'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

'Ready Player One' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects. 

Set in the dystopian future of 2045, people escape the harsh realities of life by spending a majority of their time in the OASIS, a vast virtual reality invented by the brilliant and eccentric entrepreneur James Halliday. Inside the OASIS, anything is possible. Users are able to endlessly customize their avatars and unlock unique items to help them in their quests. The only limit is your imagination. However, once Halliday dies, it's revealed to the world that he's hidden an Easter egg inside the OASIS that will grant the finder full ownership of the game in addition to Halliday's massive fortune. Ready Player One accompanies the unlikely young hero Wade Watts as he races against time and other users of the OASIS to locate all three keys left behind by Halliday so he can unlock the highly sought-after Easter egg. 

Functioning as Steven Spielberg's triumphant return to the big budget blockbuster, Ready Player One is helmed by the beloved director and features a screenplay co-penned by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline which adapts Cline's best selling novel. It's hard not to be ecstatic for a new Spielberg movie so, of course, I was overly enthusiastic going into Ready Player One. We don't get too many flicks from Spielberg these days, and I know there will inevitably be a tragic time where we never see another, so I relish in whatever he has to offer, whether it be The Post or The BFG. Where Steven Spielberg's career of-late has mostly pertained to dramas, Ready Player One presented itself as an opportunity for the genius filmmaker to get in touch with his blockbuster roots, and that idea alone excited me very much. 

I haven't read Cline's novel, but I was well aware there would be a heavy emphasis on '80s pop-culture due to the film's marketing material. On the surface, Ready Player One may look like a candy-coated nostalgia fest, but I can assure you the references are incorporated tastefully and there's an in-universe reason for it all. It's actually quite fitting that a film about a hidden Easter egg would be crammed full of them and also be released on Easter weekend. I can assure you that's no coincidence. Geeks are sure to be giddy whenever they spot references to a character, weapon, location, or vehicle they recognize from their favorite video games or movies, but that's not the sole source of the film's whimsy. While many homages had me smiling ear-to-ear, I was ultimately engaged by the characters, the focal mystery, the breathtaking, fully-realized OASIS, an exceptional score from Alan Silvestri, and the sheer spectacle of it all. 

It's no secret that Spielberg knows how to handle an action sequence, so it then comes at no surprise that Ready Player One would be littered with instances invigorating activity. As a child of the late '90s, I missed out on seeing Spielberg's more noteworthy motion pictures in theaters. Therefore, I saw them at home plopped in front of the television screen and missed out on the complete cinematic experience one desires from a Spielberg production. For the last decade or so, Spielberg has made many well-crafted films that I've had the pleasure of seeing in the theater, but none of them really carried that trademark "Spielberg magic." Wednesday night, I watched Ready Player One in IMAX and felt the Spielbergian sense of awe and wonder for the first time in awhile. It was glorious, and well worth the price of admission. So much that I intend to see Ready Player One at least once more this weekend.

However, my enthusiasm going into Ready Player One was paired with a couple caveats. The first of which being that it would be an indulgent nostalgia parade. I've already touched on that, but another one of my concerns was that the overall design of the OASIS and the avatars looked very video game-ish and the shift from the OASIS-to-reality might be jarring. Fortunately, this proved not to be the case. While the aesthetic of the OASIS does certainly resemble the graphics found in a modern high-end video game, that's kind of the point. It's a virtual reality after all. With that being said, the visual effects are absolutely outstanding. The environment and avatars of the OASIS are richly rendered and exhibit a wide array of vibrant colors that are truly a treat for the eyes. Editors Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn also ensured the transitions between worlds were smooth and managed to keep the flow of the movie at a lively pace. 

Where the film doesn't fully deliver is fleshing out the nuts and bolts of the real world. By design, the OASIS is infinitely more interesting than reality, so it's not a stretch to say humanity would become obsessed with this form of escapism. Just look around you for goodness sakes. Everyone's already addicted to the internet. The commentary on that addiction is Ready Player One's poignant truth and part of the reason Ready Player One should be seen aside from the aforementioned attributes. Anyways, it's easy to imagine something like the OASIS taking off in our own world so the futuristic dystopian society depicted doesn't require significant suspension of disbelief.

What becomes questionable under further scrutiny is how the evil IOI even operates. You vaguely understand the inner workings, but the legality remained fuzzy. This becomes most problematic at the end when the audience is shown something that suggests their activities weren't legal. This probably won't bother you if you can set logic aside, but it may drive others insane. I simply viewed it as an unclear area of this universe. Otherwise, strap in for an exciting ride!

Leading said ride is Tye Sheridan as Wade Watts/Parzival (the second name being his OASIS username). Sheridan imbues Watts with traits one would expect from an unsure hero who's also a huge nerd, and he hit the sweet spot as an ideally awkward audience entry point. He's a likable lead, but never charming enough to upend his geek cred.

Opposite Sheridan, Olivia Cooke is the sure standout in the role of Samantha (also known as Art3mis in the OASIS). Cooke plays Art3mis as a stoic badass with some underlying insecurities, and seeing her eventually come to embrace those will undoubtedly inspire others as well. Sheridan and Cooke carry a captivating chemistry between them so their on-screen pairing was undoubtedly one of the film's highlights. Rounding out their friend group are Lena Waithe, Phillip Zhao, and Win Morisaki who were all equally endearing characters as Aech, Sho, and Daito respectively. 

Surrounding the young cast, veteran actors Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, and Ben Mendelsohn leave substantial impressions in their varying roles of Halliday, Ogden Morrow, and Sorrento. Mark Rylance's good natured temperament and subdued personality lent itself well to Halliday and it's always a delight to see Simon Pegg in something! I'd rather not spoil his role for anyone, so I've decided to just skim right over it... Meanwhile, Mendelsohn made for an excellent antagonist and elevated what could have been a cliché corporate baddie to an intimidating force of evil.

Now let's be honest folks... Some of you are considering seeing Black Panther again this weekend, aren't you? Haven't you seen that enough by now? All jokes aside, Ready Player One currently isn't tracking very well for its opening weekend considering it's a Spielberg film (currently in the range of $52-55 M for the four day Easter weekend) and that saddens me. While that number's fairly high in comparison to everything Spielberg's made since Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ready Player One honestly deserves better. If for nothing else, you should really be see Ready Player One on the biggest screen possible for the cinematic Spielberg experience. It's a celebration of pop-culture like no other and will be the most exhilarating Easter egg hunt you'll witness all weekend. 

Film Assessment: A-