X-Men: Dark Phoenix


Erik: "Who are you?"
Jean Grey: "They're right to fear me."



release year: 2019
genre: superhero action
viewing setting: home Bluray 9/22/19

synopsis: Jean Grey gains a whole new level of power, and may need to be stopped.

impressions: This film was a bit more serious than some of the previous ones, with some major deaths and a threat that could destroy the entire world. It felt like a "do-over" of the last time they tried to do this storyline and while it worked, it wasn't completely faithful to the original storyline from the comics back in teh 1980s. There was some good action, but the center of the story was really in the characters. Rumor has it that the entire X-Men franchise will be rebooted in the Marvel cinematic universe, which could be a good thing but would also render all of these movies kind of moot, which sucks.

acting: There are a lot of characters here, so I once again have to try and focus on the ones who made the most memorable impressions. Sophie Turner comes into her own as Jean Grey, who's highly troubled for several reasons. James McAvoy is the well-meaning but flawed mentor figure. Michael Fassbender is Magneto, who's not as conflicted this time - he's doing what he does, and is more of an ally. Jennifer Lawrence is the shape-changing voice of reason here. Tye Sheridan is Cyclops, whose love for Jean sometimes blinds him about what she's becoming. Nicholas Hoult is Beast, who's kind of caught in the middle of everything. Alexandra Shipp is Storm, who has a greater role these days. Kodi Smit-McPhee is the teleporting Nightcrawler, whose power lets him save an awful lot of lives. Jessica Chastain is a weird-acting alien woman with an agenda.

final word: Decent final act to the part of the franchise that was born with 2009's X-Men: First Class.

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