Dark Phoenix

It is the year 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour ends up in a cosmic cloud in our planet’s orbit, the X-Men come to help, and something goes wrong. This space plot introduces a non-mutant/non-human enemy, while at the same time dropping the storyline with GLBT/LGBT hatred that they were so fond of in this series for so many years. Some members of the team have stopped enjoying their blind subservience to mankind. The team is slowly falling apart and Jean becomes Phoenix again, but this time around we don’t have the sexy Famke Jannsen to play the part convincingly. The younger actors generally can’t compete with high-calibre performers like McAvoy or Fassbender, so the movie relies a little more on the latter's performances. Even so, Kinberg is a capable storyteller and serves up dynamic action scenes and good ideas. The climax on the train, where everybody goes ape-shit, is full of memorable scenes. All this accompanied by Hans’s outstanding music. In the end, this is quite a solid ending to the X-series. Those were good years. P.S: The end conflicts with what was hinted at in Days of Future Past. (06/08/2019)

Compared to First Class and Days of Future Past, X-Men: Dark Phoenix doesn't have much to surprise and doesn't offer a very deeply thought out story with twists and turns. Unfortunately, Sophie Turner failed to convince me that she is a powerful "Dark Phoenix" even after this film. Almost all of the young actors there seemed more like sidekicks, and I was somewhat uncomfortable with the rapid swings in their mindsets. The character with the face of the demonic Jessica Chastain appealed to me the most. On the other hand, I have to commend the final sequence on the train, which was packed with action from floor to ceiling. It's nowhere near the old and first new X-Men, but it could have been worse. (06/09/2019)

Due to the public's zero to negative expectations, a clear critical and commercial defeat was anticipated long in advance, breaking my heart with how much it reaches out to me and how well I understand it. It is, in fact, split exactly halfway between honoring all conceivable references and the existing film legacy. It emphasizes teamwork, without the naiveté of classic comic book adventures, and shamelessly points out that it more or less repeats X-Men: The Last Stand, with several plot twists that wink at the viewer – then goes in a different direction. Sophie Turner surprisingly masters the conflicted Jean and thus pays greater homage to the entire Phoenix saga (thanks in part to thirteen years of advancements in CGI) than Famke Janssen did in her time (iconic though she was). Moreover, when Magneto is fully immersed in the story, once again proving that Michael Fassbender is the best cast member, I forget about the slightly conflicting motivations of the individual characters and gladly submit my final rating to the complex message that symbolically resonates with the original ideas from the first films. Simon Kinberg understands mutants and loves them unconditionally, occasionally forgetting about viewers who haven't seen most of the previous films backwards and forwards. Nonetheless, the farewell to this separate form of the righteous X-Men manages to remain firmly grounded, even though its scale reaches to the stars. (06/15/2019)

The revelry continues with hollow material from which absolutely nothing can be milked, even if Fassbender and co. were standing on their heads. The X-Men are long past their sell-by date for many reasons. A story that’s too convoluted, the time jumping, the clichéd scripts. This episode not a hit with a tight grip. The last really good episode thus remains First Class, which was fresh, original and with extremely skilled direction, the other films have been a mess. Maybe standalone spin-offs have a chance, but this bunch is otherwise way past its prime. (09/07/2019)

Jean Grey has become the Dark Phoenix, and the other X-Men can't tame her the easy way. But do they stand a chance against their former partners? And what if someone far more dangerous is after her new powers? The new X-Men return to their roots and try to rely on interesting characters and character development more than action. It succeeds only halfway. Unfortunately, Simon Kinberg's surprisingly solid direction is tripped up by the often not-so-good actors and an overly rushed story. There are some strong emotional moments, though, and the finale on the train is among the best action we've ever seen in X-Men. I was expecting a lot worse. (06/06/2019)