Honestly, as soon as you find out that Simon Kinberg is a producer and hasn't really directed anything it'll tell you everything you need to know about this movie.
The beats are all there (kind of), but the camera work and the direction are just completely (for lack of a better word) uninspired. People go from point A to point B but it feels like nothing is happening, there is just no energy there.
All in all this is definitely the worst X-men movie by far. Even X-men Origins Wolverine is entertaining in a B-level shlock-y kinda way, but Dark Phoenix is just as bland as oatmeal made with water.
I don't really think the X-men universe really works anymore so it's probably for the best that they are converting over to the mainstream MCU which is currently in shambles. The entire POV of the human race that has been a driving factor in pretty much every one of the films has lost all of its luster. I think I've also got some serious X-men fatigue with all the personal drama that continues to spring up between the characters. Maybe when a superhero team first gets together that drama is well warranted but dragging it out film after film gets incredibly tiresome and eats up so much time that could be spent on other avenues.
If there's anything that this quadrilogy of films has made abundantly clear it's that humans/mutants simply can't coexist. The events of the last film effectively slammed the door shut on that. Hilariously enough, I know that Dinklage's character in Days was meant to be portrayed as the bad guy but in retrospect he seems pretty much vindicated.
Did the entire planet conveniently forget that Magneto had a major hand in causing global catastrophe in the last film? Maybe he might have gotten off lightly if nobody knew who he was or what his powers were but in Days he becomes a worldwide celebrity by being on TV. "It's ok Magneto, we know you tried to literally wipe out the human race but here's your own little private island for you to have fun with, no hard feelings mate."
And that whole
alien
plotline felt so mediocre like the writing staff is just done with this series. Chastain, who is a well accomplished actress is reduced to a role that actually requires her to put in a phoned-in performance. The only redeeming factor is the train battle which has a cool few moments involving Magneto and that is literally the only thing worth showing up for.
There's no "X-men" in the title of the movie almost as if it's ashamed to even present itself as part of the series. That says a lot.
Jennifer Lawrence supposed to grow up into Rebecca Romijn
? I kept thinking
she couldn't possibly be dead because she lives to become a fully grown woman,
so clearly I got the timeline wrong. To be fair though, that is very confusing. Apart from that, any X-Men movie without Wolverine was bound to be dull, but this one is especially dull because it focuses more on special effects than on the great cast it has at its disposal. Fewer flying pixels and more close-ups of actual actors would have improved it massively.
After Apocalypse, I swore off X-Men movies, but Fox was about to do the same. Dark Phoenix is, in the end, the last installment, and while not as ludicrous, boring and bloated as Apocalypse, it's not not quite a winner. I could have been. It started well enough. Jean Gray's origin. The new timeline's bright mutant future having compromised Professor X. A cool mission in space. I was ready to say the film's biggest flaw was that I just don't find Sophie Turner compelling in the role. But as Jean loses control and starts being hounded by aliens for her new power (this is basically a waste of Jessica Chastain, because these villains are generic and dull), I started to see the bigger problem. It's natural for X-Men movies to want to do the Dark Phoenix Saga. It's one of the most touted and reprinted stories in the X-Men canon (in fact, this is the movies' second go at it). But it's a very involved storyline that needs to be set up early and build over several chapters for it to work, and these movies aren't really prepared to do that. Making it an intimate, psychological story about how to deal with trauma is fine for some other psychic-gone-wrong movie (isn't that New Mutants, actually?), but it misses the point. The story was a "Saga" because it was epic, and remorseless and devastating. The movie doesn't stick the landing on any of those levels and the third act is particularly tedious as a result, even withholding the trademark Phoenix effect for most of the picture, so it's not even committing to strong image-making. Better than I expected after the last one - and there's one mutant cameo that made me smile - but the franchise still seems to limp to the finish. Which is actually a good epithet for most of the acting, limp. It's not just the franchise that's tired, it looks like.
Enjoyed the action. The ratings out me off, I can see the Alien aspect being an issue but it's got enough 6/10. Great effects. I saw 25 minutes of this four years ahead of release, in particular the first 20 minutes and the flashback near the end
Blatant Scottish flag reference when the blue in the X chair back.
