Dark Phoenix X-Men: Dark PhoeniX Rate and Review Thread (spoilers in spoiler tags)

[BobJM]

I saw this on Thursday night, and gave a quick and dirty first response a few posts above.

Overall, as this movie continues to sit with me, I think I can comfortably rate this at a 3/5. X-Men movies brought me into comics for the most part, and I'll always have a soft spot for these movies, even the misfires. While there are certainly moments that don't land, there are some wonderful character beats and some of the best action/teamwork/power displays in this film than in the entire franchise--something that can't easily be ignored.

Beware of spoilers, but my full thoughts here below:

Spoiler: Full X-Men: Dark Phoenix Review

This may not be a page-for-page adaptation of Claremont's Dark Phoenix Saga, but it's certainly an upgrade from The Last Stand, and it does do a much better job of centering on Jean and her struggles.

The action in this movie is handled better here than any of the other X-Men films, save maybe the savagery showcased in Logan. We actually see the team work together, something I know fans have been waiting for since the early days of this franchise.

The opening space sequence is beautiful to see. Storm and Cyclops don't get too much to do here, but Quicksilver, Nightcrawler, & Jean shine in their power displays.

The fight at Jean's house is equally well done as well, as is the later fight in NYC. We see teammates coordinating attacks, and communicating in the field. Sure, it would have been better to see more recognizable figures, but Red Lotus and Selene are fine in their roles. If a mutant is just cannon fodder, I'd actually rather they be cannon-fodder characters, instead of major players like Psylocke, or Angel like in previous movies.

And then, of course, the final set piece on the train/forest. This sequence is equally impressive (although, I do wish some scenes were added during the reshoots to help it breathe a bit more, and add to some of the character motivations). We see Storm take out whole battalions of aliens, and Magneto & Nightcrawler have some pretty graphic fights too. A stand-out for me was Magneto using dozens of heavy firearms to take on Chastain's villain (what's her name?). Just seeing Cyclops firing his optic beam at multiple targets and protecting Jean/Professor X put a smile on my face.

When the movie kicks off, it's immediately apparent that this will be better than TLS. McAvoy and the young actress playing Jean in the 1975 sequence do a really good job.

From there, the story moves on to the space rescue sequence and subsequent return to the mansion in an almost montage-like motion. It works well, despite some clunky dialogue (was it the dialogue, or Lawrence's delivery?).

The movie is allowed to breath during these first two acts, showcasing Jean succumbing to the temptation of the Phoenix, while juxtaposed against Charles' ego and Mystique's growing concern.

I think this movie has a great flow until Jean leaves Genosha (which, by the way, I like that it looks like a hippie commune. I would have actually preferred a minute or so to introduce the location, and showcase some mutants using their abilities doing day-today activities like farming, etc.)

Some really stellar performances as expected, though no one quite shines like they have in previous performances. McAvoy is great as always, but I don't think he quite reaches the right he achieved in DOFP. And similarly with Fassbender. He's as good as ever, but his character doesn't have the arc he had in First Class, and therefore Fassbender can't quite flex all his acting muscles here.

Turner does well, but the action never gives her a definitive moment to shine (think Janssen's performance during the house sequence in X3). Maybe her best moments are during the NYC confrontations against Magneto & Xavier.

Sheridan also finally brings Cyclops to life. He's not a leader per se, but it's great to see him commanding the screen and actually looking/acting like the hero from the comics.

Lawrence is laughably bad in some scenes. In others, such as her questioning of Xavier on the flight to Jean's house is good. But I was happy to see her go; relieved almost.

This movie would have really benefited from 10-15 minutes more screentime. I don't think it needs nearly as much as some have suggested, but just some dialogue beats here and there would have helped flesh out some characters' plots and motivations, particularly these three: Beast, Magneto, & Chastain.

