DARK PHOENIX

06.13.19

(SPOILER WARNING)

Let me start this review by saying this; I feel bad for Twentieth Century Fox, and it isn’t for the reason you think. I don’t hate Dark Phoenix as much as everyone else does. In fact, I think it’s just fine. Perhaps it’s because I saw it a few days later after its opening weekend so I expected nothing but an actual abomination? This movie happened to pleasantly surprise me on a few levels.

First off, I really enjoyed Han Zimmer’s score! I'm actually listening to it as I am currently writing this. I thought it worked well, especially in the opening scene. The acting is also solid from everyone, except for the moment with Cyclops threatening to kill Magneto. Additionally, I actually loved the fracturing of the X-Men in the second act. It made for a really interesting dynamic, and I really wished that they played with that idea more in the third act. Although James McAvoy is once again superb as Professor X, I have one major problem with his character.

He simply doesn’t come across as Charles Xavier to me, and this is the fault of the writer and director, not James McAvoy. It is revealed that Charles instead of prioritizes the X-Men’s squeaky-clean public image and attending ceremonies rather than the safety of his friends, family and students from death. He also kept the truth of Jean Grey’s father from her for years, and when Beast tells him that Raven’s death is entirely his fault, he literally laughs off the idea and reaches for a bottle of alcohol. I’m sorry, this is not Professor X. He comes across more as Magneto than he does Professor X actually.

I also was especially annoyed with how Quicksilver was handled, they obviously couldn’t care less about him. After stealing the show twice in both Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, he is quite literally thrown off to the side with about three lines and less than five minuets of screentime? I also find their new outfits to be incredibly bland, generic and ugly, as well as a massive downgrade from their outfits introduced at the end of Apocalypse. My biggest problem with Dark Phoenix however I believe is the final resolution. The final resolution didn’t leave me bitter, just disappointed.

In summary, the final battle sees Jean Grey battling Jessica Chastain’s character, and she has to decide wether or not to kill Jessica Chastain’s character who’s trying to I think take over the world? I don’t even remember honestly. If she does kill her however, the Phoenix energy inside Jean will be unleashed which will kill all of the X-Men. Call me crazy, but I actually would’ve preferred to see an ending to where the X-Men die instead of Jean Grey. I believe that ending would’ve tonally fit the movie better.

For instance, throughout the movie it has been shown that the Government now fully entrusts and loves the X-Men. When Jean starts wrecking havoc, people start loosing faith in the X-Men again. So when Jean dies, they honor her by renaming Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters to Jean Grey School, and apparently the Government is just fine with them again? I don’t think the Government should’ve been this lax… remember when the Sentinels were built in the 1970s to eliminate all mutants?

I personally feel all of their trust in the X-Men would’ve been dropped immediately once they see an established X-Men member causing mayhem in public. Surely that would’ve resulted in massive consequences… If Jean Grey ended up killing her friends and taking over the earth, it would’ve shown that the world is in desperate need of new saviors… perhaps that’s how The New Mutants was originally supposed to fit into the timeline. Also, does Hank McCoy know how to use Cerebro since Professor X entrusted him with becoming the new Professor of Jean Grey School?

I didn’t walk out of the theater hating Dark Phoenix, I was simply disappointed and sympathetic towards Twentieth Century Fox for the film’s problematic production. I have the slight feeling this movie was always supposed to be the end for this wave of X-Men characters, just not in the way it ended up as. I hope  people are able to find at least some level of enjoyment from this movie, because I believe it doesn’t deserve this much hate.

6/10