It’s the end of an era for the X-Men universe as we know it. While the series’ reputation isn’t what it once was, based on its .500 batting average, it’s impossible to deny the effect the franchise has had on a multi-billion dollar comic book industry. Not only that, but it’s accomplished the difficult task of completely recasting and rebooting very well known characters, actors and stories and pulled the move off swimmingly.
I’m going to continue this review with another sports analogy. Because if there’s one thing I don’t know anything about, it’s sports.
The X-Men movies are great at dominating early in the game. They come off the bench ready to play and are up by 20 in the fourth quarter. However, the movies seem to rush themselves into becoming bigger than anything that has come before it. They want to win by 40 points. Subsequently, they choke and ultimately lose the game. The legacy of these movies is always tarnished with a sour aftertaste.
After the surprisingly great First Class and Days of Future Past, the X-Men sputtered a fair amount with Apocalypse. Now, in their official final Fox venture, the team is being forced into another Dark Phoenix plot. One that was so horrendously butchered in 2006’s The Last Stand.
This should go well…
This new version of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) clearly has amazing abilities and some issues in the past that are best left forgotten. Though when a catastrophe happens during a rescue mission, Jean is imbued with the cosmic and unruly force of the Phoenix. The team, led by a very conflicted Xavier (James McAvoy), must decide how to deal with their teammate and stop her from becoming a truly destructive force.
Deep down, this is a Xavier and Jean story. The X-Men are featured prominently in every action scene, but they are tertiary to the mental and emotional conflict between teacher and student. It’s one of the aspects this movie does well actually. You see her past and her introduction to Xavier and the School for Gifted Youngsters. She hasn’t been a part of this series long, but the movie goes out of its way to create a bond between them.
Though, don’t you worry about the other characters. There’s nothing to develop there. It’s honestly unfortunate because there are solid actors playing characters with very interesting backgrounds, and nothing is done to bid them farewell here. Truthfully, this should never have been the swan song of this iteration of the X-Men. The series started with the brilliant counterplay between Xavier and Magneto, and the final story should have given conclusion to that story. Wishes aside, it’s a shame that there wasn’t more closure for the original First Class at the very least.
One of the countless issues with the previous Dark Phoenix saga in The Last Stand is that it didn’t dare to be its own movie. It brought in three major plots and completely overcomplicated a two-hour movie. Phoenix does its best to remedy that and keep the story simple, but they chickened out by adding the weakest villains in the X-franchise. We simply get shape-shifting aliens, led by Jessica Chastain, that want to harness the Phoenix force and claim Earth as their own once they’re here? That’s it. This movie was so close to having Jean be the torn anti-villain, but couldn’t close the deal. Jessica Chastain is easily the worst part about this movie. Her muted line delivery is second only to Jennifer Lawrence’s.
Let’s leave the hyperbole of the 2019 internet behind and actually speak of the positives found in Dark Phoenix. And yes, cynical reader, there are positives. First and foremost, Hans Zimmer’s score is the standout. It elevates the material on screen by providing emotion that some characters fail to deliver. There is a somber flow to the movie. Zimmer’s score makes the experience feel bigger than it is. I’m listening to it now and loving it.
I can’t help but appreciate the small scale of Dark Phoenix. There is no immediate planetary destruction, no space war, and no sky beam. The action here is so self-contained that only a few city blocks are impacted. The action within Dark Phoenix excels when each member of the X-Men must use their unique abilities and get some time to shine. One action set piece takes place on a train and keeps the focus on a tight area where you can clearly see each fighter deliberate and use their limited environment in the battle.
This may anger many people all-too-familiar with modern super flicks, but there is little effort to make jokes in this movie. Truthfully, treating Jean’s situation with levity wouldn’t fit or add sincerity to the personal matters the team is dealing with. Generally, jokes will help weak pacing in any super genre adventure. The pacing here suffers because of noticeable rewrites, reshoots and character arcs being erased.
There are great X-Men movies – X2, Days of Future Past, First Class, Logan, Deadpool (the first time you see it)
There are mid-tier movies – X-Men, The Wolverine, Apocalypse, Deadpool 2
There are downright terrible movies – The Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine
Dark Phoenix belongs in the middle category. It’s wildly flawed and a weak & somber sendoff to these iconic heroes. Though they’ve fared far worse treatment. With the pain that X-fans have suffered through in the past, they already know to walk in with low expectations. Given that attitude, there’s some gems here to enjoy. C+
Comments are closed.