Beast is ready to kill Jean, which doesn't feel right. Charles may have raised her since 1975, but Beast was also at the mansion at that time, and must have a strong relationship. It would have been better if he went to Magneto, disillusioned by Charles, and came to the conclusion of killing Jean for revenge after some coaxing. (maybe this was the line in the trailers that was cut when Magneto says "you didn't come here seeking permission").

Magneto too needed some more cause to not only go after Jean, but to also switch back to the side of the angels at the end. To be honest, maybe he didn't need to be in this movie at all.

And lastly, I actually didn't mind the alien threat, and thought that Chastain served the character and overall plot well, but it would have been nice to get an additional speech by her character or scene or two, expanding upon her and her peoples' history with the Phoenix and her intention.

So, all-in-all, a perfectly fine film that could have soared to higher heights with some minor tweaking. With the reshoots, I do wish we had gotten a better ending for the entire franchise. I like where things end up with the characters, but it was so rushed that the audiences don't really get a moment to ruminate in this farewell to a 20-year old franchise.

Looking forward to the MCU reboot, but to be completely transparent, I did enjoy this movie, and for the most part, all of the (good) Fox films.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Because Kinberg and Fox are disrespectful like that. It is like they refuse to listen to what the fans have been asking for the past 19 years. I was willing to give Kinberg a chance since he has gone on interviews saying how much he has learnt from Last Stand but after watching Dark Phoenix, it is clear that this hack knows nothing about X-Men. I am not even an avid MCU supporter but I just want the property to go back to Marvel now so that these lead characters (Storm, Rogue, Cyclops, Emma) can be given the proper treatment they deserve.

It's ridiculous to say Kinberg and Fox are 'disrespectful' and 'know nothing about X-Men' because the movie isn't what you want it to be. They don't owe you anything.

 

[Chesterfield]

It's ridiculous to say Kinberg and Fox are 'disrespectful' and 'know nothing about X-Men' because the movie isn't what you want it to be. They don't owe you anything.

Irrespective of Fox and Kinberg being disrespectful or knowing nothing about x-men or not doesn't change the fact that they are s^!" at their jobs making comic book movies for the most part. With the success of the first 2 X-men films, First Class, Logan, the Deadpool films amongst the river of failed comic book films from Fox alone, you'd think with enough examples of not what to do even moreso with the domination of the MCU, clowns like Kinberg and the Fox execs would know better. Their poor performance as "creatives" makes them look like jokes and cannot ever be defended.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Irrespective of Fox and Kinberg being disrespectful or knowing nothing about x-men or not doesn't change the fact that they are s^!" at their jobs making comic book movies for the most part. With the success of the first 2 X-men films, First Class, Logan, the Deadpool films amongst the river of failed comic book films from Fox alone, you'd think with enough examples of not what to do even moreso with the domination of the MCU, clowns like Kinberg and the Fox execs would know better. Their poor performance as "creatives" makes them look like jokes and cannot ever be defended.

Relax. Someone made a film, and you don't like it. It's really not something to get so angry about.

 

[Chesterfield]

And relax.

I am relaxed; thanks.

 

[TheFuture]

Well I went to see it after work with a grand total of five of us in an otherwise empty viewing.

The film is at it's strongest when Chastain isn't on the screen. I don't know what happened here but I've no idea why they even felt they needed to include such a non entity of a villain in this otherwise surprisingly engaging finale to the X Films.

There's a very good film in there had they beefed up the roles of McAvoy and Fassbender one last time which would have been absolutely fitting instead of awkwardly inserting this poorly conceived alien baddie.

 

[P Supreme]

it's crazy for people to suggest to other people they shouldn't get angry if a movie franchise they been following since x-1 before MCU even started that they should just accept that the people in charge put out turd after turd then reward the turd writer the director's chair and we get DP and were suppose just be like ok thanks for that ??

 

[psylockolussus]

it's crazy for people to suggest to other people they shouldn't get angry if a movie franchise they been following since x-1 before MCU even started that they should just accept that the people in charge put out turd after turd then reward the turd writer the director's chair and we get DP and were suppose just be like ok thanks for that ??

