Review: Dark Phoenix
Even without the electrifying and exceptional finale that was Avengers: Endgame still in recent memory, Dark Phoenix would be a curiously and disappointingly underwhelming wrap-up for a franchise that has spawned a dozen films over the course of two decades. Things were already looking grim with the previous entry, X-Men: Apocalypse, a bloated filler of an instalment which all but benched its star trio of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence to introduce the next tier of superheroes.
The three are pushed even further into the periphery in order to spotlight the saga of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), first seen as a young girl whose telekinetic powers inadvertently caused the car crash that killed her parents. Luckily, she and her powers were nurtured under the guidance of Professor Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and she appears to have found a semblance of normal life, especially in her relationship with Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops (Tye Sheridan). The X-Men themselves have also bridged a peace with the world that once ostracised them for being different, though Raven (Lawrence) worries that Charles is taking bigger and bigger risks with their people in order to save the humans. Plus, she points out, it's always the women saving the men.
Lawrence delivers this cringe-inducing line as best she can but, to be honest, no one has ever looked so blatantly to be biding her time. One can't exactly blame her for, despite some intriguing aspects in the narrative, writer-director Simon Kinberg (making his directorial debut after scripting and/or producing the majority of the X-Men films) can't quite coax out the complexities of the premise and seamlessly marry them within the framework of a superhero film. Much like Captain Marvel, Dark Phoenix very much revolves around the resurrection of girl power in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. In many respects, it presents a more compelling version, but the execution is woefully mishandled. After Jean nearly fatally absorbs a destructive cosmic force during a mission to save a stranded space shuttle, she finds that her powers have increased, but the impulses that surge through her are darker and, after discovering that Charles has emotionally scaffolded her mind, more vengeful. Meanwhile, a shapeshifting alien named Vuk (Jessica Chastain) manipulates the fragile young woman in the hopes of using Jean's power to resurrect her species.
One of the film's inherent issues is Turner. She may be striking of look, but she possesses neither the presence nor the ability to propel a scene much less the entire movie. As a result, Jean's struggle barely registers, nor does one ever truly get the sense that she's genuinely dangerous, not even after she kills a longstanding and beloved character. As with Captain Marvel, she's meant to be the most compelling character but she's actually the least interesting. The eye is relieved to alight upon Fassbender who, though given inferior and been there, done that material, somehow jolts the film with his trademark intensity but is powerless from preventing the series on ending on the weariest of whimpers.
Dark Phoenix
Directed by: Simon Kinberg
Written by: Simon Kinberg; based on X-Men by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, Scott Shepherd, Ato Essandoh, Brian d'Arcy James, Halston Sage, Lamar Johnson
