X-Men has always been the most elusive of Marvel's comic properties, the one series so successful, that Marvel themselves couldn't buy them back to be part of the MCU. But as they do, Disney eventually acquired Fox as a studio, so they can finally be part of that universe. But Fox still has two more films from that original timeline left to release, with this June's Dark Phoenix being the one to close off the original X-Men team storyline. And it's unfortunate, because this film sends them off not with a bang, but with a pathetic whimper.
The year is 1992, and the X-Men, led by telepathic Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), are growing in respect among mankind. But after a dangerous rescue mission in space, one of their own, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), becomes the host to a powerful solar flare, which sends her powers wildly out of control. Believing she can still be saved, Xavier and the other X-Men attempt to help and subdue her, but after personal loss, other mutants such as Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) and Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) believe she's too much of a threat to leave alive. In addition, Jean is sought out by mysterious space traveler Vuk (Jessica Chastain), who encourages Jean to unleash the full extant of her powers on humanity as the Phoenix.
The Dark Phoenix saga has already been adapted to the screen previously, in the form of fellow-predator Brett Ratner's The Last Stand, a largely disappointing trilogy capper that felt overstuffed, and failed to satisfyingly send off its many characters. This time, however, the dynamic has changed, as we're now we're cleansed of both Singer and Ratner. Directing duties have been handed to Simon Kinberg, who's had a hand in writing every mainline X-Men film since The Last Stand, and notoriously helmed the reshoots for Josh Trank's dour Fantastic Four. Knowing that going in, I was incredibly worried, which is a shame, because there's some good nuggets in this movie.
The conflict at the heart of the film, Jean's quest to control her powers and her emotions, provides for some decent drama. The X-Men are always meant to be these very off-putting beings, especially because if one goes bad, it taints the others. Jean becomes the epitome of this idea, because her traumatic origins, along with the emotional distress she's discovering, throws that already unsteady and uncertain girl's world for a loop. A young woman discovering her place in the world is already unbalanced, let alone one with the powers of Jean Grey.
There's always been this ideal of the X-Men series, directly and indirectly, that the children we raise are only the pariahs that their mentors and guardians make them out to be. And that gets addressed directly in this film, where Xavier gives Jean a pen as a metaphor for how she can use her gifts, either for good or bad, and so Jean gets run through an emotional wringer trying to find balance in herself. And playing her, Sophie Turner carries this movie on her shoulders in some places. It's not surprising, especially given how good she could be on Game of Thrones, but she plays those challenging feelings really well, and while some of that does feel more informed than felt, especially because several scenes consist of her talking out loud and explaining things to herself, Turner can really elevate a scene by her presence alone.
As can James McAvoy, who despite losing some of his novelty, does play well as a more regretful iteration of younger Xavier. With mutants being in a stronger position with humans, there's this interesting new layer that his character has become a bit narcissistic, especially when it comes to his willingness to put his students and fellow mutants in danger, which starts off the main divide between him and Jean. And McAvoy shines despite the film hampering him, becoming to Xavier what Hugh Jackman was to Wolverine, and remains as committed as ever.
But that commitment is rarely felt elsewhere, especially in regards to other legacy characters. You can tell a lot of these actors are so over this series, and so it feels like a lot of them are coasting to a paycheck. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, in particular, looks bored out of her mind, and only feels like she's returning for no other reason than she has to. Not that her material gives her much reason to bring her A-game, especially with the pathetic last note her character is given. Not only that, Michael Fassbender is practically spinning his wheels here. It doesn't really help that with each entry, Magneto has actually regressed a bit as a character, and at this point, his extremism doesn't feel like an organic component, but just a motivational tool to jumpstart any conflict. There's very little left for him to do, and that self-serious apathy becomes obvious while you're watching.
But if you want to talk about self-serious apathy, poor Jessica Chastain is afforded nothing in this movie. If you've seen any of the pre-release marketing, you know that her role has been kept under wraps, as the studio and filmmakers keep any and all secrets about her close to the chest. And if you wonder why that is... I can't really tell you, because there are no surprises. Her character is this static stock villain, essentially to be the little devil on Jean's shoulder. They try to give her some agency in the plot, with this semi-conspiracy effect, but this feels more like a soft retcon to facilitate her reason for being. Not that it helps how one-note Chastain plays her. There is no energy, no nuance, and no gravitas to her performance, and so her character is a complete bore that grinds the movie to a screeching halt. You could write her out, and the movie would be stronger for it. She only exists as something to fight at the end.
