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loststarsabove · 3 years

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My thoughts and opinions on the slew of recent trailers and announcements that no one asked for, but I needed to process all this information. These are just my opinions so don’t hate me.

Marvel:

WandaVision - Not very interested in this and it looks a little too trippy for my taste, but might watch it anyway to see Jimmy Woo and Monica Rambeau (and Billy and Tommy?)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Easily my most anticipated of Marvel’s offerings. I was disappointed that it was delayed but it looks like it will be worth the wait! The trailer was epic. It looks like an action movie. I love Sam and Bucky, and their relationship and banter. Also I can’t wait to see my girl Sharon!

Loki - Not sure what to expect from this one and the trailer did not make things any clearer, but I’m just thrilled that Loki is getting his time to shine away from the Thor franchise.

What If? - Now that I’ve seen the full trailer I am actually quite excited for this! Also the animation looks gorgeous.

Hawkeye - I am not a fan of Jeremy Renner or what they did to Clint’s character in the MCU - hopefully this series will correct some of that. However the dog is adorable, Hailee Steinfeld looks really good as Kate Bishop, and I’m interested to find out what Yelena’s role in the story will be.

Ms. Marvel - From the brief clips we have it looks like a cute, heartwarming, and inspiring story. It has jumped to the top of my list!

She-Hulk - I’ve hated Bruce Banner in everything after The Avengers so I hope his involvement in this show is minimal.

Moon Knight - Not interested at the moment.

Secret Invasion - I was never one of those fans who felt like this story had to be adapted for the MCU and I liked what they did with the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, but I’m 100% for it now that Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn are involved!

Armour Wars - Finally giving Rhodey a leading role after playing pivotal supporting roles in a gazillion movies is long overdue. Sounds like an interesting premise. Will definitely watch!

Ironheart - Not very familiar with the character so I don’t have much of an opinion at the moment. Will probably watch though.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - For some reason I have the feeling this is just going to be a Star Wars Holiday Special parody/rip-off.

I Am Groot - Will probably be cute.

Black Widow - I’m over it at this point. Was never really into it. Should have come out years before Endgame. Will only be watching for Yelena Belova.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Admittedly was not familiar with the character prior to the announcement. I like Michelle Yeoh and Awkwafina though, and I’m interested to see what the movie does with The Mandarin (after the disaster that was Iron Man 3). No real opinion until I see the trailer.

Eternals - Would not be interested in this at all except for the fact that I like Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, and Kit Harrington. The cast is massive and star-studded to the point of feeling bloated.

Untitled Spider-Man 4 - Not sold at all on the multiverse/spiderverse, but the previous MCU Spider-Man films are among my favourites and I thought they both sounded like crap initially. Will definitely reserve judgement until I actually see the movie. As much as I adore Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, my wish for this movie is that we see a move towards more classic Spider-Man comic elements (The Daily Bugle and Peter’s photography, a mere mention of Uncle Ben, Harry and Norman Osborn, etc.)

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness - Not really interested right now.

Thor: Love and Thunder - Will likely not be watching. An unpopular opinion but Ragnarok was my least favourite MCU movie.

Black Panther II - Right now I am just eagerly awaiting any announcement regarding their plans for where they are taking this franchise.

Captain Marvel 2 - I loved the first movie, Brie Larson, and Carol Danvers. Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau appearing in this makes me so happy! Hopefully Goose will be back! The Ms. Marvel tv show seems to imply that Captain Marvel is famous enough as a superhero to have merchandise, so I hope this movie explains when and how that happened (presumably during the 5 years after the snap that we didn’t see in Endgame).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - Very torn about this one. I really loved the first two movies, but my enthusiasm for the franchise has admittedly soured due to controversies involving certain members of the cast and crew. Will watch it, but not particularly bothered either way.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania - I am truly upset by the decision to recast Cassie Lang, perhaps to the point of being irrational. Hopefully I get over it because I have been looking forward to this movie for so long. The plot sounds good and I am anticipating much family cuteness.

Blade - Never saw the original movies and only know the character from Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Fantastic Four - We all knew this was inevitable. Just give me a comic accurate Susan Storm and a teenage/young adult Johnny Storm (because if we don’t get Spideytorch content then what’s the point?) and I will be happy.

Untitled Deadpool - Not the biggest Deadpool fan, but the second movie was amusing. Will probably watch out of curiosity.

Untitled X-Men/Mutant movie - Not sure how they are going to integrate Mutants into the already very established history of the MCU. If they do go ahead with this movie I hope that it focuses on different characters from the 20th Century Fox X-Men franchise. Personally I don’t want to see Erik and Charles played by anyone else after Ian McKellan, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, and James McAvoy.

Star Wars:

Obi Wan Kenobi - We have Hayden Christensen! This is not a drill! Honestly I am so happy! He was absolutely incredible in RotS and he truly deserves all the love he’s been getting over the years. As exciting as a reunion between his Vader and Ewan’s Obi Wan will be, a tiny part of me is frustrated because I thought Episode IV implied that their encounter on the Death Star was their first encounter since Mustafar? I’m sure they will find a way to make it work, however. Deborah Chow is an amazing director. I hope they cast a young Luke :3

Andor - Definitely my most anticipated Star Wars project after Obi Wan Kenobi. Really excited to see more of life in the Rebel Alliance, and loving the sound of the “nail-biting spy thriller” angle. Glad that Genevieve O’Reilly is back as Mon Mothma. Keeping my fingers crossed for Jimmy Smits.

