading out, as this ride does get a bit rough.
Overall Audience Health - 5/5
I’m not a doctor, but I think it’s safe to say that the 3D and 4DX for The Fantastic Four: First Steps will not make you uncomfortable or uneasy in any way. Your eyes and your stomach will be safe - but be sure to secure your concession items before the journey. Unless you want yourself, or the people sitting next to you, to walk out of the theater trying to figure out how to get mustard off of a shirt.
Final Verdict: 45/55
The Fantastic Four: First Steps makes its way into the world in grand fashion and is definitely worth your premium format dollars. If you want to skip the physical stuff, the IMAX presentation immerses you with glorious sound, gigantic picture, and its own 3D variant worth considering.
Those of you looking to strap into something a bit more sensory will have quite a bit of fun if you head beyond the typical moviegoing experience and into the 4DX realm! Which means that’s your cue to head off to the theater to see director Matt Shakman’s retro-futuristic hero drama at a theater near you. So until we meet again, be sure to recycle your glasses, mind your surroundings and snack offerings, and have fun with the 3D trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash that’s presented with this would-be Marvel Studios blockbuster.
