Review: The Reason Why You Should or Not Watch X-Men Dark Phoenix
Being the end of Fox's version of the X-Men saga, Dark Phoenix carries a story similar to the ending of the original X-Men trilogy, Last Stand (2006). For those of you who have participated in the X-Men film franchise since 19 years ago, this movie made by Simon seems to be the culmination of all the titles that are incorporated in this mutant story.
Having a tough task to close the X-Men saga, can Dark Phoenix deliver results that match the expectations of fans? see the reviews I've summarized below.
Trailer
The Story of Jean Gray's Transformation into Phoenix
In the beginning of the film series, you will be fascinated by the actions of Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Jean Gray (Sophie Turner), Beast (Nicholas), Storm (Alexandra), Quick Silver (Evan Peters), Cyclops (Sheridan), and Night Crawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) in rescuing a group of astronauts who were stranded in outer space because of a phenomenon suspected of being solar flares.
Predictably, the rescue mission didn't go smoothly. The solar flare began to approach and threaten the lives of astronauts. Luckily, Jean Gray's psychic powers managed to save the entire space ship crew safely. As a result, Gray was exposed to the solar flare which turned out to be a cosmic force called Phoenix.
Initially thought to be dead, Gray finally survived without any injuries. But as it turns out, the unfortunate event in outer space made this one mutant's emotions become unstable and switched to endanger the people around. Not only for mutants, but also for all humans on Earth.
Seeing the threat, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) was struck by guilt. Because, he had manipulated Gray's mind at an early age to protect his students from bad memories. Unfortunately, this also makes Gray feel betrayed and leads to loss of trust in X-Men.
Narration Does not Succeed in Making Empathy
As you know, this closing film from Fox's X-Men version carries a very iconic Dark Phoenix saga. So, it's not wrong if millions of fans expect spectacle full of action and a strong plot. As a result, viewers can get a big impact after watching their favorite hero.
Unfortunately, the film released by 20th Century Fox has not been able to fulfill the reality of fans' expectations waiting for a strong emotional plot. Not because of the bad acting of the cast, you will be struck by a feeling of emptiness in the middle of the scene that should be able to make viewers feel empathy.
When watching Jean Gray who is unstable, sadness and feelings of despair displayed are not conveyed properly.
Jessica Chastain's role in Dark Phoenix also left a big question. Appointed as the main villain named Vuk, the purpose of this D'Bari race alien is not well explained. Simon as the director and writer did not give more portions to explain D’Bari's background. The result, you will be confused and think "what is the purpose of this girl, huh? Who is D’Bari? "
Vuk's figure is not well explained and seems to only be a mere insertion. Unfortunately, even without Jessica Chastain, the audience won't think too much about it.
The Entertaining Fighting Scene
Although in terms of stories and chemistry between players is not extraordinary, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy Dark Phoenix as an entertaining spectacle. Although it became the debut film of Simon as a director, Dark Phoenix still presents the action of the successful mutant heroes.
The fighting scene combined with the CGI that worked well, became one of the values that amaze the audience.
I feel the portion of Quicksilver is too minimal. It only appears briefly at the beginning and middle, this lightning-fast mutant doesn't appear in the final battle.
I don't know what Simon's consideration to eliminate the duration of the appearance of Quicksilver in Dark Phoenix. The thing is, this mutant sequence successfully invited admiration in the previous films and was awaited in Dark Phoenix.
You don't need to be too pessimistic to see negative reactions and reviews that have circulated in cyberspace. In fact, Dark Phoenix can still be your entertainment choice this weekend, although there are some things that still need to be improved.
For those of you who have watched, rate this film on a scale of 1-10 in the comment section.
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© 2019 Jeremy