If it isn't news to you, you'd already know that this movie has faced quite a thumping from the critics. One of my favourite Youtube reviewers - Jeremy Jahns - even found it fit to rate the movie as "Dog Sh*t", a rating that's been preserved for the like of "The 50 Shades of Grey" trilogy and other similar cinematic failures. I get it! Sometimes it can be so much fun to rail on a movie. I've seen a comparison to Wolverine: Origins, and I remember how that movie was similarly savaged; however, I remember the genesis of that movie's bad luck was a movie critic's review of an unfinished version of the movie and similar bad happenings for the production studio. Contrary to public opinion, I enjoyed Wolverine: Origins, so I was willing to give this movie a chance to prove itself.
In a unique twist of events, there are showings of both the 2D and 3D versions of this movie right now. I ended up watching the 2D version...no biggie. First off, I was astounded by how beautiful this movie looks. The cinematography is simply astounding with colours so vibrant that especially pop out at you in the space scenes. The scenes remain crisp and clear no matter which era they're representing.
There are similar beats in this movie to the last "Phoenix" iteration from The Last Stand. As usual, it explores Jean Grey's fractured psyche once she begins to be inhabited by the powerful "Phoenix Force". The Last Stand broke with tradition and sought to make the Phoenix a darker identity that always resided in Jean; Dark Phoenix takes the more traditional approach and renders the Phoenix as a visceral cosmic force capable of both creation and destruction in equal measure. Hand-in-hand with Jean's struggle is Professor X's conundrum at trying to match his good intentions with his methods. This time around there's been a quantum leap and the X-men are considered fully fledged superheroes that the public is very much aware of. In a series that has given us the delightfully dystopian "Days of Future Past", it is not lost on the Prof. that the mutants are really one bad day from going back to being characterized as a danger to society. This movie mixes in these 2 stories quite well, and it forces these two characters to handle a very murky progression of events while coming to terms with their shortcomings.
As usual, Magneto is never too far behind. As if on cue, he's found some semblance of peace, but as usual, he's pulled back into the fray again; really any excuse to have Magneto in these movies is worth it. Michael Fassbender (and Ian McKellen before him) has always managed to make him a relatable "Villain" with questionable actions that are not too far-fetched in the scheme of things. He always leaves us wondering whether he can ever really become a force for good after all the bad things that he's faced in his past.
Running parallel to the Jean Grey - Phoenix storyline is the story of the mysterious white haired stranger played out in ever ethereal fashion by Jessica Chastain. In The Last Stand, the Phoenix was pretty much a sideline character that Magneto had sitting on the wings as he took his fight to the humans; this time around, the nature of the Phoenix force propels this movie into the cosmic realm, and with that comes the arrival of other "players" into the mix. The trailers don't really divulge anything about this storyline, and since this is a spoiler-free review, neither will I. Suffice it to say, I had expected her to be a different character from X-men lore, but she adds another nice bit of layering to this tale.
The acting is top-notch, and Sophie Turner is all over the place with Jean's frenetic changes in emotion; she is all at once this scared frail figure, and then the embodiment of power personified. James McAvoy's Prof. X is the heart of this movie, anchoring all elements in place. He is the figure that has to balance peaceful coexistence betweens humans and mutants, worry about protecting both sides and sometimes to the detriment of his own charges by placing their lives in danger; and he is Magneto's foil, thus despite the fact that benevolence is at their heart of their actions, he has to sometimes straddle a thin line that could easily cause him to become just like Magneto.
There was one death that was teased from the trailers, but I don't think it had quite the emotional punch that they were expecting. This character has been "overplayed" throughout the series, was also responsible for the most cringe-worthy line in this whole movie, and it just felt better that the character was done away with. The death and its aftermath get a less than fully realized set of plot points, and this was one of the weaker parts of this movie.
The action set pieces look good, but one city street battle was particularly hard to follow. This may have been a casualty of the darkness involved and the pacing. Unfortunately, like in some bad WWE fights, the extent of some injuries is overplayed and some characters can end up unfairly counted out from subsequent fights. They borrowed some elements from The Last Stand, like the Phoenix's ability to obliterate her enemies, and even some of the interactions. This serves as some very good misdirection because they subvert your expectations and show you that this is a very different movie from its predecessor.
This movie has disappointed quite a number of people because it perhaps didn't turn the Phoenix saga into the full-blown spectacle that it was in the comics and animated series. However, truthfully, we'd need about 2 full length movies (3 hours each) or one season of a television series for that to happen, so I'm glad with what they've given us onscreen this time around. I think this is a great open-ended send-off for this set of characters, and look forward to what the MCU will add to it now that they've gotten back the rights to the X-men.
I give this movie a B+ and guarantee that it's a good time at the movies.
God Bless.
P.S: Now that I've finally watched this movie, I can give my definitive ranking for all the X-Men movies.
- Logan
- X-2
- X-Men Days of Future Past
- X-Men
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix
- The Wolverine
- X-Men: First Class
- Wolverine: Origins
- X-Men: Apocalypse
- X-Men: The Last Stand