Yeah apparently because its just a "movie". Nobody asked Kinberg to make a crappy film about the beloved X-Men for the film not to get strong reaction from people.

 

[tanita_mors]

IDK, but I loved it. This was everything BUT a trainwreak. The cinematography was beautiful and the direction more then competent - hard to believe this is Kinberg's directorial debut. Some of the editing was rather abrupt, but still it flowed very well. The esthetic was Apocalypse meets Logan. The score was phenomenally, really added a lot to the overall effectiveness of the visuals - the CGI was really good, which surprised me given XMen's track record. I agree that the movie should have been longer. The only emotional moment that was overdone was Raven's melodramatic death - JL didn't exactly phone-in this performance, but I was glad she was gone. The aftermath was great. Sophie Turner was wonderful - if she had a weakness in her performance it was at times wonkie accent, the rest was phenomenal.

This was a solid picture, nothing groundbreaking, but above Apocalypse, Last Stand, XMen and First Class, 2 first Wolverine movies for me.

 

[FTCBIRDMAN]

My first time posting in here. But I really liked the movie. RT critics definitely got this wrong and seemed to have an agenda. Sophie did a great job as Jean

What agenda? Please be specific as I am very curious

 

[stillanerd]

Well, I managed to watch Dark Phoenix and write up a review for it. Do I think it's as bad as X-Men: The Last Stand? No. I think it's actually worse. Because at least The Last Stand was actually fun to watch. This movie? Let's just say I find it very apropos that Dark Phoenix's ending literally involves a massive train wreck.

Dark Phoenix review: A big-budget burnout

 

[EnDz0n3]

Well, I managed to watch Dark Phoenix and write up a review for it. Do I think it's as bad as X-Men: The Last Stand? No. I think it's actually worse. Because at least The Last Stand was actually fun to watch. This movie? Let's just say I find it very apropos that Dark Phoenix's ending literally involves a massive train wreck.

Dark Phoenix review: A big-budget burnout

It's two different train wrecks! Who knew the train that Magneto uses to plug the door of that random mansion from the trailers/ads is different from the mutant convoy trainwreck. Seriously what's wrong with this writer? No one from the production told him "maybe we shouldn't do that?" Hutch? Lauren?? Fassbender???

 

[Jake_Snake]

Saw it, like it very much. Better than Apocalypse or the Last Stand for sure and Deadpool 2. It's a above Wolverine Origins to me and somehow in between DOFP and 1st class.

I do wish there's more Fassbender and McAvoy though, shurgs.

 

[Hand Banana]

So I went offline before the embargo lifted. Wanted to watch the movie blind and go in with zero expectations and I did. Had no idea what its reception was until after I saw it.

That said, I thought the movie was decent but nothing special. Good action, SFX, acting, and never drags. I thought it was an improvement over Apocalypse, better X3 and Origins. So I’m kinda shocked that it’s RT meter is below Origins. I did have a feeling that this was going to be another Godzilla 2 where it has good social media reaction but not good critical reception.

Spoiler

Btw, I called that the aliens were D’Bari months ago!

However, I will admit that the movie is rushed and is too short. They never flesh out the manipulation of Jean by the aliens. Apparently that was developed more in the original cut but they dropped it for an action set(albeit a good action set). They should have kept the original third act and just add some actions.

It really reminds me of Spider-Man 3 even more now. With the rushed alien plot but is otherwise good looking movie. That’s how I feel about this movie.

At least it seems to be getting decent reception from the general audience based on what comes up on Twitter search.

Jean becomes Phoenix before her Dark Phoenix film where she actually receives that power lol.

Actually that was just her mutant power.

 

[Hand Banana]

Well, I managed to watch Dark Phoenix and write up a review for it. Do I think it's as bad as X-Men: The Last Stand? No. I think it's actually worse. Because at least The Last Stand was actually fun to watch. This movie? Let's just say I find it very apropos that Dark Phoenix's ending literally involves a massive train wreck.

