X-Men: Dark Phoenix

A mission to rescue a crippled space shuttle goes horribly wrong when Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) becomes infected by a cosmic force and becomes the most powerful mutant on Earth. Meanwhile, an alien race lands on Earth looking to use Jean’s newly found power to conquer the planet.

For what is supposedly the final instalment of a series of films, Dark Phoenix is a very subdued affair. It doesn’t feel like a final film of series because the stakes aren’t there, the character assembly is limited (Quicksilver spends most of film hospitalised - presumably because Evan Peters had better things to do) and the film doesn’t have that epic feel that the likes of Lord of the Rings and Endgame had. It’s a bland affair that doesn’t seem to realise the weight of expectation and responsibility it has in tying up the franchise and rounding off a major series, albeit one that has never hit the heights of its more successful brother.

It all lies in the fact that the film is limited is scope in regards to the grandness of the story and the roll call of characters. It just feels so small compared to what’s on offer by another studio making similar material. I may not love the Marvel universe but the sheer lack of ambition and blandness of the x-men universe does increase my appreciation of how much an achievement the creation of an entire universe of interconnected films was. Dark Phoenix feels so lacking in scope and ambition that it could easy be thought of as a second or third film of the franchise where its building up to the final, dramatic confrontation to round off the franchise.

The central villain feels like a middle of round villain from a lame middle of round the sequel, thereby wasting the talents of Jessica Chastain and even if the performances are committed and serious (James McVoy is on his best form here) the film is a humourless bore. Its serious narrative works to an extent as Professor X’s dilemma and damaged relationships with fellow x-men does form a sturdy emotional backbone but its lack of sense of humour and fun works against the simple enjoyment of the film. The material can be done with a serious tone, with genuine peril and heart wrenching emotion, as proven by Logan, but the script doesn’t have that bleak outlook and grittiness that worked so well in Logan

Sophie Turner is good in the lead role, adding depth to a tortured Jean (whilst Fassbender looks like he can’t be bothered). However, it’s a shame this film is so forgettable, the first two films did a great job at introducing us to the lives of mutants and alluding to themes of racism and prejudice in an intelligent way. Phoenix touches, briefly, on this but its only on the most superficial basis. It’s not a terrible film but for or a final film of a series this is very ordinary and limited in many ways.

2.5/5