The Bad Batch - The animation looks stunning. Always interested to see more of the early days of the Empire.

Ahsoka - I don’t want it

Rangers of the New Republic - Not a lot of information except that it’s “culminating in a climatic event” with other stories, which sounds ugh. Reserving judgement until we learn more and see a trailer.

Lando - Awaiting more info. No word yet on whether Donald Glover or Billy Dee Williams will be back, but we can’t go wrong if either one (or both) are involved.

The Acolyte - Sounds like it could be interesting. Glad to see other time periods in the Star Wars universe being explored.

Star Wars: Visions - Will probably watch for pretty anime animation.

A Droid Story - Sounds like it will be cute, and I love droids so will probably watch.

Rogue Squadron - Unless it’s an adaptation of the EU Rogue Squadron, I’m not particularly interested. If we’re getting Corran Horn, Mirax Terrik, Tycho Celchu, and Wes Janson, however, then I am 100% onboard!

Untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars - Not a fan of Ragnarok as has already been established, nor did I like aspects of his episode of The Mandalorian. Can’t imagine that I will be interested.

Other:

Fate: The Winx Saga (Netflix) - This looks like a cheesy guilty pleasure at best and a dumpster fire at worst. I wish that Prince Sky’s hair was longer. W.I.T.C.H. would have translated better into live-action if they wanted to adapt a mid-2000s era cartoon.

Batwoman Season 2 (The CW) - This looks like a huge improvement from season 1. Judging from the trailer I think they made an excellent decision by bringing in Javicia Leslie. The character dynamics all look really interesting. My most anticipated CW show along with Superman and Lois.

#mcu #marvel #star wars #batwoman #fate: the winx saga #mcu criticism #star wars criticism #tagging to be safe #don’t hate me #long post

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you-belong-among-wildflowers · 5 years

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"Charles loves Erik, massively. There's this really tender moment when we meet and the first thing I say is just 'I love you," or 'You're not alone.' We both love and hurt each other in a way that only a husband or wife could." - James McAvoy

#no one ships cherik more than james mcavoy #james mcavoy #michael fassbender #cherik #charles xavier #erik lehnsherr #x-men #x-men first class #x-men days of future past #x-men apocalypse #x-men dark phoenix #x-men daily #x-men edit #my post

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allthefilmsiveseenforfree · 5 years

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Dark Phoenix

We owe a lot to the X-Men. Lest we forget the halcyon days of Y2K, superhero movies weren’t always a guaranteed blockbuster hit or taking up real estate at the multiplex for 80% of weeks in a given year. But some terrible CGI, brooding Canadian sideburns, and a terrible line about a toad and its relationship to lightning later and Marvel comics properties are suddenly in the conversation as a sure bet at the box office. And now it’s 2019 and the X-Men have had some...let’s say ups and downs. With Dark Phoenix, we’re allegedly saying goodbye to this crop of actors playing these superheroes. So was this a bittersweet farewell or a “don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya” type situation? Well...

Somewhere in the middle, like when you see your uncle who used to give you piggyback rides and pull quarters from behind your ear when you were a kid but now you only see him at Thanksgiving and you only ever talk to him about 1) the weather 2) whether you’re still at the same job (you are) or 3) how good Aunt Judy’s pie was this year and he gets up to leave and you’re like “Oh you’re leaving? Well it was good to see you, drive safe!” and you share an awkward side-hug.

Do you need a synopsis? It’s an X-Men movie. Mutants are getting up to mutant-y shit. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is all like “we can help the humans and they’ll like us if we save them from space disasters!” and Erik Lehnsherr is all like “mutants are better than humans and we should conquer them but since I’ve tried that a couple times and got caught I’m just gonna build a little island mutant utopia” and honestly both of them are kind of side characters in their own franchise which is a bummer because I think we can all agree that the Charles/Erik dichotomy is the beating heart of why people connect with this mythology. The main plot is about Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) getting dosed with a bunch of space energy that she can’t really control and shit happens and people get hurt and she’s like I like hurting people but also she doesn’t. Jessica Chastain is wasted as a woman with very ghost-like features who’s trying to convince Jean to use her powers for EEEVILLLL. You probably heard that this movie was terrible. It’s not. But it’s not good either. It just...is. Frankly, I feel very zen about the whole thing.

Many thoughts:

During the first opening narration, Sleepy Gay leaned over and said, “I already hate this.” And uh, that mood was about right for the narration throughout. Unless you’re doing a true film noir, you have to have a DAMN good reason besides laziness to have voiceover do this much heavy lifting.

#onlyninetieskidsremember the 1992 space shuttle because we don’t care about funding NASA anymore!