Dark Phoenix review: A big-budget burnout

Responded to some of your points on CBR. So this is a repost.

After all, if you’re going to close out your franchise before the inevitable Disney reboot, why not also ripoff Captain Marvel ?

I can’t tell if this is a joke or not, but just in case you are serious this movie started filming before Captain Marvel.

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Being derivative, however, is only one of Dark Phoenix’s many cinematic sins. In striving to create a more faithful adaptation of the “Dark Phoenix Saga,” Kinberg has churned out a superhero movie that’s just like every other superhero movie. No longer “protecting a world that hates and fears them,” the X-Men have essentially become second-rate Avengers. People cheer them at airports waving “Marry me” signs and action figures. Even the X-Men’s uniforms, inspired by Frank Quietly’s designs from New X-Men, look generic.

The X-Men have always had non-mutant fans since the Stan Lee era and considering that...

Spoiler

its shown that the X-Men have lost favor with the public after what Jean did that is not really a valid complaint.

Despite also being tied with X-Men: Days of Future Past as the most expensive X-Men movie ever made, you’ll keep asking yourself, “Where did all the movie’s budget go?” Magneto’s government-sanctioned island commune for mutants, for instance, looks like it’s filmed in somebody’s junk-infested backyard. The effects are your standard CGI extravaganza, most of which are saved for the climax. Even the cinematography and action choreography makes it seems like you’re watching something made-for-TV than made-for-the silver screen.

The 200 million is so far, just a guess by journalists. There is a conflicting report on the budget.

Though I disagree with you on the cinematography, CGI, and action. Thought it was. They actually got the guy who did the cinematography for Avatar and the action unit director of Mad Max: Fury Road and it showed imo.

 

[stillanerd]

Responded to some of your points on CBR. So this is a repost.

And having seen it on CBR, so is this

I can’t tell if this is a joke or not, but just in case you are serious this movie started filming before Captain Marvel.

Well, it's intentionally tongue-in-cheek, because according to early rumors about the movie, the aliens were originally intended to be Skrulls. Even James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender kind of joked about it, suggesting that was one of the reasons why the ending was reshot.

The X-Men have always had non-mutant fans since the Stan Lee era and considering that...

Spoiler

its shown that the X-Men have lost favor with the public after what Jean did that is not really a valid complaint.

In the comics, yes, but the larger point I was making is that my removing the "protecting the world that hates and fears them" from the movie, especially early on, the X-Men lose one of the things which makes them distinctive from other superhero teams like the Avengers or Justice League. And yes

Spoiler

while Jean's actions does cause the government to go after and detain mutants considered high-level threats, what do we see by the movie's end? All the X-Men are back at the newly renamed "Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters," and a retired Xavier at a cafe playing chess with Magneto. Seems like they got that favor back, especially considering they renamed the school after a wanted criminal.

The 200 million is so far, just a guess by journalists. There is a conflicting report on the budget.

Though I disagree with you on the cinematography, CGI, and action. Thought it was. They actually got the guy who did the cinematography for Avatar and the action unit director of Mad Max: Fury Road and it showed imo.

If those worked for you, that's great. And it's not like there weren't some decent shots, CGI, and action. But like I said, most of the time, it seemed it had the feel of a highly produced tv show than a big budget movie, as I thought most of it looked surprisingly small scale compared to previous X-Men movies. That both Avatar's cinematographer and Mad Max: Fury Road's action unit director were involved makes it even more surprising. Still, that's just my personal opinion.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Yeah apparently because its just a "movie". Nobody asked Kinberg to make a crappy film about the beloved X-Men for the film not to get strong reaction from people.

It is just a movie. Unless you're suggesting X-Men is your religion or something?

it's crazy for people to suggest to other people they shouldn't get angry if a movie franchise they been following since x-1 before MCU even started that they should just accept that the people in charge put out turd after turd then reward the turd writer the director's chair and we get DP and were suppose just be like ok thanks for that ??

