Does the Phoenix Rise? Dark Phoenix Review
Finally! This comic book nerd has been waiting for the adaptation of one her favorite story arcs for years. Teased and disappointed by the end of X2 I have dreamt of this moment since that phoenix shaped shadow crossed that murky water. I had all the comic books and truthfully it was one of the only times I really liked Cyclops and so when I saw the teaser trailers and movie poster I was stoked. However, my inner ten-year-old comic nerd was kicking and screaming as she has with every iteration of X-Men. So, when we sit down to talk about what exactly I thought of the movie I am of two minds. So, let’s have some fun and hand the mic over for a movie review from that inner comic nerd of mine. Here we go…
Crap! Crap! Crap! No Hellfire Club! No Sh’iar! No Wolverine! Are you trying to kill me? Come on! No Mastermind! You just ripped my heart out, tore it up and tried to super glue it back together, you jerk! This movie is utter shhhh….
Okay, give me that mic back! That seems like a good place for me to take over. As an adult, I have a little different take on the movie and one with a lot fewer expletives. It is hard for me to pull myself from the overwhelming idea that what was on the screen was far from the Dark Phoenix Saga of my youth. But as many of us, comic geeks have come to expect Hollywood has to create movies that appeal to everyone, not just us and so we have become accustomed to rewritten history, X-men teams that never existed and weird timelines. But hey at least we are mainstream now, right!? Okay, so enough of that soapbox let’s get down to the review!
So, if you go into Dark Phoenix only having had the experience of X-men through the eyes of 20th Century Fox then this movie may be pretty good. The storyline is cohesive and paced semi-well. Then when you add in the VFX you seem to be perfectly set up for that summer blockbuster you thought you were walking into. However, that is not what you get (sorry!). In the end, it is just sort of an okay movie that is not a horrible way to spend a few hours out of a hot summer day. Almost anti-climactic the final battle is lackluster and the emotion that the director and screenwriter wanted to elicit from the audience fell short in my opinion. The only saving grace of this movie was the visual effects which were well done and helped smooth out the fact that the acting was just kind of meh! (Even Jennifer Lawrence seemed to be telling the audience she was tired of being there!) and the story followed suit. Simon Kinberg did what he could with a bland script but that wasn’t much.
I know what you’re saying man she hates this film! No, I really think it was a fun movie but when compared to other comic book movies that have been brought to the screen in the last decade or so it just can’t hold up. (Fingers crossed that Disney can do and does something with them…maybe an Onslaught story arc?) So, if you are looking for my geekin’ opinion there it is! Not a horrible movie, but not the best either.
Kim Miller
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