On the whole, Jean herself becomes an appropriate mascot for the film, in that it's brimming with ideas and power, but has no sense of self-control, and becomes an assault on the senses. The screenplay is a mess, trying to cram in and resolve so many dangling threads, and devote equal attention to its massive cast roster, but is so frantic and undisciplined in its pace, cross-cutting, and character development. Forget the latter, because at this point, there's no more significant ground for these characters to cover. Many of them perform their roles simply for the sake of the movie calling them to do it, not because it makes sense for them, but because otherwise this movie would stall in place. The younger X-Men in particular have little sense of presence to liven up the screen, especially Nightcrawler who has officially been relegated to a Deus Ex Machina.
That incoherence is made even worse by the film's disregard for continuity. It's no secret that the X-Men timeline hasn't been very strong, especially as the newer films, with the introduction of multiverses and time travel, led to some initial confusion as it merged with the originals. But since this is set before the end of Days of Future Past, and knowing what happens in that final scene, this movie creates some glaring timeline gaps. At best, this unwinds the tension and stakes of the eventual climax, considering we know what's going to happen, and at worst, completely shatters the established history that's been set up. At this point, the fact that these movies have taken place over three decades, and most of the characters (some of which should be in their fifties) haven't aged much, if at all, should be the least of its logical worries.
This is especially perplexing when Kinberg himself should be the foremost expert on the chronology of these films. And in addition to his weak writing, he's not much of a director either, especially in regards to tone. I know the X-Men films have always been more dramatic than the usual Marvel film, but there's a line between dramatic, and just plain joyless. This movie feels so cold, and so self-serious to the point of unintentional laughs, including one scene where Jean taunts Xavier that's meant to be weighty, but I found it more funny than cathartic.
Even during action, Kinberg's handling feels uninspired, which isn't helped by the corner cutting he's employing, so he can save the big guns for the climax. But even that is a disappointment, because most of it is shot in cramped corridors, so everything feels too claustrophobic, especially when matched with shaky cam, so it becomes tough to follow. In fact, one barely established character has a dramatic death, but it's such a blink and you'll miss it detail, I almost couldn't register it. Aside from a few creative kills, including one admittedly awesome bit from Nightcrawler, it's a thoroughly underwhelming grand finale for this series.
And as a story closer, this movie is such a botch job. At 114 minutes, there's a lot still left to be resolved, and you think with this acting as the definitive end to the main X-Men team, the film would set aside time to close them out. We've been following these characters for twenty years, so we expect them to get the love and devotion they deserve, but the film doesn't give it to them. The most they get is 2 to 3 extra minutes of epilogue, and then the film just stops dead in its tracks. That goes back to this being "the last one," because in some way, it doesn't feel like the last one. It feels like they still intended to tell more story in future films, but after the Fox buyout, now they can't do that. With the impending purchase, you'd think they would then go back and reconfigure it to be a more definitive, comprehensive finale, but there is no catharsis. I waited in vain for a post credits clip. Something! ANYTHING to give me some sense of finality, but was left so aggressively underwhelmed by it.
This won't be the last we'll see of the Fox-era X-Men films, with Dark Phoenix to be followed by The New Mutants should it ever see a release, but at this point, any more additions to the series just feels so pointless. While Logan feels like what should have been the stopping point, I was more than happy to give these characters one last hurrah. But this film squanders and suffocates them, content to spin its wheels and milk the franchise down to their last pennies. That the franchise that inspired the superhero genre's domination, paving the way for Spider-Man and the like to follow, should end on such a resounding thud is a tragic irony. As much of an MCU fan as I may be, I was perfectly fine with Fox using the X-Men license to their heart's content, but if this is any indication of what they'd have done with it in the future, perhaps it's for the best they finally made their way home.
How wrong Jean was. It turns out, the third movie is NOT always the worst.
*1/2 / *****
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