There's reacting to a move - I love it , I hate it, it's okay, everything in between - but if you are actually getting angry because a movie is not what you want it to be, and you think it's okay to abuse the people who made it simply because it's not what you wanted....well, we've all seen what comes of that.

 

[Hand Banana]

So I went into this movie without seeing one review/score. I just wanted to have a gut reaction to it. I got out less than an hour ago so I probably need some more time to let it settle. But my gut is that I liked it overall.

However, my biggest problem with it was that some things mainly in the first act just felt off. For example Genosha isn't really set up at all. They never even refer to it as Genosha. Jean just shows up there for some reason that isn't explained. The police showing up to Jean's neighborhood, and the military going to Genosha just come out of nowhere there's no explanation as to why they show up. There's also a weird edit when the FBI agent presumably encounters the alien. You don't see what happens. I didn't even realize what happened there until he showed up later with Jessica Chastain's character. Also, Magneto fighting for Jean at the end didn't feel earned. I hope there's an extended cut down the road, but I'm doubtful since superhero movies rarely release those nowadays.

That stuff aside, I thought Sophie Turner was very good. The action/special effects were all great. It was nice seeing the X-Men fight as a team. I personally thought the train fight/Jean taking on the aliens was awesome. As an adaption of The Dark Phoenix saga it did a good job of capturing the spirit of that story for the most part. Certainly rough around the edges, and not the slam dunk I was hoping it would be but I enjoyed it on a first watch. Perhaps my opinion will change down the line.

I did the exact same thing.

 

[Hand Banana]

Well, it's intentionally tongue-in-cheek, because according to early rumors about the movie, the aliens were originally intended to be Skrulls. Even James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender kind of joked about it, suggesting that was one of the reasons why the ending was reshot.



In the comics, yes, but the larger point I was making is that my removing the "protecting the world that hates and fears them" from the movie, especially early on, the X-Men lose one of the things which makes them distinctive from other superhero teams like the Avengers or Justice League. And yes

Spoiler

while Jean's actions does cause the government to go after and detain mutants considered high-level threats, what do we see by the movie's end? All the X-Men are back at the newly renamed "Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters," and a retired Xavier at a cafe playing chess with Magneto. Seems like they got that favor back, especially considering they renamed the school after a wanted criminal.

Yeah, but we know from Logan and Deadpool 2 that people still have out for mutants.

 

[psylockolussus]

Oh God. The movie was terrible! Definitely the worst X-Men movie as no character in this movie looked good whatsoever.

Spoiler

Visual effects and music are okay. But the story of the film was just poor. The dialogues are laughable...quiet! I'll always come back to you. lets go home. my emotions make me strong. Geez. I think the best parts of the film was from the space mission up to the X-Women line, after those, the movie just went downhill. The action was definitely not good especially the one in the Aliens' location, the X-Men vs Magneto's mutants. It was filmed so badly. While I expected the train scene to be better but it was not fantastic. And when the movie ended, I was like, that was it? They renamed the school to Jean Grey's name when earlier in the movie, some of the X-Men like Beast and Storm wanted her dead for killing Mystique. Doesn't make sense. Then they just crammed Storm, Beast, Nightcrawler and Beast in 1 final shot inside the X-Mansion and it was poorly filmed. The final scene with Xavier and Erik was just so tiresome, like oh another chess scene just cause... then look at the sky, flaming bird. How uninspiring this film is.

