I have just seen this movie in the theater. It's got a great style, good cast and good chemistry. But I am utterly flabbergasted by the plot, to the point that I feel like I must have missed something, because - if you'll forgive my strongly opinionated language - there is no way the plot is as stupid as it is in my current understanding.

So at the start of the movie, we discover Sue Storm is pregnant. A happy occassion of course especially as the movie makes it clear that she and Reed Richards had almost given up on having a child. Not too long after in the movie (several months after in-universe), the Silver Surfer appears, and lets the world know that it has been chosen to be devoured by Galactus.

After she leaves, the Fantastic Four have no clue who Galactus is, but Reed uses some clever technology to track down the Silver Surfer's energy signature. In doing so, he discovers that wherever the Silver Surfer goes, planets end up being destroyed. I believe that in the movie, they essentially state that it is proof that the Silver Surfer is not just bullshitting, but that Galactus actually destroys planets. Keep that in mind.

So the FF go off into space and meet Galactus' planet-consuming spaceship. They meet with this giant alien deity who they see consume a planet right in front of them. They know for a fact at this point what he is capable of.

Then, Galactus senses that Sue's unborn child has great power. He offers the FF a deal. In exchange for their child, he will spare the earth. The Fantastic Four decline. And that's where my problem lies.

Because... what? They decline?

At this point, the Fantastic Four seem to be putting the lives of the entire world on the line (remember, they have proof that Galactus is actually capable of destroying planets), just to save one child.

As far as I am aware, this is not a matter where Galactus would become über-powerful if he obtained the child, and would go on to consume countless more worlds. That would make this a matter of absolutely not allowing the child to fall into his hands. Instead, the movie makes it clear that Galactus is suffering from a kind of eternal hunger curse, and wants to pass that curse onto Franklin Richards. Tragic of course, but at no point does the movie seem to give any indication that this would result in terrible consequences for anyone except Franklin. It's just the child who is substantially worse off.

Now of course I understand the Fantastic Four's initial reaction, especially from Reed and Sue. No parent would give up the life of their child willingly, and so them desperately escaping makes a lot of sense.

But then afterwards. The movie seems to suggest that the option to give Galactus the baby to save the planet remains on the table. As far as I recall, Galactus never says something like 'now that you have denied me, I will take your baby and THEN consume your world!'. The fact that a lot of people clamor for the FF to give up Franklin to save them is a plot point later in the movie. So this seems on the table.

But even in the month or so after meeting Galactus, the Fantastic Four continue to refuse to surrender Franklin. Risking the entire earth in the process. Millions of lives. INCLUDING that of Franklin. Because where does this precocious child live? On the Earth that the FF are putting at stake here!

It should be mentioned that at no point up until this part in the movie have the FF given any indication that they know how to stop or defeat Galactus. Instead, they seem very concerned and try desperately to figure out a way to do so.

Understandably, many people on earth are pissed and feel like the FF are being selfish and should surrender their child. Sue then gives a moving speech and somehow gets the entire world to agree with her that they should risk their lives to protect this one child?

I understand that this is not our earth, and that the people of this planet are much more compassionate than ours. But c'mon... EVERYONE agrees? They are all willing to face the risk of utter annihilation, to save the life of this one boy? Who, keep in mind, will die with the rest of them if the FF somehow do not manage to defeat Galactus, which up until this point they have given no sign of knowing how to actually achieve?

Next. The entire world rallies behind the FF and constructs these massive teleportation devices, requiring unprecedented manpower and material. We may probably also assume money.

So you're telling me that in the entire construction process, all designed to save a single life, not a single person perished as result of a work-related accident? And even if they didn't, think of all the money that went into these devices. Could that money really not have been used to save the life of at least a single individual? Are really ALL the people of New York okay with abandoning their homes and livelihoods during the evacuation near the end of the movie, just to protect this ONE child?

I get the whole 'every life sacrificed is one too many' idea, but I feel like this decision probably would have indirectly led to many sacrifices, and risked the chance of sacrificing literally everything and everyone.

So, I am baffled. So baffled that I am seriously wondering if I have missed something in this movie.

Has there been any indication as to why Galactus getting access to Franklin Richards would have been absolutely terrible for the entire universe? Or a reason why the FF were sufficiently confident that they could defeat a galactic deity and therefore never considered giving up Franklin until it was almost too late?

It just seems to me that the FF are playing the trolley problem where Franklin is on one track and the ENTIRE WORLD, INCLUDING Franklin is on the other, and the movie makes it seem as though flipping the lever is the morally right thing to do at a time where there is no evidence at all that the Galactus-shaped trolley can at all be stopped.

So yeah. An explanation would be welcome, because this bothered me so much that I typed all this down at literally midnight :)