I know the production of this film was fraught, and there were some massive reshoots, which obviously means a quick and messy editing session. But that slapdash feel permeates the movie into even the most mundane scenes - an early example is Hank (Nicholas Hoult) turning into Beast at the end of a conversation to reply, “Yeah.” Was...was that necessary? Is that how he ends all his conversations?

And the emotional beats feel really weird. Like when Jean gets back on the ship from space, the vibe feels completely wrong for the scene we just witnessed.

I will say, it’s a thing of beauty to see just how 10000% done Jennifer Lawrence is while she languishes in this movie with nothing to do but die (listen they spoiled that shit in the trailers, don’t @ me). Her snappy line, “The women are the only ones who do anything around here, maybe you should change the name to the X-Women” is delivered with such exasperated can-you-believe-we’re-still-doing-this spice, it’s just *chef kiss* gorgeous.

In spite of all the crying she does in this film, Sophie Turner’s eye makeup is FLAWLESS. I want to know what eyeliner she uses.

I’m feeling very uncomfortable with the fact that when I was a kid, I agreed with Charles on his whole “it’s our duty to protect the humans and show them we’re good” manifesto but now........idk, maybe it’s because Nazis are like, a big thing again, but I’m kinda with Magneto here? Maybe it’s the existential nightmare that’s swallowing us all but uh I just can’t really hang with respectability politics any more? This is like that moment in The Little Mermaid when Ariel says, “I’m 16 years old! I’m not a child anymore!” and you know where you’re at in life by whether you say, “Yeah, tell him Ariel!” or “Back those fins the fuck up and go to your room, young lady!”

Scott (Tye Sheridan) is just the most boring character and he has NO chemistry with Jean whatsoever.

Question - if you have sex in the X-Men house, does Charles know? I’ll bet he does. What a perv.

In spite of his terrible conversation enders, I will say Nicholas Hoult is looking damn fine these days. DAMN fine. However - I’m a fan of his work overall, I really am, but he must have been having an off week when he filmed his angry grief confrontation with James McAvoy (a frankly incredible actor who elevates every single thing he’s in so...let that sink in). Going from quiet to loUD VERY QUICKLY over and over again is not the same as portraying grief, my dude.

I don’t understand why you would get an actress as magnetic and arresting as Jessica Chastain and then make her act like the love child of a ghost-robot one night stand. Her only sparks of something interesting are when she’s doing the big energy transfer with Sophie Turner, because frankly, that read as very homoerotic to me so like...into it.

Wait but did they hurt that dog. There’s no resolution about the dog and that is VERY upsetting.

How are we this far in the franchise and no one has told anyone involved in production “So uh. The floating thing the mutants do when they enter or exit a room in a big scene. Are you guys like...married to that? Have you thought about maybe not having floating be such a big part of the final emotional confrontation between Jean and everyone she’s ever loved trying to destroy her?” Because if there’s one thing I know of that creates and amplifies dramatic tension, it’s floating.

Is Michael Fassbender the most handsome man alive in these movies? It’s possible. At one point he’s in a collar and that really felt like someone involved in that script punch up was giving the fans anything at that point to keep them engaged, but I’m not complaining about it.

How many fights have these X-Men been in? Isn’t the first day of X-Men school devoted to “Don’t make significant eye contact during a fight!”

Did I Cry? I probably should have, but the most I got was a slight tearing up.

Overall, this is a mess. It’s kind of a fun mess if you already like the characters, and there’s certainly some eye candy for those interested in all genders. If you like the other films, give this one a gander just for completionist reasons and try to remember the good old days when X-Men actually meant something.

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#119in2019 #dark phoenix #dark phoenix review #x men #x men dark phoenix #sophie turner #james mcavoy #michael fassbender #jennifer lawrence #jessica chastain #tye sheridan #nicholas hoult #movie reviews #film reviews

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philosopherking1887 · 6 years

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For the fandom ask: the X-Men side of Marvel?

Thanks for asking! I’ve only seen the X-Men movies, I haven’t read the comics, so this isn’t as informed as it might be…

Favorite Female: Eesh… probably Raven a.k.a. Mystique, in both the older and the newer movies, but they don’t manage to make the female characters very likable… Unless the Deadpool movies count, in which case Domino. Or maybe Laura from Logan.

Favorite Male: Erik Lehnsherr a.k.a. Magneto

3 Other Favorite Characters: Charles Xavier~Professor X, Peter Maximoff~Quicksilver, Logan~Wolverine (not very original, I know)

3 OTPs: Cherik (Charles/Erik) is #1, obviously. (Isn’t it a contradiction in terms to have more than one OTP, since it stands for “One True Pairing”?) Erik/Raven is also good as a temporary ship (I imagine that Erik regards her as simultaneously a stand-in for, the opposite of, and a fuck-you to Charles). But Hank/Raven is cute, too. And rebound Charles/Hank (again, temporary). Uh oh, that’s 4.

Notp: I don’t totally hate Charles/Moira in principle, but the way it was handled in the movies was just appalling. Moira’s presence in Apocalypse felt like a massive “no homo” sign.

Funniest character: Quicksilver, in DoFP. In the Deadpool movies, probably Blind Al. In the older movies… no one was funny.

