Perhaps the Phoenix saga really does require either a miniseries, multiple episodes of a TV show as we saw in the 1992 X-Men cartoon, or at least more than one movie- as was apparently the plan from 20th Century Fox for their new Dark Phoenix movie. Unfortunately, this latest mutant-themed adventure, directed by Simon Kinberg and released after a number of delays, feels like a victim of neglect and oversight following the merger between Disney and Fox.
Neither this adaption of the Dark Phoenix storyline, nor any of the prior adaptions (X3: Last Stand, and the X-Men Animated series versions) followed the original comics panel-for-panel, and I’m fine with that. But in spite of some decent performances, the manner in which this movie executes the story doesn’t generate the kind of drama you’d expect from what’s basically the X-Men’s defining tale.
Featuring the cast introduced in X-Men: First Class, it opens with a flashback to 1975 where a young Jean Grey (Summer Fontana)’s powers cause a tragic accident. The story then jumps to 1992, and unlike Captain Marvel I wouldn’t have realized at any point in the movie what decade this was without that date on the screen. The X-Men’s attempted rescue of an astronaut team on the space shuttle Endeavor goes haywire, and a botched teleportation introduces Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) to the ancient cosmic being.
Kinberg’s screenplay makes the interesting choice of presenting Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his students as mostly being loved and celebrated by the public, a shift from their usual portrayals as outcasts. Not to mention Professor X is depicted with a growing ego due to his presidential connections and tight reins on the team, out of fear that the X-Men are one bad incident away from being shunned by society again.
He’s treated to two bad incidents, in fact- the manifestation of Grey’s Phoenix abilities, and a shape-shifting alien named Vuk, who steals a human body (Jessica Chastain) in search of the intergalactic firebird’s terraforming powers. Jean’s able to tap into repressed memories, and goes to confront her long lost father. Now the X-Men, the D-Bari shapeshifters, the United States government and eventually Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and his mutant outlaws are in search of Grey and the mysterious entity inside her.
Turner’s performance as Grey is pretty strong and is effective in gaining the audience’s sympathy. But I felt she was far too quickly manipulated by Vuk, who tries to convince Jean the X-Men don’t understand her true potential (sadly, Chastain is a wonderful actress who feels oddly limited in her role). One problem Dark Phoenix has is how quickly different character’s motivations shift around with minimal explanation.
There’s an uncomfortable sensation that the movie is rushing through too many key moments that better directing would allow to build up better. And on paper, the conflict between Xavier and teammates like Hank “Beast” McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) has plenty of good story potential, but their opinions aren’t consistent enough for me to stay invested in.
Some supporting characters like Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Quicksilver (Evan Peters) are allowed some cool action moments but not much in the way of real substance. Tye Sheridan tries his best as Cyclops, but the script never really gives Scott Summers- supposedly the best friend and love of Jean’s life- a truly memorable, heartfelt moment between him and Grey. The score by Hans Zimmer does feel pretty atmospheric often, it’s just in service of a ho-hum script.
While I can’t say Dark Phoenix made me upset in any notable way or as angry as other critics, it does feel like a step down in excitement from other superhero films that recently came out (in spite of its massive budget). This is roughly two months following Endgame, and its attention to detail (as well as humor, which this movie severely lacks) makes this movie’s approach feel small-scale.
I don’t think it’s a worst superhero film than Batman vs. Superman, or Catwoman, let alone the worst in Fox’s X-Men series. If anything, it’s a casualty of some of the worst timing for a comic movie in quite some time. So if this is really the end for the X-Men on the big screen for the foreseeable future, hopefully they can return with a fresh creative direction, as both the DCEU and the MCU’s films have become more grand and comic book-like, making this series’ minimalist and hyper-realistic mood feel a bit dated today.
For me, the Fox Kids cartoon is still my favorite presentation of anything Phoenix related, so I’d recommend that instead. A lot more pathos and thrills could have been derived from this story, and it’s sad to see so much executive meddling and lack of care affect the final product. The result is a film that takes itself extremely seriously- but doesn’t have enough humanity or warmth added to the characters in order to keep moviegoers interested in what happens to them. Overall, it’s a middling-to-average comic book film that one friend accurately described as being “perfect to have on TNT in the background while reading a magazine”.
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