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.

Yes, the game-changing superheroes who kicked off the Marvel Age are now part of the big picture. No, they haven't quite broken the FF movie curse.

"First Steps" promises to push the MCU out of its comfort zone, but the movie quickly retreats into a tired version of the same old story.