Prettiest character: James McAvoy as Charles Xavier (I hesitate to call Michael Fassbender “pretty”)

Most Annoying Character: I’m not a fan of either Summers brother. Or Sophie Turner as Jean Grey in Apocalypse. (I’m not a fan of that movie in general.)

Most badass character: Probably Storm. She controls the weather, FFS.

Character I’d like as my BFF: Can I say Domino? Yeah, Deadpool has X-Men in it. Or Negasonic Teenage Warhead, what a name.

Female Character I’d Marry: Domino

Male Character I’d Marry: Oh jeez, they’re all so dysfunctional… I guess Bobby (Iceman) isn’t terrible.

Character I hate/dislike/least like: I don’t know if I really hated any characters (though see “most annoying” answer), but I definitely feel like there were a lot of wasted opportunities, especially with female characters in the new movies. Moira McTaggart was kind of a cipher/shoehorned-in het love interest; Emma Frost could have been way cooler; we could have spent more time exploring Angel and her decision to join the bad guys in First Class; Psylocke and Storm could have been characters, period. And then there’s Darwin, who should not have died. WTF, killing the token Black character.

#fandom ask meme #x-men #x-men movies #deadpool movies #foundlingmother

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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WandaVision: What Big Marvel Cameos Could Happen?

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This article contains spoilers for WandaVision and the broader MCU.

During a recent interview, WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen teased that we’re about to see a Mandalorian-level cameo happen in the Marvel series. Without fully spoiling the cameo she was referencing, it was a fan favorite from the Star Wars franchise who emerged in Mando’s Season 2 finale.

WandaVision featuring some notable guest stars hasn’t been a massive secret up until now, and a report that arrived way, way ahead of the premiere suggested that Evan Peters was about to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though it wasn’t known if the actor would play the X-Men version of Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver or not in the Disney+ show.

Olsen’s WandaVision co-star Paul Bettany built yet more hype around one particular addition to the series – possibly someone different to who Olsen was thinking of – and it didn’t really seem like he was talking about Peters.

“I work with this actor that I’ve always wanted to work with and we have fireworks together, the scenes are great and I think people are going to be really excited,” Bettany told the Lights Camera Barstool podcast. “I’ve always wanted to work with this guy and the scenes are pretty intense.”

Bettany also acknowledged some surprises from WandaVision had already leaked, but that the series was building up to a massive finale. “There were more special effects requirements for our TV show than there were for Endgame.”

WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer wasn’t keen to reveal who either Bettany or Olsen were referring to, but confirmed to TVLine that “there are so many surprises left in store” and that fans should settle in “because there’s more coming.”

Let’s have a look at some big potential cameos that could happen in WandaVision’s second half. Judging by Bettany and Olsen’s comments, they could be brand-new to the MCU or returning stars.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver

Though Evan Peters’ inclusion in WandaVision is practically a dead cert at this stage, the opportunity to bring Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s MCU version of Pietro Maximoff back for a cameo in the series could result in a much deeper connection to Wanda herself. The seeds of a potential Pietro return were sown in episode 3 of the Marvel spinoff series when Monica Rambeau – posing as ‘Geraldine’ – accidentally jolted Wanda out of her sitcom daze and back to reality by mentioning that her twin brother had previously been killed by Tony Stark’s villainous murder-bot, Ultron.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange

We’ve been told that the events of WandaVision and Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are directly connected, so the most reasonable assumption when it comes to a big upcoming cameo is that Stephen Strange will arrive at some point to tackle the mystical wildness going on in Westview.

But since there’s been chatter about Cumberbatch appearing in the show for some time, Strange being part of the proceedings wouldn’t be either a massive surprise or a particularly thrilling reveal at the end of the day, would it?

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Logan was confirmed to be Hugh Jackman’s swansong as his iconic X-Men character, but how hard would Marvel Studios have to push to get him back in action as Wolverine in the MCU? Kevin Feige hasn’t really shown any signs of tackling the X-Men again just yet, nor in fact mutants in general as part of the MCU’s reality, so Jackman reprising his role here would be firmly placed in the “unlikely” column.

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool

Could Ryan Reynolds make a tongue-in-cheek cameo as Deadpool? It does seem like a longshot. The meta setup of WandaVision is arguably the perfect place for Wade Wilson’s antihero to pop up and deliver a few fourth wall-breaking lines to camera, but the chances of Deadpool appearing so far in advance of his own MCU sequel feel fairly slim. Still, we’d love to see the Merc with a Mouth take stock of these strange sitcom scenes – where would he even start?

Michael Fassbender/ Ian McKellen as Magneto

For quite a while in Marvel Comics, Wanda Maximoff was thought to be the daughter of on-off X-Men villain Magneto, played by both Michael Fassbender and Sir Ian McKellen in Fox’s movie franchise. Wanda’s backstory has since been retconned, but there’s a sly joke about Evan Peters’ Pietro Maximoff being Erik’s son in the X-Men films. Could they re(re)retcon Scarlet Witch’s origins to bring back Magneto in WandaVision?

Er, we can likely put this on the Probably Not pile.

Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius

Kaecilius bid the world an unhappy farewell during the climax of Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange solo movie. The former Master of the Mystic Arts accidentally got his wish granted to live out the rest of eternity as part of Dormammu’s non-stop torment party in the Dark Dimension thanks to Doctor Strange’s time loop shenanigans, but fans of the actor who played the villain – Mads Mikkelsen – thought that dispatching him so early on in Strange’s evolution was a bit of a mistake. After all, why have just one injection of beloved Hannibal star Mikkelsen on screen when you can have, well, a lot more than one?

So, could Wanda messing with reality give Kaecilius an opportunity to escape Dormammu’s clutches and finally have his revenge? Hmm.

Patrick Stewart/James McAvoy as Charles Xavier

Much like Magneto, Charles Xavier has ties to Scarlet Witch in the comics, and if Wanda breaks down the walls between realities too far, we could start to see them bleed into each other, paving the way for an X-Men introduction in WandaVision. It’d be delightful to see either of these Professor X actors make a cameo during the show’s final episodes, but much like Magneto it could be quite far-fetched.

Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr appeared confident that he was completely done playing Iron Man in the MCU when Phase 3 wrapped up in 2019, but there could surely be no bigger surprise cameo in Disney+’s first Marvel spinoff series than an unlikely return by Tony Stark.

The question is, how could Iron Man possibly come back in WandaVision after he sacrificed his life at the end of Avengers: Endgame, and would it conceivably lead to more appearances by Downer Jr down the road?

Speaking of further appearances from someone we thought had left the MCU for good…

Chris Evans as Captain America

Deadline had some surprising news back in January when it published an exclusive report that claimed Chris Evans was in talks to reprise his role as Captain America in the MCU. It was teased that Steve Rogers could return in various future Marvel movies and shows as a sort of mentor for some of the other characters going forward.

It’s arguably way too early for Evans to show his face in WandaVision, and since Olsen and Bettany indicate that their show’s big cameos have yet to leak, Evans being “the one” should be put on the furthest backburner for now.

Keanu Reeves as Take Your Pick

We don’t yet know if WandaVision’s huge cameo will be from an already-established MCU character, though reports likening it to that of The Mandalorian’s season finale showstopper certainly indicate that it could be. This could all be a little sprinkle of distraction from Olsen and co., however, and a way to keep our minds off the introduction of a new villain who will connect the series to Doctor Strange 2.

Mephisto, Grim Reaper and Nightmare could all be nefarious additions to the MCU in Phase 4, and who better to play one of them than everyone’s favorite puppy avenger, Keanu Reeves? Reeves was close to joining the MCU in 2019’s Captain Marvel as Yon-Rogg before Jude Law landed the part. Has the in-demand actor continued to hold out for a meatier villain role?

Tom Cruise as Iron Man

Rumors that Tom Cruise has been desperate to join the MCU have been circulating for what seems like aeons. We doubt the man’s hurting for cash, but he did have designs on the Iron Man role before Downey Jr laid his claim, and there were definitely whisperings around the time of production on WandaVision that Marvel was trying to tempt Cruise aboard as an alternate reality version of Tony Stark for an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Since WandaVision sets up the events of the now-filming sequel, could it be Cruise’s brief appearance that Olsen and Bettany are excited about us seeing? Bettany did describe filming with the actor in question as “intense” and that certainly lines up with the experiences other people working with Cruise have had to date.

Have you thought of any other potential suspects who aren’t listed here? Let us know in the comments.

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briangroth27 · 5 years

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Dark Phoenix Review

The final installment in Fox's X-men franchise, Dark Phoenix, is unfortunately not one of their best, but it doesn't deserve the hate it received from critics (or the box office) either. Like Apocalypse (which I also enjoyed for the most part), Dark Phoenix falls into the middle of the X-pack; not too shabby considering there are some legitimately great movies in this series! I was looking forward to this film—I like the cast, they've got most of my favorite X-men on this team, and the Dark Phoenix Saga had been wrecked by The Last Stand so I was ready to see them give it another go—but while Dark Phoenix has some really solid ideas and cool moments, it needed another draft to fully realize its potential (another unfortunate similarity to Apocalypse).

Full Spoilers…

The X-men starting out as public superheroes with a direct line to the White House was a fun change of pace! Giving them fans that cheered them on was a cool reversal from the protest groups we saw in X-men, though for this development to really make an impact we should’ve seen more civilians hating/attacking mutants in the movies beyond the brief glimpses we got in X-men and Apocalypse, both in fight club scenes (The Gifted explored the idea that everyday racism would come from the people just as much as the government in much more detail than the movies ever have). Regardless, I loved that they were able to retain a very "X-men" quality to this new status quo, with mutants’ acceptance hinging on their continued best behavior and the idea that they would unendingly risk themselves to save the world. It was smart to not have bigotry solved only for Jean (Sophie Turner) to wreck it with her newfound power (and also because solving it off-screen would’ve been a disservice to the entire mythos as well as those who face it in real life), but to instead keep them constantly on the edge of losing everything they'd gained. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) was absolutely right that mutants shouldn’t have to save the world (or worse, keep saving it) to be accepted by the rest of humanity, and I wish the movie had come back to that point by the end of the film. Her argument with Charles (James McAvoy) ties back to his insistence in First Class that humanity would accept them in exchange for stopping war really nicely though. Forcing mutants to always be over-and-above model minorities works perfectly, but they should've done more with this point instead of just creating a rift between Raven and Charles and using it as stakes for Jean's fall. I would’ve liked some closing statement on where mutants’ standing landed after the events of the film; maybe even Jean or someone making Mystique’s argument to the public to force them to face themselves and the position they’d put the X-men/mutantkind in.

