X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

It's hard to believe it's almost been twenty years since the release of the first X-Men in 2000. While not the best superhero film, it was still a good film and a solid start to the franchise, which now includes several sequels, a prequel and a spin-off film that focuses on Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). However, following the release of Days Of Future Past in 2014, which was successful both at the box office and with critics, another instalment was released two years later, Apocalypse. While this follow-up failed to match the quality of its predecessor, I still enjoyed it more than most people. When it comes to the X-Men films, I'm easily pleased and don't expect much. I think that this is why I was looking forward to Dark Phoenix, the follow-up to Apocalypse. However, does it meet expectations?

Dark Phoenix focuses on one of the X-Men's most beloved characters, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), as she evolves into the powerful Dark Phoenix. During a life-threatening rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet. 

Dark Phoenix is the most intense and emotional X-Men movie ever made. It is the culmination of 20 years of X-Men movies, as the family of mutants that we've come to know and love must face their most devastating enemy yet – one of their own. 

Since its release last week, Dark Phoenix has received a negative reception both from critics and audiences. I was disappointed by this as I was looking forward to finally seeing it. How. ever, despite this, I enjoyed Dark Phoenix. It's not without its flaws, including certain characters being underused and a weak villain, and it's far from the best film in the franchise. Those hoping to see more of the shape-shifting mutant, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), are going to be disappointed as they're only seen in the beginning of Dark Phoenix. The story focuses more on Jean and her inability to control her powers. After a fight breaks out between her and the X-Men, leading to a tragic death, Jean runs away. She soon meets Vuk (Jessica Chastain), who is the leader of a shape-shifting alien race known as the D'Bari. While Chastain does her best, her character is underdeveloped.

The Dark Phoenix story was previously adapted in The Last Stand which was released in 2006 and directed by Brett Ratner. It was negatively received by critics and audiences which is why Simon Kinberg, who makes his directorial debut with Dark Phoenix after co-writing several films in the X-Men franchise, wanted to remake it. While I don't think The Last Stand is a bad film, I do think that Dark Phoenix is an improvement. 

Kinberg is known for writing The Last Stand, Days Of Future Past and Apocalypse, which makes him the ideal choice to direct Dark Phoenix which he also wrote. Those expecting a film among the lines of something like Avengers: Endgame will be disappointed as both films are completely different, in terms of tone and story. For his directorial debut, I think that Kinberg has done a good job and has created a film that will be appreciated more by fans of X-Men. 

We're only six months into 2019 and we've already had our fair share of superhero films, including Dark Phoenix, Endgame, Captain Marvel and Shazam!. Because of this, I think audiences are suffering from 'superhero fatigue'. It's hard for superhero films to be unpredictable as they feature several cliches and the same narrative, which focuses on the superheroes trying to defeat the villain. This is one of Dark Phoenix's problems. Those who have seen several superhero films will not be surprised by certain outcomes.

I've always found previous superhero films to be lacking in tension because it was obvious that everyone was going to survive, due to the protagonist saving the day. Fortunately, I didn't think that this was the case for Dark Phoenix. Due to Jean's inability to control her powers, a main character is killed early on. Following this death, the X-Men are left broken and unsure of what to do. In my opinion, I think that this is the most dramatic X-Men film since Days of Future Past. The early X-Men films were hard to take seriously which made them more entertaining to watch. However, I think that the serious tone works for Dark Phoenix. 

Most of the cast from Apocalypse, including James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr and Lawrence as Raven, return and, while their performances are far from Oscar-worthy, they each deliver solid portrayals of their characters. The most impressive is Turner who successfully captures Jean's struggles with her powers. In order to deliver an effective portrayal of Jean, Turner studied dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia for the role, particularly for scenes where she has to change from the vulnerable Jean to the confident Phoenix. 

One of the highlights of the past X-Men films are the action sequences and I think that this is where Dark Phoenix was at its best. I think the fight sequence in New York City is the most memorable as we see most of the mutants, including Xavier, Lehnsherr, Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Storm (Alexandra Shipp) fighting against each other. This is due to Xavier and Lehnsherr having a disagreement about Jean. Lehnsherr wants to kill Jean, however, Xavier thinks he can help her control her powers. 

Prior to watching X-Men: Dark Phoenix, I was hoping for a solid follow-up to Apocalypse that features a lot of mutant action, fortunately, I wasn't disappointed.

7/10