X-Men: Dark Phoenix

The year 2000 saw the beginning of not only the first X-Men film but also the rise in popularity of superhero films which now dominate the box office worldwide. Starring thespians such as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen while introducing the likes of Hugh Jackman, the first film was a huge success for Fox and this run of films lasted all the way until X-Men: Dark Phoenix in 2019 when Disney acquired the rights for their Marvel franchise.

Somehow despite enjoying the enjoying the X-Men films, the only one in the series I ever wrote about was Logan. The trilogy of films in the 2000s was two thirds great for its time but ended poorly with a disappointing sequel in 2006 with The Last Stand. Two years later we had Iron Man on our screens and it seemed Professor Xavier's school of mutants had had its day but Fox took a new approach, almost rebooting the series with a prequel set in the 1960s which explored the early days of its established characters with First Class from 2011. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence headed up a strong cast that proved successful, and things looked even better with sequel Days of Future Past which jumped between the old and new cast through an inventive storyline. However, the franchise suddenly took a turn for mediocrity with X-Men: Apocalypse and with Fox's rights to the franchise now expiring, should the series bow-out or try to end on a high?

Through some bizarre planning within Fox, the supposed final film would take the same story used in The Last Stand, a popular one amongst fans in the comics, and try to make it work a second time around with that film's writer now acting as director for Dark Phoenix. The story sees when one of the team's own members, Jean Grey, almost die during a mission, she awakens with suppressed memories from her childhood and now the X-Men must fight to save her from the world, and from herself as she becomes more and more lethal. I never cared much for the story last time around, the lack of a true protagonist somehow undercut the drama, but I enjoyed the rebooted series despite its flaws up until this point and wanted to see if Fox could part with this series on a positive note.

The saving grace of the McAvoy/Fassbender era has been its two leads who helped reintroduce the characters to a new generation and whenever the two are together the films only get better. Even the critically mauled, Apocalypse, had its moments with the ongoing conflict between the two but it's unfortunate to see that Dark Phoenix has been rushed out without any care for its characters. The story jumps from scene to scene while trying to create drama without doing much to establish what's at stake or explain why Jessica Chastain's supernatural villain matters to the story.

There's simply very little to care about, and it seems the cast felt the same as they sleepwalk through a half-baked script which failed to create any emotional impact. Sophie Turner as Jean Grey does her best to convey the internal conflict of her character but by the end this film felt like a waste of energy for its talented cast who are worthy of so much more. The final act is a forgettable action sequence on a train which culminates in a CGI showdown in the middle of nowhere which felt ironically cheap and ended abruptly before I knew it. That's not to say I could barely stand the near two hour running-time as it was entertaining in limited parts; for example, a showdown between Magneto and Jean had moments of genuine tension, but everything else fell flat.

The drop in quality when comparing the first films in this reboot to the second half is truly jarring. The series began giving audiences something new to see that left an impression whereas this felt like bad early draft in need of a good few rewrites. I'm sure if you took any fan ideas for what this film could have been, you would have something worth watching at the very least. The cast must be happy that this once promising series is behind them, as I'm sure the fans are, and hopefully whatever Disney do next will have more care and attention. Dark Phoenix is an unsatisfying and criminally forgettable conclusion to the series that is unfortunately not worth your time.