Fox quickly closes the door on a generation of films with a great score composition from Hans Zimmer, solid performances, and great sequences of action.
After having to endure months of begrudging moans across social media at 20th Century Fox facing their last stand with the uncanny X-Men, their final installment in the near two decade franchise, Dark Phoenix, has finally hit theaters.
Written and directed by first time director, and X-men franchise alum Simon Kinberg, and starring Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), James McAvoy (Charles Xavier), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), and Michael Fassbender (Magneto).
As I mentioned at the top, the road to Dark Phoenix has been a long one. With news that a first time director would be tackling one of the most beloved story arcs from the comics (and one they already attempted with X3: The Last Stand), the level of excitement surrounding the film declined. Following that up was the finalization of the Disney-Fox merger, and Disney would be swallowing 20th Century Fox, the rights to countless IPs, and of course, the beloved X-Men. This provided a lot of moviegoers good reason to pass on this final entry as they eagerly await what is going to end up being “the true iteration of the X-Men” (or so they say).
Despite a less than clear timeline of events, and a few betrayals of beloved characters during these past two decades, the X-Men films have always found a way to stay true to a singular identity. Uprooting it’s source material by basking in its social politics based on class, race, and gender inequality. Shining a light on the relationship between the X-Men and the citizens of the United States in the earliest iterations, and evolving that in the pseudo-reboot with First Class. This is what has always made the X-Men franchise stand out, and although Dark Phoenix diminishes some of that, the end result is still surprisingly enjoyable.
Excluding the credits sequence, Dark Phoenix runs at roughly one hour and 45 minutes. For a story based on an epic, this could prove to be a less than terrific runtime to try and capture every sweet detail the comic-books have to offer. This proves to be a wise decision for anyone who isn’t concerned with whether or not it stays true to its source material, but many fans may be groaning or rolling their eyes through most of it. For myself, I found the story to be pretty efficient, if not overly efficient. Skimming by on a lot of the cosmos of the X-Universe, and focusing primarily on character interactions and a tight knit cast. Less sprawling than something like Days of Future Past, and less bloated than Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix meets halfway. This is a decision that can prove costly regarding fully fleshed out ideas, and for the most part that is the result, but there is still elements worth positively pondering. Particularly with the performances, Hans Zimmer’s score, and relatively exciting action sequences.
Regarding the franchise in its entirety, the X-Men films have never created anything as iconic as the swivel shot in Avengers, or for some, the zoom on the Trinity in Batman v Superman. There isn’t anything iconic here, but the action is a highlight, especially a train sequence that went through late reshoots. There is a level of fluidity to this scene in particularly, and a few others, that evoke the power of each individual X-men. Whether it’s Storm hurling lightning bolts, or Nightcrawler flashing in and out of sight with Xavier in tote, the action is creative and fun to watch because it examines the strengths and weaknesses of each character’s power set in a refreshing way. On top of that, all of the performances are well-handled, and it gives each of these sequences a palpable level of believability.
Fassbender and McAvoy are the standouts (per usual), but Sophie Turner turns in her best performance in a movie so far. A lot of this can be attributed to some stellar camerawork, but she channels anguish, frustration, and fear extremely well. Although the elevation of her powers is relatively rushed, Turner still has Jean shine or breakdown in spectacular moments. The rest of the cast does enough to tap into the emotional moments and fantastic character interactions that I never knew I wanted. There’s an exchange between Nicholas Hoult’s Beast and Xavier that is one of the X-Universe’s better scenes. Although the dialogue can be overly corny to the point of tonal distance, and it may elicit a few snickers from the audience.
Dark Phoenix is one of the most cut and dry movies I’ve seen in recent memory, and that’s just fine. For being the final X-Men film from 20th Century Fox, it fails to achieve a profound sense of finality and dramatic enough circumstances worth being invested in, but that doesn’t completely negate it’s artistic merits. For a first time director, Simon Kinberg brings this chapter to life with vivid textures and a streamlined sense of urgency and efficiency. It cuts narrative corners, and eliminates a looming threat with it’s villain, but Jessica Chastain is really no different than any other standard villain in comic-book movies these days. Dark Phoenix is brisk, vivid, full of the year’s best action in a superhero movie so far, and has a slew of great performances from a lovely cast. It may not be the X-Men films to end all X-Men films, or the embodiment of the best 20th Century Fox has to offer, but there’s enough worthwhile elements to have an enjoyable time at the movies early on this Summer.
Dark Phoenix gets a 59/100