Speaking of Jean’s fall, Phoenix was done much better here than in The Last Stand. I think X2's idea of making Phoenix a natural evolution of Jean is a fantastic choice (as was X2-writer Michael Dougherty’s idea to have her continue to evolve into the cosmic Phoenix in his version of X3), but making Phoenix a split personality ruined that by taking it out of Jean's control and stopping it from being Jean’s story. I’d argue this is the same problem the revised comic canon has, with a space bird taking the place of a split identity but resulting in the same lack of control/meaning/development for Jean’s character. Here, they do the cosmic origin fairly faithfully, but oddly ignore Apocalypse’s revival of the "secondary mutation" plot when Apocalypse forced Jean to evolve into full-firebird status through conflict (which, by the way, is perfect for him). They could’ve easily resolved this rift by having Hank (Nicholas Hoult) tell Jean her powers had been boosted "even beyond what Apocalypse caused" or that En Sabah Nur’s “upgrade” enabled her to survive absorbing the cosmic energy into herself in the first place. As it is, that's not a big leap for viewers to make, but it should've been said in the film.

Getting into the actual mechanics of Jean trying to deal with all this new power, I think this was a mixed bag. I liked her senses opening up at the party and would’ve liked to see that enhanced awareness continue. Her crushed reaction to her father (Scott Shepard) giving her to Xavier because he couldn't forgive her for the accidental death of her mother (Hannah Anderson) or handle raising a mutant child was a rough, powerful reveal that Turner acted perfectly, but then we got to an element of Jean being confused by what she can/should do with all this power rather than acting with that power, which slowed the momentum of her character (and the story). I’d really like to see a version of the Phoenix Saga where Jean runs with her new powers rather than being manipulated or confused about what to do with them, especially if they’re insistent on doing it all in one movie. Her talks with Erik (Michael Fassbender) and especially Vuk (Jessica Chastain) offer insight into what she could be and I wouldn’t want them to have less character-building conversations in favor of meaningless fight scenes, but I wanted to see Jean take action and deal with the fallout of her choices rather than only get to the point where she’s ready to make those decisions in the first place. I would've much preferred her trying to, say, forcibly fix the world so they don't have to keep saving it like Mystique was worried about or something (especially given their obviously strong bond at the beginning).

This is another unfortunate similarity to Apocalypse: while En Sabah Nur said a lot of great stuff in that movie, despite getting rid of all the nukes and leveling Cairo, it felt like we were constantly on the cusp of him escalating things instead of actually getting to see him do what he talked about. Here, I felt like we were on the verge of Jean taking ownership of her powers, only to have her talked into denying them, try to give them away, get captured by the government, get attacked by aliens, etc. Similarly, they really needed to dig into her decision to leave Earth on a bigger level than just being scared she’d hurt people she cared about. Why not make it her choice to see what’s out there and to see what she can become instead (which would be a cool parallel to mutants as a whole not being able to develop while stuck in savior mode for humans)? Leaving Earth should’ve been something that tied to or conflicted with her hopes and dreams for her life during and after the X-men (which would’ve been nice to know before she’s forced to give all of that up in the face of this power), rather than falling back on what feels like a much more simplistic “the power is just too unsafe for her to have on Earth” idea. That idea almost looks like humans are right to fear mutants, because even they can’t safely use their powers here, and that’s the wrong message for a X-men story. I did like that Jean acting with her emotions rather than burying them was shown as a good thing here that made her stronger: that’s a great rebuttal to Xavier trying to block them off and hide pain from her to protect her.

I was very glad that the movie didn't have Xavier blocking her split personality this time, but rather that he'd covered up Jean's accidental manslaughter in an effort to help her have a normal, happy life. That was always my read from the trailers—she didn't seem like she knew she killed her parents in Apocalypse—but I didn't expect the twist that her dad had survived and didn't want her at all and I loved it. I fully bought into Xavier's "you are not broken" reassurance to young Jean (Summer Fontana), so that moment worked really well to help sell the betrayal Jean felt. I wish we’d seen Scott (Tye Sheridan), Ororo (Alexandra Shipp), Kurt (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Peter's (Evan Peters) reaction to what Xavier did as well though. I also would've liked to see their opinions on Xavier's massive hubris here ("All I did was create a world where we can all live in peace"), as well as his insistence that they be superheroes to earn their keep. Despite the lack of opinions from everyone but Mystique, I did like seeing this side of Xavier and thought it was just as interesting to see how he handled winning as how he’d handled mutants being the underdogs for so long. I'm glad this movie didn't agree with him that it was right to manipulate Jean's mind like Last Stand did, and Charles thinking she shouldn't experience any kind of pain is a nice callback to his own attempt to ignore the pain of the world in Days of Future Past (his older self told him that hope would allow him to bear the pain of the world without breaking, and it seems that Xavier decided he should be the only one to take on that pain rather than let others bear it as well). It also works well as an early form of his attempts to keep mutants safe even to their detriment (like making them superheroes to stay in humanity’s good graces). This habit of ignoring pain was especially evident in his almost cavalier discussion with Hank after Mystique’s funeral (with a side of “you can’t criticize me when I’m hurt too”), and it took me a bit to understand that he’s trying to do the same thing to Hank that he did to Jean, just without using his powers: he can’t process the pain of his loss and doesn’t want to see anyone else “stuck” in their feelings either. I’m glad he actually apologized on the train; I wasn’t expecting that and it was a solid development. Of the things Kinberg improved this time from Last Stand, Xavier as a not-so-great guy was definitely handled much better, precisely because he was proven wrong and dealt with it.

