'Dark Phoenix' Review

Synopsis: During a life-threatening space rescue mission, Jean Grey is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with an increasingly unstable power as well as her personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet.

Runtime: 113 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, including some gunplay, disturbing images, and brief strong language)

Who should see it? Marvel fans who are eager to see the end of Fox's X-Men Saga.

Written and directed by longtime X-Men writer/producer Simon Kinberg as his feature directorial debut, Dark Phoenix is the twelfth and, presumably, final entry in 20th Century Fox's X-Men universe. In nineteen years, there have been six prior X-features, three spin-offs starring Wolverine, and two Deadpool side-adventures. Though the studio delivered a series of superhero installments with inconsistent quality and jumbled continuity, there were genuine gems among the bunch, and Bryan Singer's X-Men was at the forefront of the comic-book movie craze alongside Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in the early 2000s. Those films were largely responsible for driving interest in the cinematic superhero offerings seen today, so it's bitter-sweet to see the franchise come to an end on account of Disney's recent Fox acquisition.

One notable implication regarding the Disney/Fox merger is that Marvel Studios will finally have creative control over the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and other related comic entities. Free to integrate these popular comic characters into their cinematic universe, I imagine we'll see rebooted incarnations from Marvel and Disney soon enough. Of course, there are plenty of troubling concerns and silver linings pertaining to the merger, but that's a discussion for another day. Between numerous release delays and extensive reshoots, Dark Phoenix experienced a troubled production and many wondered if Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants would ever see the light of day under Disney's dominion. While the jury's still out on The New Mutants, Dark Phoenix finally flew into cinemas this weekend but is looking to crash and burn with the lowest respective Rotten Tomatoes score and opening weekend box office gross of the entire franchise.

Honestly, Dark Phoenix is far from the worst X-Men film though. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: The Last Stand, and X-Men: Apocalypse are each more deserving of that distinction in my mind. Dark Phoenix contains plenty of interesting ideas which are unfortunately fumbled in execution and will be overlooked due to some cheesy moments and awful dialogue. However, the bad is balanced out by moderately engaging action, a gifted ensemble, and another astounding score from Hans Zimmer. I genuinely appreciated the opening fifteen-twenty minutes, but the film teeters out and loses steam in the second act's sea of angsty melodrama. Above all, the biggest issue facing Dark Phoenix is that we barely know this younger iteration of the X-Men, and Kinberg's narrative depends on audience investment.

Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Storm were all briefly introduced and scarcely developed as supporting presences in X-Men: Apocalypse. Apocalypse was overcrowded with characters, so barely anyone did anything remotely consequential in that movie or much less experienced character growth, but there needed to be at least one other film between Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix to flesh them out as individuals. Instead, the development occurs off-screen. As a result, I didn't really care about the team's melodrama because they'd barely been defined as characters.

As for the cast, most everyone gets a moment to shine in-spite of thin characterization. Sophie Turner never reaches her full potential as Jean Grey but does the best with what she's given and lends weight to the dramatic, under-written heel turn of her character. Turner sells Jean's conflicted and complex emotional state, as well as her menacing qualities when faced against her fellow mutants. On the other hand, Jessica Chastain portrays Vuk as an uninspired alien antagonist void of all personality. The character's meant to be detached, and her motivation's clearly laid out, but Vuk fails to resonate as a person of interest because it may as well be played by a cardboard cut-out of Chastain.

The First Class crew of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, and Jennifer Lawrence reprise their roles for the fourth time, finally ready to bow out as Professor X, Magneto, Beast and Mystique. Fassbender and McAvoy continue to be series MVPs, lending further nuance to the ongoing debate between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, while Hoult's Hank McCoy grapples with an emotional dilemma and Lawrence arrives to set caked in cheaper-looking blue make-up to collect her paycheck and fulfill the remainder of her contract. Carrying over from Apocalypse, Tye Sheridan's Cyclops, Alexandra Shipp's Storm, Kodi Smit-McPhee's Nightcrawler, and Evan Peters' Quicksilver are unfortunately relegated to meager supporting roles with the occasional impressive display of their abilities. Their narrative contributions are inconsequential, and it's a shame that these characters were side-lined once more.

Viewers are ultimately left with a watchable superhero flick, but those are now a dime a dozen. The Fox X-Men franchise finally burnt out, but I'm looking forward to seeing what rises from the ashes in the capable hands of Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios. Hopefully, Marvel can reignite audience interest in these classic comic characters.

Film Assessment: C

'X-Men: Apocalypse' Review

Wednesday evening I attended an early screening of X-Men: Apocalypse and I'm just now publishing my review for a few reasons: first off, it will likely get the most attention today, secondly yesterday I was focused on a barrage of reviews for Alice in Wonderland, X-Men: First Class, and X-Men Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut, and last but not least I had more time to reflect on the film to give a fairer review. Anyways, I've been looking forward to this film ever since watching the post credits scene of X-Men: Days of Future Past and so I've had about two years for my anticipation to build. Naturally this would mean my expectations were pretty high. Keep that in mind as you're reading my review because if you have tempered expectations this movie will probably be awesome in your eyes. 

