Dark Phoenix has had a very tumultuous last couple of months. The early buzz from the test screenings claimed that the movie was an unmitigated disaster, with multiple reports also suggesting that the film underwent extensive reshoots that ballooned the budget to over $200 million. On top of that, the $71.3 billion Disney-Fox deal left the filmmakers scrambling to find a way to wrap this film’s ending as the culmination of the X-Men saga.

Positives

The train sequence, which frankly looked underwhelming from the trailers, is by far the best part of the film. Seeing the synergy between the X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants against the alien creatures was really fun to watch. We get to witness the heroes using their powers in tandem and honestly, we get the best Magneto-related action scene ever.

The performances are mostly hit-or-miss. Sophie Turner is surprisingly good as Jean Grey/Phoenix and is able to stand her own against heavyweights like Fassbender, MacVoy, Chastain, Lawrence, etc. Fassbender, one of my favorite actors working today, once again steals the show as Magneto. Even though he doesn’t have much to do this time around, coupled with a forced introduction, I definitely enjoyed seeing him on-screen again.

Negatives

Because of a lack of central story, the movie feels unfocused and meanders about, thus leaving me quite bored for a majority of the runtime. In addition, most of the major characters don’t have much of an arc. Even though the idea of seeing Charles Xavier as an egoistic is unique and interesting, the execution is botched. No matter how prideful this Xavier has supposedly become, it’s out-of-character for Xavier to risk the lives of his X-men, as demonstrated in the film’s opening space rescue scene. Jean Grey’s turn as the Phoenix is supposed to be her wrestling with her unimaginable, god-like powers but we rarely get to see that. Despite being the titular character, Jean once again feels like a secondary character in her own movie. It also doesn’t help that we barely got to spend time with the newcomers like Jean Grey or Scott Summers in X-Men Apocalypse. Because we don’t have much emotional connection with them, their turns and romance just feel contrived. Quicksilver, the biggest highlight from Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, has even less of a role in this one. Seriously, Hollywood has something against the Quicksilver character. That being said, Beast’s character arc is definitely handled the best and is a clear demonstration of the stages of grief (over Mystique’s death). Even though this was a big spoiler moment in the film, the trailers and the filmmakers spoil Mystique’s death.

Also, didn’t Jean use the Phoenix force to destroy Apocalypse in X-men: Apocalypse? But, she gets that cosmic force in this film… So, what the heck? Yes, I know that the Fox’s Marvel films do not care much for continuity, but that was kind of a BIG deal. Jean tapped into her inner Phoenix force and singlehandedly destroyed the god-like mutant, Apocalypse. Narrative and dramatic-wise, this movie would have benefitted from delving deeper into the awesome powers Jean has always possessed internally, rather than making the Phoenix force an external force.

Also just want to point out, I am perplexed as to why Fox hired a first-time director to direct a major, $200 million+ movie. Even though Simon Kinberg has been involved with the X-men franchise for many years, he has never directed a film. In this movie, there are so many faulty moments, from the editing to the character work, that shows the work of a first-time director.

The actual villains of the film are such uninteresting, generic baddies. Jessica Chastain, one of the best actors today, plays the leader(?) of this alien race and judging from her performance, she clearly doesn’t want to be there. Her line delivery is so monotonous and her character’s motivations are unclear and frankly, underwhelming.

Rating

Despite getting hammered from both critics and audiences, I got to say that this film is better than what I presumed it would be. Again, I liked Apocalypse more than most people, so make of that what you will. The third-act climactic battle is enjoyable joyful to watch and most of the actors do the best with what they are given. However, what they are given is sadly disappointing and this movie deserved a better ending. A lackluster story and poor character arcs ultimately sink this movie. 2/5.