Erik nicely (and finally) transitioned into the peaceful existence promised by Apocalypse, even if (as others have noted) the disconnect between his crimes in that movie and the government respecting him here is a little jarring. I really liked him running Genosha, though it would've been nice to comment that this community was the last stop on the mutant Underground Railroad Mystique was part of in DOFP and Apocalypse. It didn't have to be and worked just fine without that connection, but it would've been nice to say that she helped build his mutant paradise (especially given the impact losing her has on him) and that effort would’ve buttressed her argument with Xavier nicely, since she would’ve had a hand in creating a better life for mutants as well. Erik's talk with Jean about letting go of vengeance once he realized it wasn't helping was solid (he learned something from Charles back in First Class!), but I wanted the movie to bear out that he really had changed. I hated that this movie again relied on a woman getting fridged so Erik had a reason to get murdery (with added Hank rage!): that's lazy, especially since they used that already-tired plot in the last movie. I wish both of these films had Erik as a teacher at the school, but if we couldn't get that bit of 80s comics lore, surely there was another way to use Erik here. Maybe his point of view should’ve shown us what everyday mutants think of the X-men as the poster children of the atom, and how that affects their ability to have a modicum of respect/tolerance from humans. If they couldn’t find something for Erik to do except try to kill Jean, he shouldn't have been included so they could focus on the other characters more. I did like his life on Genosha essentially proving Mystique's point and enjoyed him telling Xavier to shove his speeches, even if it was in the midst of his rage. I'll also say that the ending they found for Erik and Charles—Erik taking him back to Genosha to live out the rest of their lives together—was perfect.

I loved where they took Mystique over these prequel films! We got the badass villain in the original trilogy, so seeing her morals develop for the better in these movies was a breath of fresh air and a chance to explore new, original possibilities (even if they were inspired by her actions in the Age of Apocalypse comics timeline). I liked that she came so far as to be the field leader of the X-men and thought her argument with Xavier here was great. It meshed nicely with her opinion in X2 that they shouldn't have to conform to human appearances (or, here, their expectations) to live in peace. This was an important truth to bring up and I'm surprised that it feels like the first time I've seen it addressed in an X-story. I can almost accept her bristling at fame (and the unfair burden that fame represents) as the reason she shifts into her human appearance so often, even at the mansion, but that needed to be spelled out. I liked the rapport she had with the team, especially Jean, and I wish we saw more of an impact on them when she died (if we're wishing for things, I wish she hadn't died at all). Storm especially should’ve had more of a reaction, given Mystique was her hero. The younger students get a moment, but it's more about Jean as the culprit than Mystique's loss. I wish Mystique had let Jean know she agreed with her sense of betrayal and stuck with her instead of trying to bring her back to the mansion (even if I do see why she'd want to play up their family relationship to calm her down). It also wasn't the best strategy for the team to wear their X-uniforms to meet Jean at her house: what kind of message does that send? Having Mystique run with Jean and perhaps toy with the idea that they could change humanity for the better with Jean’s new powers so they could stop fighting to earn their peace might have been a cool development of her argument. Mystique could've played the role the Hellfire Club did in the comics & the Brotherhood did in X3, but with altruistic intentions. If she had to die, I wanted it to have more meaning and purpose: it should’ve been about her and what she stood for instead of immediately being about Erik/Hank's anger and Jean's culpability. I wonder if being impaled is an echo of how Wolverine “killed” her in X-men?