Professor X - they made him a dbag here. That in his last scene, he wasn't in the X-Mansion but somewhere else?
Magneto - definitely not needed in the film and Genosha looked ***t. To me, his only purpose in the movie was to help Beast in killing Jean because Jean killed Raven. Jean also didn't need to go to Genosha for sanctuary.
Raven - her death was just poorly done. For someone that the studio tried to shove in our throats, they could have at least gave Raven a better exit. I felt nothing when she died. And she was randomly in human form.
Beast - he's also randomly in human form, and I just didn't care about him and his lowkey relationship with Raven ever since First Class. Definitely the worst pairing in the entire film series.
Storm - Once again, just a prop and her power displays didnt really stand out and she had this random attitude against Jean earlier in the movie which was kinda funny but in a bad way.
Quicksilver - I didn't even notice he was gone in the middle of the film when I was recalling the characters in my head. He didn't do anything in this movie eXcept for 1 funny line earlier in the film.
Cyclops - his relationship with Jean Grey was just so underdeveloped. It was like they wanted to sell this boyfriend/girlfriend relationship right from the start but we don't know how deep and important their relationship is. His role here was very flat. In term of power displays, nothing cool eXcept for the space mission.
Vuk - at first I thought the D'baris were interesting but they were so underdeveloped and didn't look cool and I don't even mind if they were similar to the Skrulls. I didn't like they tried to dressed up like businessmen and they don't seem to like color in their clothes. I thought Vuk was fierce in the train scene but when Vuk was killed by Jean, I was like, thats it? Is this the strong character that the outspoken Ms. Jessica Chastain wanted us to see? Her character could have been played by anybody.
Nightcrawler - another prop and I wasn't impressed by his minimal power displays.
Jean - its crazy that Jean finally became the focus of a X-Men film and yet it became the worst X-Men film. I wasn't really wowed by Sophie's performance. She tried her best but nothing outstanding. My mom said she looked really pretty. While I thought the actor playing the kid version wasn't good and annoying. The worst part about Jean in this film is she had the worst lines in this film. And the inconsistency from the Phoenix reveal from Apocalypse to here is so baffling that it still instantly ruined the phoenix X-force for me.

The New Mutants - oh Lord. Usually, every X-Men film has someone new that the fans can look forward to but here. No new mutant in a supporting character, no new mutant in a cool cameo or decent small role. Red Lotus and Selene were so unremarkable as henchmen. Some lines and action there but there's nothing to write about them. There were just random Mutants in the film. I thought I would have at least liked Dazzler's cameo but nope. She was just a random performer in a party.

Over all, the movie was painfully bad and it was just sooo boring. If there were moments that made me laugh, it's the unintentionally bad dialogue. Also, except for the space mission, everything looked small and my God, the movie could have used more eye catching costumes because the movie is a yawn generator. Kinberg should earn his Razzies for this film.

 

[X men Fan]

I always facepalm whenever someone throws these delusional accusations that critics are biased against a franchise they’ve given mostly positive reviews to.

And no the critics weren’t really ‘wrong’ nor were they really ‘right’. They were only honest with their feelings of the movie. Least you forget movies are subjective.

You’re saying the same thing I’m saying. They rated the movie as HORRIBLE. It is not Horrible. That is all I’m saying.. And the majority agrees.

 

[X men Fan]

Critics don't agree with me = Critics have an agenda

No where did I say this. It’s at a 22% right now on RT. Most disagree with that rating. That’s all that’s meant

 

[Detective Conan]

No where did I say this. It’s at a 22% right now on RT. Most disagree with that rating. That’s all that’s meant

Is there anything to disagree with? The 22% score is merely the consensus of critics who rated the movie fresh. So it just shows more critics rated it rotten than fresh than in the previous movies. Its not really a letter grade score like a Cinemascore grade is.

 

[X men Fan]

What agenda? Please be specific as I am very curious

Jeremy Conrad.. He actually took the tweet down of him destroying the movie before he saw it. That agenda. I’m not saying it’s a great movie. It’s not horrible. Average movie at best imo and that is reflected by Audience reviews.

 

[X men Fan]

Is there anything to disagree with? The 22% score is merely the consensus of critics who rated the movie fresh. So it just shows more critics rated it rotten than fresh than in the previous movies. Its not really a letter grade score like a Cinemascore grade is.

Well ya. I know that. The Cinemascore is a B-.. Which I don’t agree with. Actually reading the reviews of the Critics consensus is where I got the “its Terrible” from.