The Guard
Avenger
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
- Messages
- 34,040
- Reaction score
- 1,390
- Points
- 103
It falls into the category of mediocre in the pantheon of superhero movies, but there are some pretty unique ideas and approaches to concepts for a superhero/sci fi/action film. It suffers many of the same problems previous entries have had, in terms of key characters being relegated to supporting roles, or characters having perfunctory roles, and that stuff keeps it from being a really good movie. You can kind of feel the studio's hand in this. I'd be surprised if the final form the story takes was the original intentention.
It's surprisingly well directed for a relative novice. Kinberg does have good instincts for visuals and is pretty good at building tension. The writing is mostly solid, but as subtle as a sledgehammer at times, which is unfortunate, as Kinberg has been capable of a defter touch, and this material and the concepts in it would have benefited from that. There's definitely some clunky dialogue when it comes to some of the more complex psychological stuff and the sci-fi meandering. You can feel what he's trying to do, present a slightly more down to earth version of the X-Men, but in the end, this is a melodrama, in traditional X-Men fashion. Hans Zimmer sure knows it.
You can feel where it has been edited to something tighter, and I don't think that was ever the intent when this was originally plotted. DARK PHOENIX had to have been planned to be at least 15 to 30 minutes longer in its original incarnation/conception. That said, the story and evolution still works as is, it just feels a bit rushed in a few key places in the first two acts. Oddly the third act mostly works pretty well. Like, really well for the most part. It's unique and entertaining and resonant, though saddled with a few of the classic superhero good VS evil tropes, but a solid psychological twist. The characters are not as fleshed out as they could/should be, especially the villains, who are a fairly interesting choice given the source material, but they are relatively spot on for all that, at least in terms of their trajectories within this franchise. The performances are very solid (Sophie is generally excellent) and the effects are pretty darn good, as is the action, which really does feature some of the most creative use of power and some of the more natural teamwork/fieldwork in the franchise. They do get to the heart of what it means for the X-Men to be a surrogate family in a more direct way, even if the relationships aren't fleshed out as much as we would like. There's a very solid message of forgiveness, redemption and hope in the movie. There are some very "Classic X-Men" moments and interactions throughout.
There's definitely some wasted potential in terms of the concepts introduced, and I think this is probably on the studio. Whether it's at all related to the merger, I don't know. I do think CAPTAIN MARVEL had an impact on the third act. You can feel the similarities there, even with a completely different storyline happening. But overall, it feels more like they took a concept that wasn't especially safe and then tried to play it safe. The result is a film that is generally tonally consistent and fairly well executed on most levels, but muddied in its overall approach to the material. It really does feel like a serious superhero film mixed with a zany sci-fi action film at times. And that juxtaposition is not the worst thing, but it doesn't always quite work.
It's not bad, it's just...not enough. Not quite what it needed to be as the last chapter in the series. The place the film leaves the characters in is appropriate and logical, but moved through quickly, and I wanted more when it was over. Just a bit more resolution/final development. And that seems to be the way this franchise leaves its fans...wanting just a bit more.
I've liked a lot of what this franchise has done, but I'm ready for something new, and the film, in a sort of meta sense, seems to be aware of and to promise just that.
It's surprisingly well directed for a relative novice. Kinberg does have good instincts for visuals and is pretty good at building tension. The writing is mostly solid, but as subtle as a sledgehammer at times, which is unfortunate, as Kinberg has been capable of a defter touch, and this material and the concepts in it would have benefited from that. There's definitely some clunky dialogue when it comes to some of the more complex psychological stuff and the sci-fi meandering. You can feel what he's trying to do, present a slightly more down to earth version of the X-Men, but in the end, this is a melodrama, in traditional X-Men fashion. Hans Zimmer sure knows it.
You can feel where it has been edited to something tighter, and I don't think that was ever the intent when this was originally plotted. DARK PHOENIX had to have been planned to be at least 15 to 30 minutes longer in its original incarnation/conception. That said, the story and evolution still works as is, it just feels a bit rushed in a few key places in the first two acts. Oddly the third act mostly works pretty well. Like, really well for the most part. It's unique and entertaining and resonant, though saddled with a few of the classic superhero good VS evil tropes, but a solid psychological twist. The characters are not as fleshed out as they could/should be, especially the villains, who are a fairly interesting choice given the source material, but they are relatively spot on for all that, at least in terms of their trajectories within this franchise. The performances are very solid (Sophie is generally excellent) and the effects are pretty darn good, as is the action, which really does feature some of the most creative use of power and some of the more natural teamwork/fieldwork in the franchise. They do get to the heart of what it means for the X-Men to be a surrogate family in a more direct way, even if the relationships aren't fleshed out as much as we would like. There's a very solid message of forgiveness, redemption and hope in the movie. There are some very "Classic X-Men" moments and interactions throughout.
There's definitely some wasted potential in terms of the concepts introduced, and I think this is probably on the studio. Whether it's at all related to the merger, I don't know. I do think CAPTAIN MARVEL had an impact on the third act. You can feel the similarities there, even with a completely different storyline happening. But overall, it feels more like they took a concept that wasn't especially safe and then tried to play it safe. The result is a film that is generally tonally consistent and fairly well executed on most levels, but muddied in its overall approach to the material. It really does feel like a serious superhero film mixed with a zany sci-fi action film at times. And that juxtaposition is not the worst thing, but it doesn't always quite work.
It's not bad, it's just...not enough. Not quite what it needed to be as the last chapter in the series. The place the film leaves the characters in is appropriate and logical, but moved through quickly, and I wanted more when it was over. Just a bit more resolution/final development. And that seems to be the way this franchise leaves its fans...wanting just a bit more.
I've liked a lot of what this franchise has done, but I'm ready for something new, and the film, in a sort of meta sense, seems to be aware of and to promise just that.
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