Dark Phoenix

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Dark Phoenix is the second attempt to tell the Dark Phoenix storyline on the big screen, and it was a film that I was actually anticipating relatively highly. I watched this movie yesterday, and I really wanted to let it sit for a while because I wasn’t really sure exactly how I felt. In all honesty, I don’t think I’m still all that sure how I feel about it. The climax may be the best example on thoughts on the movie. The climax involves a battle on a train. All at once, I feel like it is both exciting and disappointing. The actual action itself is pretty cool, but the little mini fights that take place within this larger action scene feel like they are just over and done with. On the whole, the acting feels very much the same way. Major props really should go to Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy. These three all do what they can to carry both the scenes they are in, and the movie as a whole. Normally, I think Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain are very reliable actresses. Here, they feel like the movie’s weak links. Neither of these two women actually feel like they are even remotely invested in anything besides their paychecks. As for everyone else, they feel like they’re just kind of there. It really pains me to see Evan Peters’ Quicksilver and Alexandra Shipp’s Storm sidelined the way they are. The film is decently paced. I almost appreciate the fact that this movie isn’t overly long, and doesn’t feel as bloated as some of the previous X-Men films have. But, this is the last Fox-produced film within the main X-Men timeline. Instead of really feeling like a finale, it feels like they just kind of made another X-Men movie. Some of the character arcs didn’t really work for me either. I’m not going to go into spoilers and reveal which ones, but this is something that should be noted. I don’t know if fans will actually like this movie. I know there are going to be fans that are probably going to hate it. Personally, I don’t think this is deserving of a 24% on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time I am writing this review), especially when X-Men Origins has a 37%. I just don’t think it’s good or bad enough to really bring me to care that much, even if I can admit to feeling somewhat disappointed by the movie that we got in the end. 

5 / 10