Dark Phoenix

Dark Phoenix, the latest and final film in the current X-Men film franchise before the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes over control of the characters, is not so much a fond-farewell to the current cast, as it is an obligation.  Nobody looks like they wanted to appear in this installment, and for good reason.  This is a drawn-out, talky, and dull entry that is just solemn and sad, with no subtext.  We get a lot of tortured faces, and scenes where the X-Men lash out angrily over and over with their powers.  What we don't get is a proper send off.

There is simply no life here, not even during the action scenes, which often are truncated and unmemorable.  There is no joy either, or scenes that thrill.  It's simply a turgid affair that repeats the same or similar ideas that previous, better films in the series have already expressed.  Heck, even the story this movie is telling has already been told back in 2006 with X-Men: The Last Stand.  Sure, it wasn't told very well back then, but in all honesty, it's not much better here.  The story tells of how Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) develops unusual powers after she is absorbed by what looks like a solar flare of some kind, but is really some sort of alien menace that has the power to destroy worlds.  Now that Jean Grey is in possession of said power, she begins to lose control and lash out.  In the original comic book, this led to one of the more memorable and dramatic storylines in the series.  Within the confines of a two hour film, all the subtext, substance and emotion have been replaced with a lot of embarrassed-looking actors reciting dialogue that wants to sound deep and meaningful, but is really just banal.

The film kicks off with a flashback in 1975, where Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) meets a recently orphaned eight-year-old Jean Grey, and offers to help her control and use the powers she already has within her at a young age.  She grows up to become a member of his X-Men team, and this leads to the film's one good sequence, where Jean and her fellow Mutants Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Quicksilver (Evan Peters) team up and use their powers in order to save the crew of a space shuttle that is spinning out of control.  This rescue mission is how Jean becomes exposed to the alien force that grants her powers that she never had before, and beyond those of her fellow X-Men.  Aside from the spike in power, nothing seems amiss at first.  But soon, Jean is lashing out uncontrollably, and she becomes a threat to her fellow Mutants.

Her new powers unlock some memories that Xavier has suppressed all this time, which leads to her turning against her mentor, as well as having a lot of her fellow X-Men question Xavier's true motives.  This may have created some drama if the actors looked like their hearts were in it.  Jennifer Lawrence, as Raven, questions his motives the most early on, and as good of an actress as Lawrence is, she can't rise above some of the dialogue she is forced to say.  Meanwhile, some aliens arrive on Earth disguised as humans, led by the evil Vuk (Jessica Chastain).  She wants the power within Jean, for reasons the movie does not really bother to explain.  When it comes to villains, Vuk and her alien forces are some of the most underwritten non-entities to ever grace an event movie.  They have little dialogue, next to no motivation, and simply stand around, or engage in boring battles with the X-Men that leave no impression whatsoever.

Dark Phoenix is such a washout of a movie, it doesn't even get the vibe of outsiders trying to fit in with the everyday world right, which is pretty much a key ingredient to every X-Men film.  Early on, we learn that humanity has become more accepting of Mutants and their kind.  Heck, the President of the United States even has a direct line to Xavier's office, so he can send his team up into space to save the shuttle crew.  But, as Jean Grey becomes the "Dark Phoenix", and starts to lose control of her rage and powers, humans begin to distrust Mutants all over again.  This would be a major plot point in just about any other movie, but here, it's pretty much brushed aside, and has no impact.  But then, that is how the whole movie plays out.  Plot points and ideas are expressed, but never acted upon, and the movie just trudges along to the next uneventful scene or wannabe action sequence, such as one built around the X-Men trying to cross the street, and everybody else trying to stop them.  I wish I was joking.

It might have helped if the dialogue had an ounce of wit, or at least if somebody would just say a one-liner or something.  But the movie takes itself so deadly serious to the point of unintentional comedy.  There is no sign of joy to the words that are spoken here.  Everybody spells out what they are thinking, feeling, and I don't think they ever stop moping or glowering about how miserable they are.  Everybody comes across as such a sad sack, you can't help but wonder what is supposed to be thrilling about this story in the first place.  Jean Grey's evolution from her normal form to that of a dark and powerful entity is supposed to be tragic, but because Grey never really hits the emotional weight her character is supposed to have, neither does the movie.  I don't fully blame Turner's performance, as writer-director Simon Kinberg seems to struggle with all of his characters here.

This is essentially what happens when a film franchise has run out of steam, and the actors simply don't act like they care anymore.  Yes, some previous entries have missed the mark, but the cast at least always seemed game.  In Dark Phoenix, there's just an unmistakable sense that everybody knew they were trapped in a troubled production that they wanted no part in.  Instead of thrills, we get actors who look like they wish they were somewhere else.  At least the audience can relate.

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