A Poor Movie With Good Fan Service - Dark Phoenix, Reviewed

Before I talk about the final Fox X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix, let's talk a bit about the source material, shall we?

Chris Claremont's 100+ issue run on the Uncanny X-Men comic is an often imitated (and very rarely duplicated) high-water mark in long-form serialized storytelling. Over the course of a decade, Claremont had legions of followers caring deeply for (mostly new) characters he did not even create but developed extensively through events both mundane and epic. During his tenure, Wolverine went from being a crazed berzerker to a stoic ronin, Storm grew from being an idealistic goddess to a street-savvy punk rocker, and Kitty Pryde metamorphosed from a hapless teenager to a lynchpin on one of the world's most recognizable superhero teams.

None of these transitions are as well-known or influential as the Dark Phoenix Saga, a story of absolute power corrupting absolutely co-plotted by legendary artist John Byrne. Two nine-issue arcs tell the story of Jean Grey's adoption of/by a cosmic force, and three years later, how it finally overwhelms her.

Trapped between the vengeful Shi'ar empire (led by Prof. Xavier's alien lover, Princess Lilandra) and her own guilt over the literally billions of lives she has ended, Jean and an expanded team of stalwart X-Men defenders are being beaten by a Shi'ar super-team on a breathable region of Earth's moon, when she feels her darker persona reasserting herself, and in a final moment of clarity, permits an ancient booby trap to destroy her in front of her boyfriend, Cyclops. So much angst! And Jean remained dead for six years, which is quite a long while by comic standards.

This is a roundabout way of saying that this is far, far too big a story to be adapted into a single two-hour feature. I don't believe there is a director on earth who could make a satisfactory adaptation in this medium, but long-time X-Men writer turned director Simon Kinberg, has taken his second shot at one of his favourite comic stories. Sadly, he does not manage to achieve the impossible.

But there are those who would have you believe that this is the worst X-men movie ever produced, and friends, I am here to tell you that this is simply not the case. (And as long as X3 exists, that is unlikely to change.)

Overall, Dark Phoenix fails to make us comprehend or care for Jean's (Game of Throne's Sophie Turner) transformation as well as her eventual fate. In lieu of consuming a star and consigning five billion asparagus people to death, her confusion and anger lead to the death of a teammate, which, though tragic, does not have nearly the same impact.

Kinsberg's story reimagines Jean's origin as being related to childhood trauma and the death of her parents. The biggest story repercussions stem from the manner in which Prof. Xavier (James McAvoy) chooses to help young Jean deal with her hurt, shifting the theme away from "power corrupting" to "paving the road to hell with good intentions." It's a neat angle, but yet another departure from the source material in an adaptation already forced to compromise in too many ways.

Look, three of my favourite actors - James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and  Nicholas Hoult - so it pains me to tell you this movie isn't very good, but the truth is, it ain't. But I still don't consider my time or money wasted in seeing it.

In terms of characterization, Dark Phoenix does a much better job than Apocalypse did, and every X-Man ( and X-Woman!) gets an opportunity to shine. The movie is at its best later int he second act and through most of the third, when it goes into full-on action-driven thrill-ride mode.

Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is at his most effective and affecting since 2003's X2. When he finally allows his temper to get the better of him, he becomes a lethal, feral whirlwind, terrifying in aspect. In addition to being the tragic love interest, Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) finally becomes a tactical asset, using his optic blasts creatively as he so often has in the comics. And Storm (Alexandra Shipp) has never looked more devastating, wielding multiple lightning bolts in a relentless battle she knows she cannot win.

Watching these beloved characters from my youth being depicted so vibrantly was enough to turn this movie from about a 4 to around a 6, at least for me as an X-fan; your mileage may vary.

I also greatly enjoyed the idea of the X-Men being treated as heroes instead of outlaws, and the team really looks the part in their spiffy new uniforms, reminiscent of Frank Quitely's run in the comics. And smaller, quieter moments, like Storm creating ice in Cyclops cup or seeing Dazzler performing at a mutant beach party after an early victory, evoked the familial connections established by Claremont during his tenure.

So why are the reviews so bad? Why is Dark Phoenix's Rotten Tomatoes score the lowest in the history of the franchise, regardless of whether it "earned" that distinction or not?

Well, for openers, I think any superhero movie, especially one with such cosmic aspirations, is going to fare poorly when compared to either Captain Marvel or Avengers: Endgame, which only came out, what, 40 days ago? The bar for these movies is much higher now than when the very first X-Men movie came out in 2000, 8 years before Marvel Studios rewrote the playbook with Iron Man. And that's a nice problem to have, as a movie watcher!

There is also a rumour that Kinberg had initially pitched a two-part movie instead, with sufficient room to depict Jean's slow corruption and a larger canvas on which more of the space opera elements could have been drawn. Instead, we have to settle for a cosmic veneer crudely bolted on and which criminally underuses Jessica Chastain in the process. Imagining her as Empress Lilandra in a more epic retelling of this classic tale is a torment worthy of Dante.

In the end, though, that's not what we got. Whether due to studio interference, a lack of institutional courage or a lack of resources, we are left with a watered down version of an epic tale, a molehill with Olympian aspirations.

But for fans of the X-Men, there are still enough likable bits to warrant a trip to the theatre - at least on a Tuesday.