323. X-Men - Dark Phoenix; movie review

X-MEN - DARK PHOENIX
Cert 12A
114 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, bloody images, infrequent strong language

Let me get this review down quickly because I doubt I will remember much of X-Men Dark Phoenix by the time I get up in the morning.
It is noble of writer and director Simon Kinberg to be the fall-guy for the box office bomb but it is difficult to see where he could go.
And that, ultimately, will be the problem for Marvel Studio - what happens when the bangs can't be any louder?
For quite a while, X-Men stories have been merging in my mind and I have been struggling to distinguish my Nightcrawlers from my Quicksilvers.
The focus here is Dark Phoenix or Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) who comes under the wing of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) after misusing her special powers as an eight-year-old.
The clock turns on a few years and she is on a mission with her fellow X-men and women to save an American space shuttle.
And then she gobbles up and alien force and, unwittingly, attracts extraterrestrials, led by Jessica Chastain, down to earth.
Yep, things move fast in X-Men movies!
The difficulty in following such a speedy storyline partially explains why, after being released in June, this X-Men is already available on-demand.
Yes, sure there are amazing special effects, as always, but it seems as if the audience may be starting to need more.
So, even though Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender are also members of the all-star cast, they cannot save a movie which relies on crash, bang wallop and only a smidgeon of pathos.
I suggested a while back that Marvel needed a new dimension and that, sooner or later, superheroes smashing up cities, countries, continents or even universes would not be enough.
Here, there is peripheral character exploration but it isn't enough to make X-Men - Dark Phoenix stick in the mind.

Reasons to watch: A revved-up mutant saga
Reasons to avoid: Merges with the rest of the X-Men movies

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? This is the first Marvel movie for Jessica Chastain. Previously she had rejected the roles of Maya Hansen in 'Iron Man 3' and Hope Van Dyne in 'Ant-Man'.

Final word. Simon Kinberg: “I’m here, I’m saying when a movie doesn’t work, put it on me. I’m the writer-director, the movie didn’t connect with audiences, that’s on me.” Den Of Geek

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