X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Review

131min

Genre:      Comic-book, Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Director:   Simon Kinberg

Cast:        Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain…and more

Writers:    Simon Kinberg , John Byrne, Chris Claremont… and more

-Synopsis-

After the showdown with ‘Apocalypse’ revealed the formidable but frightening abilities hidden inside her, ‘Jean Grey’ struggles to control a newfound cosmic power which threatens to transform her into something more sinister, putting her on a collision course with her friends and fellow mutants, while an otherworldly force with plans of its own pulls the strings.

When 20th Century Fox decided to go backwards to move their ‘X-Men’ movie franchise forward with 2011’s origin story ‘X-Men: First Class’, no one could question its credentials as a direct prequel and new series starter. But after time travel and risky timeline alteration, plus fun and games with ancient deities, it’s safe to say that these are no longer the adventures of the mutant super team which launched the golden age of super hero film back in the year 2000. Now for his directorial debut, Hollywood blockbuster writer/producer Simon Kinberg (Fantastic Four, X-Men: Apocalypse) fully severs the umbilical cord between the generations, and rounds off the quadrilogy—making way for a new Disney-incubated era for everyone’s favourite mutants.

Sophie Turner returns as powerful young telekinetic telepath Jean Grey, having truly found a home with ‘Charles Xavier’s’ (James McAvoy) now celebrated ‘X-Men’, led by ‘Mystique’ (Jennifer Lawrence) and ‘ Beast’ (Nicholas Hoult), who become weary of their new popularity and the professor’s willingness to cultivate it. But things take a turn when an impromptu space rescue mission goes awry and Jean is endowed with limitless new abilities, as the trauma of her past and the professor’s attempts to suppress them come back to haunt them all, when she becomes increasingly impulsive and dangerous and transforms into the ‘Phoenix’—while mysterious visitor ‘Vuk’ (Jessica Chastain) takes a close interest in her newfound powers . . . with sinister consequences for the planet.

It’s probably no surprise that Simon Kinberg was one of the two writers for 2006’s ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’, the much maligned third film of the original trilogy, and in some ways ‘Dark Phoenix’ is a glossier reworking of that same narrative—therefore another, more faithful shot at adapting ‘The Dark Phoenix Saga’ comics. But like he did with 2016’s ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, Kinberg ups the scale and goes bigger, extra-terrestrial and more abstract, in the process losing a personal and earthy connection with the humanity of believably flawed characters which made the first two films of this prequel quadrilogy, and the original series, so popular.

Indeed the narrative in general and story in particular are major stumbling blocks in enjoying the overall spectacle. It’s just too big, broad and disjointed, lacking any real charm or humour, while failing to deliver an emotional punch even with a major character loss—and never really convincing us of the peril confronting the heroes in which we have invested, or doing enough to make us really care about what happens to them. Like many a superhero flick which fails to capture the imagination, the villain of the piece leaves much to be desired too, proving predictable when it comes to Jean Grey’s trajectory, while the real antagonist comes off like an underwritten sidenote which squanders the talents of Jessica Chastain.

All is certainly not lost in terms of character and story though, with Sophie Turner pushed to the front and coming into her own, able to add conflicted emotional layers to the bare bones of a character introduced in ‘Apocalypse’, turning the ‘Game of Thrones’ star into a bona fide movie leading lady in the process. Meanwhile the series’ stars and elder statesmen McAvoy and Fassbender are somewhat moved back, while the surviving members of this generation’s first class Lawrence and Hoult become the beating heart and reason of the piece.

Kinberg does however maintain the healthy level of epic spectacle which audiences have come to expect, managing to even out the subpar narrative and a ham-fisted story of female emancipation with plenty of lavish action and impressive set-pieces, taking advantage of the array of mutant powers on show and even managing to make the Phoenix’s slightly abstract and seemingly limitless abilities work on screen. There is of course no shortage of CGI on show but also plenty of practical action, and a more natural visual aesthetic employed by cinematographer Mauro Fiore (Training Day, Avatar), plus an unexpected return to superhero film scoring from maestro Hans Zimmer.

In the end ‘Dark Phoenix’ adds to Simon Kinberg’s mixed record and reputation as a go-to superhero blockbuster screenwriter and producer, and although it may not deserve some the scathing critical reception it has already garnered, it does little to separate itself from the fun but forgettable summer blockbuster movie pack—although it does establish his directorial credentials for handling major motion pictures. It remains to be seen if this is indeed the final film for this generation of the X-Men, and if we’re headed for a clean Disney reboot, or if Marvel crossovers and cinematic universe synergy means there’s still life left for these actors as these characters.

The Bottom Line…

Whilst it may by an underwhelming conclusion to this prequel quadrilogy, and a slightly meek send off for the 20th Century Fox X-Men era, ‘Dark Phoenix’ just about manages to balance out its narrative shortcomings with a serving of character development and some major spectacle—leaving us reasonably entertained, but more than ready for Disney’s take on the beloved characters who ushered in the golden age of superhero cinema.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Professor X’s dream of a school for the gifted and peaceful coexistence with humanity is threatened by the resurrection of an ancient powerful mutant, hell-bent on dividing mutant-kind and wiping a 1980s civilisation off the face of the earth, as our divided rebooted young mutant heroes must unite to face their biggest threat yet.

Directed by Bryan Singer and starring James McAvoy, Oscar Isaac and Jennifer Lawrence among others.

Comments

comments

Comments are closed.