Not one of the best X-Men movies, but entertaining enough... train fight scene was pretty awesome and blowing the shit out of stuff was good, but otherwise a bit meh.! :(
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Comments 1 - 15 of 18
andrejdace
Honestly, as soon as you find out that Simon Kinberg is a producer and hasn't really directed anything it'll tell you everything you need to know about this movie.The beats are all there (kind of), but the camera work and the direction are just completely (for lack of a better word) uninspired. People go from point A to point B but it feels like nothing is happening, there is just no energy there.
All in all this is definitely the worst X-men movie by far. Even X-men Origins Wolverine is entertaining in a B-level shlock-y kinda way, but Dark Phoenix is just as bland as oatmeal made with water.
chunkylefunga
Amateur Director + weak storyline = bad film.Don't bother with this.
Buksemannen
Sophie Turner really is a terrible actress.Paravail
Not terrible, but thoroughly mediocre.nowhereman136
At least the train fight scene was coolEmiam
7/10Clearly better than the really bad trailer!
andype
Boring, bad performed movie. I don't think, the world need more of this kind of movie.DisneyStitch
I don't really think the X-men universe really works anymore so it's probably for the best that they are converting over to the mainstream MCU which is currently in shambles. The entire POV of the human race that has been a driving factor in pretty much every one of the films has lost all of its luster. I think I've also got some serious X-men fatigue with all the personal drama that continues to spring up between the characters. Maybe when a superhero team first gets together that drama is well warranted but dragging it out film after film gets incredibly tiresome and eats up so much time that could be spent on other avenues.If there's anything that this quadrilogy of films has made abundantly clear it's that humans/mutants simply can't coexist. The events of the last film effectively slammed the door shut on that. Hilariously enough, I know that Dinklage's character in Days was meant to be portrayed as the bad guy but in retrospect he seems pretty much vindicated.
And that whole
There's no "X-men" in the title of the movie almost as if it's ashamed to even present itself as part of the series. That says a lot.
Neens
I must have misunderstood something. Wasn'tAeon Rio
Wasn't impressed with Turner's acting skills. Is it her or was the director at fault?Linkmaster89
Better than accepted.Siskoid
After Apocalypse, I swore off X-Men movies, but Fox was about to do the same. Dark Phoenix is, in the end, the last installment, and while not as ludicrous, boring and bloated as Apocalypse, it's not not quite a winner. I could have been. It started well enough. Jean Gray's origin. The new timeline's bright mutant future having compromised Professor X. A cool mission in space. I was ready to say the film's biggest flaw was that I just don't find Sophie Turner compelling in the role. But as Jean loses control and starts being hounded by aliens for her new power (this is basically a waste of Jessica Chastain, because these villains are generic and dull), I started to see the bigger problem. It's natural for X-Men movies to want to do the Dark Phoenix Saga. It's one of the most touted and reprinted stories in the X-Men canon (in fact, this is the movies' second go at it). But it's a very involved storyline that needs to be set up early and build over several chapters for it to work, and these movies aren't really prepared to do that. Making it an intimate, psychological story about how to deal with trauma is fine for some other psychic-gone-wrong movie (isn't that New Mutants, actually?), but it misses the point. The story was a "Saga" because it was epic, and remorseless and devastating. The movie doesn't stick the landing on any of those levels and the third act is particularly tedious as a result, even withholding the trademark Phoenix effect for most of the picture, so it's not even committing to strong image-making. Better than I expected after the last one - and there's one mutant cameo that made me smile - but the franchise still seems to limp to the finish. Which is actually a good epithet for most of the acting, limp. It's not just the franchise that's tired, it looks like.boulderman
Enjoyed the action. The ratings out me off, I can see the Alien aspect being an issue but it's got enough 6/10. Great effects. I saw 25 minutes of this four years ahead of release, in particular the first 20 minutes and the flashback near the endBlatant Scottish flag reference when the blue in the X chair back.
Decent acting
TheOnlyRogueAngel
Not one of the best X-Men movies, but entertaining enough... train fight scene was pretty awesome and blowing the shit out of stuff was good, but otherwise a bit meh.! :(IgnacioM
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