IT’S 2019 and there have been so many comic book superhero movies that have graced the cinemas with many more to come.
Of the past, some have been great while others have been quite bad but there have also been quite a number that were meanderingly middle-of-the-road movies, being neither bad nor good.
When it comes to X-Men: Dark Phoenix, it’s not that bad at all. Unfortunately, it’s not great either, and that’s a crying shame since this movie represents the end of an era for the X-Men franchise that began in 2000, with the Brian Singer-directed X-Men.
That movie practically reinvigorated the whole superhero comic book genre and launched a renaissance of sorts, which has eventually progressed far on and led up to the mega-epic money-making crowd-pleasing recent Avengers: Endgame.
Granted, some of the other movies in the X-Men franchise were serious duds but there have been some shining gems as well, the most recent being Logan from 2017, that was a great sendoff to the fan-favourite mutant character Wolverine.
While Logan would have been an ending that saw the franchise concluding on a high note, the X-Men have always been about the group, with its many characters struggling to find themselves, fit in and survive in a world that doesn’t really accept them.
So X-Men: Dark Phoenix was highly-anticipated although many would have also been a little worried by the many behind-the-scenes setbacks, which included re-shoots and release dates that were pushed back several times.
Now the worries are realised as this latest instalment, and a second stab at the Dark Phoenix storyline after the disastrous X-Men: The Last Stand from 2006, doesn’t deliver the goods.
Coming after the similarly uninspiring X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), this one is populated by the returning A-list cast who give decent portrayals of their characters but the storyline is just bland and makes it hard for viewers to care about the various heroes.
Basically, this movie revolves around another of the X-Men's most beloved characters, Jean Grey (played by Sophie Turner), as she evolves into the iconic and menacing Dark Phoenix.
After Jean is hit by a cosmic force during a life-threatening rescue mission in space with other team members, she rapidly evolves into something new with an increasingly unstoppable power.
As she starts to lose control in the midst of struggling with her own demons, her fellow X-Men are forced into taking extreme measures to contain the situation which could lead to the total destruction of the world.
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence do their best with what they have to work with as Professor X, Magneto and Mystique respectively.
The action sequences and visual effects are so-so as well but everything just seems a little been-there-done-that and by the numbers.
Its progression is also quite incoherent as the movie starts off slowly and meanders to the third act which then suddenly picks up and races to the abrupt end.
Simon Kinberg, who makes his directorial debut, really shows his inexperience here taking on a mega project with a US$200 million (about RM833 million) budget despite his previous work as producer and writer on previous X-Men screen outings.
With such a dramatic premise presented, it was surprising to feel quite unmoved by all the theatrics happening onscreen. It’s probably the fact that the original Dark Phoenix storyline in the comics was an epic and long spanning tale that was cut down in size to fit a roughly two-hour movie. Even actress Jessica Chastain seemed out of place and under-utilised in her alien role here.
That said, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is not entirely a trainwreck and is still watchable, just as long as the viewer doesn’t expect too much.
With the end of an era, the X-Men brand now finds a new home in Marvel Studios which is under Disney. That in itself, is great, great news for a new dawn, considering the stellar track record of Marvel.
Perhaps the third time will be a charm if the studio with the golden touch eventually decides to tackle the much ill-fated onscreen version of the Dark Phoenix saga and successfully enables it to finally rise out of the ashes.
Whatever the case, it will certainly be an interesting time for the cinematic X-Men title. Let’s hope that it will indeed be marvelous from now on!
NOW SHOWING
X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX
Directed by Simon Kinberg
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, Jessica Chastain
Duration 113 minutes
Rating P13