Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all the people living in the world.
Having never read any superhero comics as a kid, I was not properly introduced to the world of the X-Men until 2000 when Bryan Singer’s “X-Men” hit theaters. I thoroughly enjoyed that iteration but was left somewhat underwhelmed. It wasn’t until 2003 when “X2: X-Men United” came along that I became thoroughly invested in the movie and the characters but then Brett Ratner showed up and flushed everything down the toilet with “X-Men: The Last Stand.” We then got several solo Wolverine movies and in 2011 the series was rebooted with “X-Men: First Class” where we went back to the beginning to see how Professor Charles Xavier, Mystique, Magneto, Beast and many others got to know each other and became the X-Men.
Since “First Class,” we’ve had “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (my favorite X-Men movie) and the disappointing “X-Men: Apocalypse.” With “Dark Phoenix,” we’re told that this will be the end of the series for now and it may be rebooted down the line but for a film supposed to be the franchise’s swan song, while it is entertaining as you’re watching it, you can’t help but compare it to “Avengers: Endgame” as a comparison for what a great finale should be. Simon Kinberg, who has produced all the X-Men movies since “First Class,” steps into the director’s chair in his directorial debut and while it is a decent effort, his future outings will let us see if he is up to the challenge.
The movie starts off in 1975 as a young Jean Grey is struggling with her superhero abilities. Traveling with her parents in their car, she is overwhelmed by her powers and loses control of them, causing the car to crash and her parents to die. At the hospital, the doctors are at a loss for words as Jean has no signs of injury, either internally or externally. Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) steps in and talks to Jean and tells her that he has a special school for children like her and takes her with him. The timeline then shifts to 1992 where the X-Men are asked by the President of the United States to help with the space shuttle Endeavour which has been rendered immobile a result of a solar flare. Using the X-Jet, they travel to outer space and manage to save all the astronauts on board but as the last person aboard the Endeavor, before she can escape, another solar flare encapsulates the shuttle and Jean (Sophie Turner) absorbs the full power of the flare.
Back on earth, Jean realizes that her powers have become more amplified because of the solar flare incident and she quickly ascertains that when she becomes emotional or angry, she cannot control them. While Jean and her friends and the rest of the school are celebrating the X-Men’s successful rescue of the Endeavor astronauts, she has an episode which nearly levels the school and everyone around her. As a consequence, she leaves by herself to try and figure out what is happening to her. When the X-Men catch up with her to try and bring her home, her powers consume her and she inadvertently kills one of them. She manages to track down Magneto’s (Michael Fassbender) island of mutant refugees and when the military quickly catch up and try to apprehend her, she tries to kill them all but Magneto intervenes, allowing them to escape. Jean then soars into the sky and disappears.
A woman named Vuk (Jessica Chastain) finds Jean in New York City and explains to her that she comes from a shape-shifting race of aliens known as the D’Bari and that Jean possesses a power known as the Phoenix Force, which destroyed Vuk’s homeworld many years ago. This force has the ability to wipe out entire planets and civilizations and unbeknownst to Jean, was on the verge of destroying earth when it was attracted to her powers and consumed her. Jean finds out that Vuk and her remaining military forces are trying to contain the Phoenix Force which would give them the power to rid the earth of mankind and resurrect her people and atmosphere on it.
The X-men turn up at Jean’s location and a big fight ensues, resulting in them all being captured and put aboard a train heading towards a secret military location. Vuk and her forces attack and the X-Men, along with Magneto and his people, team up to protect Jean but when the train comes crashing to a halt, Jean must try to overcome the Phoenix Force instead of letting it manipulate her for Vuk’s genocidal purposes. One on one, Jean battles Vuk for control of the Phoenix Force, a fight only one can win!
The cast, overall, do fine in their respective roles, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching a teen movie filled with teenage angst and misery. Sophie Turner takes the role of Jean Grey, one of the strongest characters in the X-Men Universe, and turns her into a moody, cantankerous crybaby who either kills or decimates when she doesn’t get her own way. Wherefore art thou Famke Janssen? Granted, one could argue it’s the Phoenix Force trying to control her but in the hands of a more capable director, we could have had less melodrama and more genuine performances, something that occasionally surfaces, thanks to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, but which quickly gets swept under the carpet in favor of special effects. While “Dark Phoenix” is most certainly an improvement over the unsatisfying “X-Men: Apocalypse,” it just barely manages to move one step ahead of it. I think taking a break from the X-Men Universe for a while will be a good thing, and now that the Disney/Fox merger is complete, maybe bring them back later on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wouldn’t that be something to look forward to?
Now available on Movies Anywhere and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD September 17th
