X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) Review

Finally, I have made it the final film in my X-Men review series and it is Dark Phoenix and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees after an accident on a mission in space Jean Grey is infused with an alien force and takes on a new destructive personality. 

Main Character

Sophie Turner plays Jean Grey here like she did in Apocalypse but I found her performance much weaker here. The issue is that we never have time to spend with Jean as a character, we are introduced to her in the previous film and then she turns so quickly here that we learn so little here that it makes it hard to care about her. Turner also doesn't add that much to the performance which also doesn't help with the character, though maybe with a stronger script she would have had a better chance. James McAvoy is back as Xavier and I thought he was good here, I actually like how they treat his character, he is seen more harshly and you really see a different side to him here that we have never seen in previous films. I mean this is his weakest performance as the character but he gives enough to be satisfied. 

Supporting Characters

Michael Fassbender as Magneto has been my favourite part of these newer X-Men films and he does try here and again similar to McAvoy I give him credit for that and it is enough for some praise but his character is so dull and actually pointless here. After Apocalypse for me his character arc was finished but they have to force him in here even though it actually doesn't make any sense. Now onto the rest of the cast and just how boring they are, Jennifer Lawrence is back for a small role as Mystique and she just doesn't even try here, you can tell she wasn't interested in being in the film but signed a contract. Same could be said about Nicholas Hoult as Beast who also is performing half hearted and really his character makes some decisions that don't really make any sense for him and it just screws the character over. Tye Sheridan plays Cyclops and he should have been a really important part of this film due to his relationship with Jean but he is so wasted here. He has no charisma or charm here at all and the issue is that you don't buy into there relationship at all due to the fact that we never actually see it on screen for long enough. Also if you came here to see more of Storm and Nightcrawler from the previous film then you are out of luck as they do nothing interesting here and don't get me started on Quicksilver who is ignored completely and he might as well have not been a part of the movie at all. Jessica Chastain plays a villain here and she is so generic, this is a really boring and wooden performance for a character that has nothing memorable about them at all. 

Story

First things with the story is just pretty much ignore everything from the previous films as they are never addressed and this film actually contradicts things from those films which is just crazy. This film doesn't have a clue what it is trying to tell with its story, it doesn't give us enough time or effort to care about Jean Grey as a character making it hard to root for her in any way. It feels like there is a film missing here between Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, the characters don't get developed here and it feels like that the film rushes the characters arcs so you feel lost and confused as to exactly what you should be interested in. Also why is this film set 10 years after Apocalypse, it is unnecessary and actually makes no sense with the actors looking no different in 10 years which also takes you out of the film or at least it did with me.

Script

This script is bad, there isn't one bit of memorable dialogue at all, I literally watched the film and I cannot remember any particular lines from the film. The characters, especially Jean Grey are written so poorly that you are given no reason to care, except maybe for Xavier and Magneto because we have seen more of them as characters. 

Style

Now the one thing this film will get credit for is the action scenes, they are actually really good here. They are exciting and well filmed and do a good job of showcasing the different powers that are in screen, it also shows Jeans powers better then The Last Stand did. But this films pacing is just weird, for a nearly 2 hour film it feels like a 90 minute movie. It ignores character development and intrigue to focus on action and exciting this which really holds it back. Also what the hell happened to those awesome costumes at the end of Apocalypse, the X-Men costumes here look awful and cheap similar to First Class but even worse that they should never been seen. 

Overall

This film is just really bad, even for big X-Men fans this isn't worth a watch and I would advise that you don't put any time or effort into this film. When Disney eventually reboot the X-Men I hope they stay away from the Dark Phoenix story as it seems to not work well on the big screen. 

Rating - 3/10