Marvel May - Dark Phoenix (2019)

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and we're back with Marvel May. And let's be clear, I wasn't looking forward to this one. Like, really, I saw this when it came out, and I was disappointed in it even then. But, in recent years, I have grown to appreciate the film, especially after looking back at X-Men: The Last Stand. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the biggest cinematic letdown of 2019: Dark Phoenix. 

          So, the movie opens with a prologue with Jean Grey and her parents, and Jean's powers cause an automobile accident, which she is led to believe killed her parents. In the hospital, Professor Charles Xavier meets with her, and offers to take her somewhere she can learn to control her abilities. 

        Cut to years later, and it's the year 1992, and the X-Men are asked to head into space and rescue the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour, which was struck by a wave of solar flare-esque energy. The crew is saved, but Jean is struck by the energy. Now, what's fascinating to me is how, by this point in time, the X-Men are essentially celebrities, and are hailed as heroes as opposed to being hated on for being mutants. Anyway, Raven accosts Charles for his more nonchalant attitude lately, Jean gets checked out by Hank, who tells her she's fine, and she joins Scott and some other students for a party in the woods. And, by the way, Dazzler, the disco Queen/pop star mutant, is actually in this scene, and she's singing at the party, while Storm is making ice cubes for drinks. Jean starts to lose control, and she unleashes a powerful telekinetic wave that knocks everyone back. It's pretty intense. 

       Jean also learns that Charles altered her memory, and her father is still alive. Returning to her childhood home, she confronts her father, and he confirms that he asked Charles to block out the truth, as he wanted to distance himself from Jean after the accident. The X-Men show up to bring Jean home, but Peter is hurt, Raven is killed, and Jean escaped. Now, this was a moment when fans, myself included, were done with this movie. They killed Mystique. After three movies of building her up as a powerhouse character, essentially redefining her role in these movies, they just fridged her? What the hell? Honestly, Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique, who is a favorite performance of mine in these movies, deserved better than this, man. This was just stupid. Oh, what does this lead to? This leads to Hank, a known pacifist in the comics, now wants Jean dead in revenge for Raven's death. My God, how can you kill one character and screw up another so bad? I don't get it. 

        Anyway, Jean seeks asylum with Magneto on his mutant haven of Genosha. Okay, another screw up here. While I was glad to see Genosha finally appear on screen, I was bummed that it wasn't the mutant utopia it was in the comics. Instead, it just looks like a scrapyard hippie commune with some metal containers as makeshift houses, grass, and growing areas for food. Again, someone really didn't do their research on Genosha, and gave a very base looking haven that is nothing like Genosha in the comics. Anyway, Magneto denies her sanctuary, and she ends up taking down a military helicopter that's looking for her. 

       And, it's here where I'm finally going to discuss the villains. The villains are a group of shapeshifting aliens, led by Vuk, who have some kind of ties to the energy affecting Jean, which they call the Phoenix Force. Okay, so this is fairly accurate to the comics, as the Phoenix Force DID come from the stars, and it DID affect Jean Grey and make her powers go haywire and her mental state to fall apart. So, I do give props for that much, at least. But, our main villain is easily the weakest in the X-Men franchise, and no, I don't blame actress Jessica Chastain for the character, she did a serviceable job in the movie. It's just, the writing for the character isn't interesting at all, which is a shame. 

       So, Magneto and his Brotherhood, along with Charles and the X-Men, have gathered to stop Jean. An anti-mutant government unit called the Mutant Containment Unit, or MCU for short, captures the X-Men, the Brotherhood, and Jean, and takes them to a secure location, only for Vuk and her followers to attack the train they're traveling on. Now, I find the government unit's name to be ironic in a way, as this movie was released shortly after 20th Century Fox became an acquired subsidiary of Disney, who owns Marvel Studios, which produces the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU for short. But, it's just a coincidence, nothing more than that. 

        Anyway, the Brotherhood and the X-Men defeat the MCU troops and Vuk's followers, Jean flies into space with Vuk, destroy it them both, Charles retires and Hank is placed in charge of the newly renamed "Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters," and the movie ends with Charles and Erik having a friendly game of chess. 

          Honestly, the performances is n this movie weren't quite as top tier as in X-Men: Apocalypse, with both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender pretty much phoning it in, Nicholas Hoult going completely out of character for Hank in trying to kill Jean, and Jennifer Lawrence barely resembling the beloved character she introduced us to in X-Men: First Class. Tye Sheridan does stand out a bit as Cyclops, but Kodi Smitt-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, and Lana Condor all feel wasted as Nightcrawler, Storm, Quicksilver, and Jubilee. And, as much as it made very little sense, it was nice seeing Halston Sage as Dazzler. But, the main focus is Sophie Turner as Jean. Her arc in this movie is supposed to be the emotional core of the movie, but it comes off as so bland and uninterested that, as an audience member, I am constantly looking for a reason to give a shit. 

         All of this, however, I am willing to give some slight leeway to, as this was the first time Simon Kinberg ever directed a feature film. Would I have personally preferred an experienced director like Matthew Vaughn? Yes. But, for his first feature film, Simon Kinberg did a somewhat better job in adaptation "The Dark Phoenix Saga" from the comics, at least when compared to X-Men: The Last Stand. So, it's for that reason that I'm giving Dark Phoenix a rating of 1.25/5. 

          Unfortunately, the next film of the X-Men franchise, the final film of the X-Men franchise, is also the WORST film in the X-Men franchise. So, join me on Wednesday as we finally finish the X-Men franchise with The New Mutants.