'X-Men: Apocalypse' Review

When the early screening of X-Men: Apocalypse I attended Wednesday night ended, I found myself a bit underwhelmed. Therefore, I think it was for the best that I waited to review this film and let my opinion of it settle in. By no means is X-Men: Apocalypse a "bad movie", rather along the lines of underwhelming. X-Men: Apocalypse just wasn't able to measure up to it's predecessors in the young X-Men Trilogy (I'm not sure if there's an actual name for these or not but I'm referring to X-Men: First Class and X-Men Days of Future Past). 

Bryan Singer returns to helm his sequel to Days of Future Past, the first time he's directed two consecutive X-Men flicks since X-Men and X2, and X-Men: Apocalypse picks up a decade after Days of Future Past allowing Singer to tackle the 80's, something reflected in the believable hair, costume, and production design. 

There's actually a brief Star Wars reference where the characters discuss trilogies and Singer effectively takes a jab at X-Men: The Last Stand. Too bad the joke held true for this installment in comparison to First Class and Days of Future Past. It's a hilarious moment that Star Wars fans will definitely appreciate that takes full advantage of the 80's setting. 

Singer sizes down the scale of the film as there's no time travel elements to be found, but the stakes have never been higher for the X-Men as global destruction is certainly possible thanks to Apocalypse. The screenplay penned by Simon Kinberg finds itself muddled as there are just too many characters and storylines to properly service. The film tasked itself with not only continuing the saga of a younger Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, Quicksilver, and Beast, but also introducing a new baddie in Apocalypse, his subservient horseman, and younger versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler. I can confidently say that Kinberg pulls most of it off. 

I say "most" as I found the creative team did a wonderful job depicting Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler and even continuing the ongoing arc from all the way back to First Class, but failed to give many of the characters the time and attention they deserved. For example, two of Apocalypse's horseman had no more than five lines of dialogue, with Storm having scarcely more than that to say. 

The Horsemen were basically around to give the X-Men someone to fight other than just Apocalypse and as fan service, not to say I didn't find the horseman cool just that some were underused. The makeup, costuming, and visual effects have never been better in the X-Men films as is to be expected with today's marvelous technology and modern filmmaking. However, there were a few spots here and there were some of the CGI looked a little fake. 

The film doesn't disappoint with it's action though, as there's one sequence featuring Magneto that's just heart wrenching, two showstopper sequences from Quicksilver that actually managed to top his incredible sequence in Days of Future Past, the action packed third act finale, and of course a cameo appearance from a fan favorite mutant in a gruesome sequence that will probably make any comic book fan a little giddy. If you've seen the final trailer you probably know who I'm referring to. 

So you're probably wondering if there's more to the movie than just spectacle to which I'll say there's a terrific cast amassed, whoever cast the new young mutants deserves a pat on the back. James McAvoy's back as a more seasoned Charles Xavier that I feel can finally adopt the monicker Professor X. 

Michael Fassbender gets a fresh arc for Magneto where he gets to really show off his dramatic acting chops and emotional gravitas that ties up his character arc in a satisfying manner (I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back in a future X-Men film though). 

Jennifer Lawrence's performance is quite bland as Mystique. It's difficult to tell if she really wants to be a part of this franchise anymore given her voiced complaints about Mystique's makeup and the franchise in general but it seems like she mailed this performance in due to contractual obligations. She's only in the Mystique guise when she's forced to be and just serves as an inspiration to the other mutants. Lawrence isn't terrible but her performance is certainly lacking compared to her previous turns as Mystique. 

Nicholas Hoult sadly is given very little to do as Hank McCoy, but if you want to get the most out of his performance I'd recommend watching both X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut. He gets some awesome fight scenes as Beast in the third act and I can't praise the makeup work for his look as Beast enough. 

Evan Peters' Quicksilver is given significantly more to do as a result of the positive response to his turn in Days of Future Past. Quicksilver has a more emotional arc once he learns of his parentage, but that doesn't stop the speedster from having fun along the way. 

Newcomers, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee are all delightful as Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler. I particularly took a shine to Smit-McPhee's Nightcrawler and he's definitely my favorite character in this franchise after seeing him steal just about every scene he's apart of. 

The film also brings back Rose Byrne's Moira Mactaggert and Alex Till's Havok from First Class who I don't feel were vital to the film's story but had some great moments nonetheless. 

Oscar Isaac gets to go full baddie as Apocalypse, and I've got to say he was terrifying so I was satisfied with his portrayal. One little nitpick regarding Apocalypse was that his motive wasn't convincing and Apocalypse was evil for the sake of being evil and wanting power, etc. 

Under Apocalypse's control we find the four horseman, Magneto, Storm, Archangel, and Psylocke. Alexandra Shipp is serviceable as Storm but I don't think she's the definitive version like Turner's Jean Grey, Sheridan's Cyclops, and McPhee's Nightcrawler. Storm was cool in the action sequences she partook in but she didn't get enough development in my opinion. It's not like Berry's Storm was that developed either though. Ben Hardy's Angel/Archangel and Olivia Munn's Psylocke have virtually nothing to do as they're purely around for spectacle in the third act finale. 

When it comes down to it, there's enjoyment to be had and the film is fairly good. but just didn't meet my expectations. I can say that it excites me to think of the possibility of a 90's followup featuring the same cast but it's a shame that X-Men: Apocalypse just ultimately serves to setup that potential sequel rather than stand on it's own. Longtime fans of the X-Men movies should have a good time as it's shameless entertainment, but just be aware that the film ultimately feels like hollow spectacle and is missing the heart and care given to First Class and Days of Future Past.

Film Assessment: C+