Hideo Kojima Calls Fantastic Four: First Steps “A Live-Action Incredibles”

Hideo Kojima, the well-known Japanese video game creator behind hits like Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, has been using social media lately to share his thoughts on big movies.

Fans have enjoyed his reviews, which are often fun, thoughtful, and surprisingly detailed. This time, Kojima turned his attention to Marvel’s newest superhero film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The movie is the 37th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and marks the second reboot of the Fantastic Four on the big screen. Directed by Matt Shakman and written by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer, the film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the superhero team.

It also features Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. Set in a retro-futuristic 1960s, the story follows the team as they face the cosmic threat of Galactus, played by Ineson.

The movie opened in the United States on July 25 as the first film in Marvel’s Phase Six. While critics have given it generally positive reviews, the box office numbers haven’t been as strong. In fact, it has suffered the biggest second-weekend drop in MCU history, falling 80 percent, beating the previous record held by The Marvels with 78 percent.

Despite the numbers, Kojima had high praise for the film. On social media, he wrote, “Watched ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps.’ From the fashion, color palette, design, cityscape, TV and cartoon shows, to the costumes, spacesuits, rockets, cars—not to mention company names, food items (cereal, soda), and storage media (magnetic tapes, discs)—everything is crafted with a thorough commitment to a 1960s aesthetic blended with a sense of futurism.”

Kojima also said the movie had a warm, nostalgic feel for him. “It felt nostalgic, like watching ‘Bewitched’ when I was a kid. Or at times, it felt like a live-action version of The Incredibles, with ‘family’ as its central theme. Once I found out it was directed by the same person who did ‘WandaVision,’ it all made sense.”

He noted that superhero films seem to be moving away from dark and gritty tones, heading instead toward colorful, retro-inspired worlds. He also praised the movie for starting with a TV show segment that quickly explains who the Fantastic Four are and what they do, rather than spending too much time on their origin story.

For Kojima, the film worked perfectly as a fresh start for the series. “As a ‘first step’ to reboot the series, it’s truly ‘fantastic,’” he said.

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