Dark Phoenix Review by Michael Winkler
June 9, 2019 1:20 pm |
Simon Kinberg makes his cinematic directorial debut with Dark Phoenix. Kinberg is most known for his writer and producer credits on most of the other X-Men movies, as well as some other Marvel titles. Dark Phoenix follows various characters, including Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), in their attempt to stop Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) from becoming harmful to herself and the rest of the world. Sophie Turner steals the show with her performance as Jean Grey, showcasing a range of emotions and holding her own in action sequences as well. Kinberg attempts to capture the audience with over the top action sequences and stunning cinematography, rather than a quality storyline.
Jean Grey acquires her new extraordinary powers from a solar flare, during a mission in which the team travels to space to rescue a group of stranded astronauts. There was great promise for this film during the first act, including good storyline and good writing. While the movie shows promise in the first act, it slowly falls from grace as it progresses through acts two and three. The acting is very good in this film. Kinberg does a good job of incorporating our favorite characters with what seems like even screen time, aside from one character in particular. Quick Silver (Evan Peters) plays a big role in the early parts of this movie and then disappears for the remainder of the film, which is disappointing because Quicksilver would’ve been a great addition to the later parts of the film. There is however plenty of screen time for the other X-Men, including Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Cyclops is Jean’s love interest. This helps show the audience how out of control Jean’s powers have become, especially when she lashes out and people she cares about are affected.
As the film progresses, some new villains get introduced and their leader is known as Vuk (Jessica Chastain). Vuk is attempting to get Jean to join forces with her to take down humanity after her home planet is destroyed by the solar flare that now manifests inside of Jean. This group of villains seems like an afterthought in a film that already seems confused with its identity. Chastain does a fine job in the role. The writing and overall continuity of the script is what doesn’t work for the storyline. Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) are both characters that also suffer from lackluster writing. Dark Phoenix showcases a version of Professor X that viewers have never seen before. He participates in some questionable activities in this movie that will have the viewer questioning if they really know the character or not. Fassbender’s character, Magneto, suffers as well. Jean loses control and faces off against the other X-Men. This scene shows the audience just how powerful she has become. After hurting people that she loves, she seeks help from someone who has been in the same situation before in Magneto. Magneto is living peacefully in a community of mutants that are isolated from the rest of humanity. Jean doesn’t get the help she wants and the two are eventually at odds. After learning some bad news that occurred earlier in the story, Magneto and Beast are on a mission for Jean’s blood and the rest of the team must try and stop them. Magneto’s story is repetitive of the previous films, and his character flip-flops back and forth with his feelings toward Jean through a lot of the final act.
The third act of Dark Phoenix is where a lot of issues arise. The characters are on the hunt for Jean, while Vuk is still trying to acquire the power within her. There are serious issues with the writing, but the acting from Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence help salvage the film from being a dud. The action sequences looked great visually, the fight scenes had great attention to detail in the choreography and stunt work, and the score was amazing. Hans Zimmer’s composition is something special and adds such beautiful tones throughout the film. The repetitive nature of a lot of the character arcs and the lack of reasoning on important choices is what doesn’t work in this film. Simon Kinberg tries to wrap up the X-Men franchise in stellar fashion but fails to capture the characters we know and love. Dark Phoenix was supposed to rise from the ashes and end this saga on a high note, but instead crumbles and falls to dust.
PCL Rating: LOW TASTE IT
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Rotten
Share this:
Tags: 21st Century Fox, Dark Phoenix 2019, Marvel, pop culture leftovers, simon kinberg, X-Men
Categorised in: Movie Reviews
This post was written by Leftover Brian
Comments are closed here.