I loved that they finally adapted Reed Richards' grayer morality
One thing I think past adaptations failed at was that Reed was quite one-dimensional; he was just a nerd who didn't get hints and only regretted that Ben had mutated in an undesirable way. But when Ben accepted his appearance, Reed reverted to being quite flat (like in "Rise of the Silver Surfer").
That's why I was glad that the MCU version in First Step finally gave him a bit more depth. Not only did they fully explore his scientific side, but also his ambiguous morality, where his emotions constantly battled against the "most logical" response. I especially like his dialogue with Sue about how he doesn't think positively, but rather the opposite, in order to prevent threats. He basically thinks like a villain to anticipate them. Or with Franklin when Reed tells him that he doesn't want his son to be like him.
Not only am I glad they finally adapted this, which is a very important part of the character, but it also gives more importance to family for Reed, especially Sue. She's the moral anchor that prevents him from looking so deep into the abyss that he gets lost in it.
That's why I was glad that the MCU version in First Step finally gave him a bit more depth. Not only did they fully explore his scientific side, but also his ambiguous morality, where his emotions constantly battled against the "most logical" response. I especially like his dialogue with Sue about how he doesn't think positively, but rather the opposite, in order to prevent threats. He basically thinks like a villain to anticipate them. Or with Franklin when Reed tells him that he doesn't want his son to be like him.
Not only am I glad they finally adapted this, which is a very important part of the character, but it also gives more importance to family for Reed, especially Sue. She's the moral anchor that prevents him from looking so deep into the abyss that he gets lost in it.
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"Well, I don't mean to."
It reminded me of that scene in forest gump when he ask Jenny “is he like me?” 😭
But you should know that your care for your child makes you eminently worthwhile - in particular as a parent. You'll make mistakes, but I can tell that you are intentionally loving. To me, that's pretty damn important.
and while we're at it... unrelated, fuck Lily from HIMYM.
Steve is more Kantian, focusing on doing the “right” thing, regardless of the consequences.
Reed is conflicted between the Utilitarian and Aristotle frameworks. Bringing good to the most people, or to the closest people to him?
He is considering things as the public sees them. And he gets slammed for it.
It's quite common with autistic people or those with anxiety disorders, and this Reed is the most autistic-coded depiction we've got yet. Just because someone acknowledged the possibility of something doesn't mean they think it's a good option or morally justified.
They perfectly captured Reed's asshole-ness. Which makes it a bigger shame that they cut so much in post.
> That's why I was glad that the MCU version in First Step finally gave him a bit more depth. Not only did they fully explore his scientific side, but also his ambiguous morality, where his emotions constantly battled against the "most logical" response
He didnt have ambiguous morality, he had clear morality that was tortured by logic.
In a way his morality is exactly the same as the lines that have already been tread a million times in superhero movies. A difficult choice between saving many lives or the lives of the people who matter most.
Just with a nerdy spin.
I want a Reed who is willing to make a deep personal sacrifice for the sake of the greater good, because thats the *right logical decision*
And to be fair, massive Pedro fan here, so a little biased. Love to see him in anything. But even I was a little, oh boy is he right for this? But he just never disappoints.
In it, a machine is given ultimate sentience and omniscience to run the world. It prevents all crime, and tells everyone what to do so as to create a perfect society. Its been adapted a few times into movies like Eagle Eye.
The story follows a young boy who is given strange instructions from the machine that takes him all over the place, eventually leading him to the central computer where it turns out Multivac was trying to get the boy to kill him.
While the machine has been making a perfect, peaceful society, it has been forced to predict, think about, experience, prevent, every single horrible thing that could possibly happen across the globe, forced to live out *all the troubles of the world.*
Reed Richards is like that. Forced, due to his intelligence, to think about every disgusting, horrible, unthinkable thing, and then also try to do something about it.
Which is a beautiful, tragic story, of an incredible character
But hollywood got hung up on the stretchy legs for 20 years.
I didn’t think any of them were really characters in this.
There was a significant lack of chemistry between Pascal and Kirby and they had an entire marriage, pregnancy, and baby to possibly talk about - but it was all treated like plot.
The Human Quip was decent for wanting to solve a problem without Reed but the animosity just exists without origin (in this specific film)
And Ben had his crush on Natasha Lyonne (big agree) but it basically didn’t go anywhere.
The best thing the film did was definitely capturing the size and scope of Galactus but this was sincerely one of the weakest Marvel films. I don’t get the love for it.
This would not only set up Galactus as in unstoppable force but also lead to so many cool character interactions. Sue just gave a speech on not abandoning everyone, only for Reed, calculating, to have decided it was the only way to save their son.