D+Directed by Simon Kinberg Starring Sophie Turner and James McAvoy Review by Drew Landry |  |
The X-Men has always been my favorite set of superheroes. This group of mutants endured a tremendous amount of peaks and valleys throughout its inception. X-Men's greatest adaption - outside of the comics - was the 1990's cartoon television series. It was simply incredible. What made it great was severalfold but one of its high points was the Phoenix Saga. That story is so important to the show that it takes up most of season three and it worked because it was a continual series. Trying to repeat what happened in a television series in a two to three hour film is not only dangerous to the brand but also confusing to the audience.
With that in mind, the X-Men franchise decided to dabble with the Phoenix Saga for its final film...again. Remember X-Men: The Last Stand? That was so terrible, it anchored the success of the first two initial films. With Dark Phoenix, history repeated itself.
The whole notion of "phoenix" is another world concept that interacts with the X-Men as they are on another saving mission but this time in space. This other worldly power connects with X-Man Jean Grey - a physic who uses her power to control her surroundings. With this newly found energy from the space mission, her reactions are uncontrollable and unpredictable. Those attributes are unsavory for X-Men leader Charles Xavier who still fights for mutant and human coexistence in society. To Xavier, one bad instance from a mutant can ruin all the progress made and everyone returns to square one. Because of that, Xavier must help Jean harness her new power but that strategy fails.
Those who know about the power in Jean Grey are looking for her in order to use her to destroy Earth's inhabitants and bring their people to live on Earth. Well, Phoenix does not like being controlled and the power is so strong that, oddly enough, only Jean can sustain it. So, the other worldly people who want the Phoenix's power to relive their dominance get obliterated in the final struggle and Jean disappears in the space.
There were struggles with Magneto, Beast, and Xavier and those were the best parts but the fight scenes were bad. They were too mechanical and clunky, like a bad wrestling match. Hard to watch.
The biggest problem was the complete disinterest in the timeline. Raven (Mystique) dies early in the film and that causes problems with Xavier and his close friends - Hank McCoy (Beast) and Magneto. Newsflash, she does not die. Were we to forget about the story lines from the early 2000s? If so, why have Days of Future Past?
Let us not forget the ending. Dark Phoenix is the last X-Men film but it failed to convey that feeling of closure. Ending with two old friends playing chess in Italy as McCoy leads the school in New York, the film left viewers unsatisfied. That is the end? Oh and the corny tip of the hat to Jean Grey by having her "fly" across the sky. Complete eye-roll.
I really wanted to like this film. There was a part of me who thought maybe the franchise would get the Phoenix part right but no. I wish they would have fought Mr. Sinister or Master Mold, or just something else other than Phoenix. Just because Jean Grey is in your lineup does not mean you must do Phoenix! Because of these two failed attempts, my favorite part of Marvel Comics is "meh" at best on the silver screen and that is the saddest part. D+
The whole notion of "phoenix" is another world concept that interacts with the X-Men as they are on another saving mission but this time in space. This other worldly power connects with X-Man Jean Grey - a physic who uses her power to control her surroundings. With this newly found energy from the space mission, her reactions are uncontrollable and unpredictable. Those attributes are unsavory for X-Men leader Charles Xavier who still fights for mutant and human coexistence in society. To Xavier, one bad instance from a mutant can ruin all the progress made and everyone returns to square one. Because of that, Xavier must help Jean harness her new power but that strategy fails.
Those who know about the power in Jean Grey are looking for her in order to use her to destroy Earth's inhabitants and bring their people to live on Earth. Well, Phoenix does not like being controlled and the power is so strong that, oddly enough, only Jean can sustain it. So, the other worldly people who want the Phoenix's power to relive their dominance get obliterated in the final struggle and Jean disappears in the space.
There were struggles with Magneto, Beast, and Xavier and those were the best parts but the fight scenes were bad. They were too mechanical and clunky, like a bad wrestling match. Hard to watch.
The biggest problem was the complete disinterest in the timeline. Raven (Mystique) dies early in the film and that causes problems with Xavier and his close friends - Hank McCoy (Beast) and Magneto. Newsflash, she does not die. Were we to forget about the story lines from the early 2000s? If so, why have Days of Future Past?
Let us not forget the ending. Dark Phoenix is the last X-Men film but it failed to convey that feeling of closure. Ending with two old friends playing chess in Italy as McCoy leads the school in New York, the film left viewers unsatisfied. That is the end? Oh and the corny tip of the hat to Jean Grey by having her "fly" across the sky. Complete eye-roll.
I really wanted to like this film. There was a part of me who thought maybe the franchise would get the Phoenix part right but no. I wish they would have fought Mr. Sinister or Master Mold, or just something else other than Phoenix. Just because Jean Grey is in your lineup does not mean you must do Phoenix! Because of these two failed attempts, my favorite part of Marvel Comics is "meh" at best on the silver screen and that is the saddest part. D+
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