“We’re doing space missions now?” —Quicksilver
Today’s quick review: Dark Phoenix. While on a rescue mission in space, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) absorbs a cosmic entity that amplifies her psychic powers to incredible levels. Her new power unlocks traumatic memories that Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) had sealed away, unbalancing her psyche and making her a danger to those around her. It falls to the X-Men to find Jean and bring her home before her powers spiral out of control.
Dark Phoenix is a superhero action movie and the fourth entry in the X-Men prequel series. Dark Phoenix revisits the X-Men in the year 1992, at the height of their careers as public superheroes. The movie has an ensemble cast, a story with potential, and a fair amount of action, including some fun moments for favorite characters. However, badly flawed writing and mediocre performances from the cast keep Dark Phoenix from reaching its goals.
Dark Phoenix’s main failing is that it leans too heavily on writing that can’t support its weight. Dark Phoenix aspires to be a superhero drama on par with the best entries in the X-Men franchise, but it lacks the finesse to do so. It changes the series’ status quo with minimal explanation, meddles with established character motivations, and fails to properly set up tension before cashing it in. The result is a flat watch that retreads old ground.
The problem is compounded by the film’s acting. Dark Phoenix has a talented cast with a strong track record, but it struggles to make use of them. James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, and Michael Fassbender are meant to form the foundation for Jean Grey’s character arc, but they show little of the old spark. The remainder of the cast is likewise a mixed bag: no real missteps, but not enough talent or charm to make up for the material they’re given.
Where Dark Phoenix holds the most value is as a chance to see the X-Men in action again. The action scenes are fun and chatic, if not jaw-dropping, and they make creative use of Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee). There are two catches, though: the action is outclassed by other films in the series, and it’s somewhat back-loaded, giving Dark Phoenix a slow start.
Taken on its own, Dark Phoenix works well enough as a sci-fi action movie. Its cast, action, and aspects of its story will entertain fans who are just looking for another outing with the X-Men. But Dark Phoenix is a marked step down from the previous X-Men films, and its missteps will be most sharply felt by the series’ most dedicated fans. Critical viewers may want to revisit either the original X-Men trilogy or the previous prequels instead.
6.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for decent action and a cast of interesting characters hurt by overly ambitious writing.