I was generally disappointed by Hank's role throughout the whole movie. I didn't like that he was in his human form so often: so he never got what Mystique was saying about loving himself as he is, even with the world loving the X-men? That’s depressing and if it was meant to be a conscious decision on his part, it should’ve been explored as his own self-hatred (or maybe he is secretly afraid that humanity will turn on mutants again, so he doesn’t want to fully give himself over to embracing his Beast appearance), not brushed aside like a common secret identity. And shouldn't he have shifted into his Beast form at Mystique's funeral, since his transformation was triggered by his emotions? I liked that this borrowed bit of Hulk mechanics revealed what he truly felt in DOFP: that was a cool comment on trying to suppress your real self and way to dramatize who Hank actually was. Here, he has full control but chooses to look human most of the time, which is not a good look (even if I bet a lot of it was about letting Hoult act more clearly without the Beast prosthetics). Like others have said, Hank getting fired up to kill one of his students is an even worse look and if they had to go there, I wish it had more fallout. The movie doesn’t bother much with the betrayal Scott & Co. must feel about their leader turning on one of them like this (instead, that anger is directed at Erik as if Hank didn’t go to him). Then they just let him come back as the headmaster of a school renamed after Jean after all that? No way. Not that I don't believe in forgiveness, but his actions were brushed aside way too easily (just like Erik and Storm's team-up with Apocalypse was in the last movie). I wish he'd retired like Mystique wanted to (if nothing else, to honor her wishes) and left the school to Scott and Ororo instead (they're nearly 30, after all).

I wish there had been less focus on the First Class characters and more of a passing of the torch here. In fact, we needed a lot more of the younger team members' opinions on everything happening in this movie, especially Jean's turn. They’d spent 10 years fighting and living together, after all: surely they have strong opinions. Ororo gets the point of view that Jean’s shown who she really is and isn’t coming back, but then she immediately acts counter to that by backing Scott’s effort to bring her home (and all of this is beside the fact that she too was party to massive loss of life but got to waltz onto the team, which would’ve been an interesting perspective to bring up). I also would’ve liked to see their reaction to Xavier's betrayal (if I were them, I'd be asking how much of their own lives he might’ve changed) and their fame (how do they see their (much safer) world vs. how do the older characters (who fought for it) see it?) as well as the implications of that celebrity status. The short shrift they got was a big negative for me. I was here to see Jean, Scott, Ororo, Kurt, and Peter as the leads, but we only really got Jean out of this bunch. Scott gets some solid moments with Jean—enough to sell their romance and connection—and it’s obvious there’s a friendship amongst the younger generation of X-men, but I feel like the things Jean was going through should’ve created more shockwaves amongst her closest friends. Even with a relatively small roster, you’d never know Storm and Nightcrawler were major X-men from their showing here and Peter is almost completely sidelined after getting his own spotlight scenes in the previous two movies. I would’ve liked Erik to know Peter is his son after he awkwardly didn’t find out in Apocalypse, though it wouldn’t have fit into this movie as it is. Kurt being Mystique’s son would’ve given a unique flavor to their mission interactions, but I guess we’ll have to wait for the MCU to get that relationship.

Another conversation/argument the younger and older generations of mutants could’ve had was about whether Jean’s powers were acceptable within the mutant subculture (which is something we also need to see more of in live-action), much less to the rest of humanity. How much is “too much” mutation (Kurt might have some feelings on that vs. the others’ invisible mutations, not that he’s any more a mutant than the rest of them)? Is there a line where a mutation just won’t be acceptable to non-mutants, no matter what goodwill they’ve gained in society? What about to other mutants (and crossing that line should really come without also making Jean a killer)? With the X-men becoming accepted as the backdrop, Jean’s evolution into Phoenix and the fight against her could’ve been played as a metaphor for people who accept LGB rights but are Transphobic, which would’ve fit the themes of the X-men as a franchise and would’ve added a new layer of complexity to the mutant metaphor (though as a straight cis guy, I defer to the LGBTQ community on whether that'd actually be a good idea and a story worth telling, or if it would hurt more than it helps; it might be preferred to bring in more trans mutants to the team and deal with mutants who are transphobic rather than piling another metaphor onto it, particularly as Jean is already a white woman dealing with racism & homophobia via hatred of mutants). It could also simply be about power & control: maybe Charles and Erik ironically can’t accept the new kind of mutant Jean is (Hank’s apparent self-hatred probably wouldn’t let him either), and they could’ve built the heroes’ split out of that lack of tolerance rather than killing Mystique.

The D’Bari mostly worked for me as antagonists if that was the way Kinberg wanted to go: they made for solid, tough cannon fodder that required mutant powers to defeat. I appreciate that they included that bit of comics canon, but ultimately them being Shi’ar who’d detected Jean's growing power signature and came to extinguish the Phoenix before it destroyed another solar system would’ve worked better IMO, since they could be the authority figures for Jean that humankind couldn’t (also opening the door to the conversation of whether she needs authority figures or if she should be trusted with her power). As it is, even still being the D'Bari could've worked if they'd come to put the Phoenix Force on trial for destroying their world, with Jean an unfortunate "accomplice" to the power. With them wanting to use the power to recreate their world instead, I would’ve liked more comparison between the D’Bari wanting to reclaim their home and mutants saving the world to maintain their place in society. You can also draw a connection between their willingness to manipulate Jean into bringing back their world (or coaxing her to give up her power so they can do it themselves) instead of the harder path of accepting and dealing with their loss and Xavier trying to ignore pain altogether (I do like that parallel a lot). Both the D’Bari and Xavier reached obsessive levels, and the aliens’ obsession with recreating their home at the cost of Earth serves as a nice foreshadowing of what could happen to Jean if she doesn't deal with her pain. I understand that in a two-hour movie we can’t see nuance to every faction, but it would’ve been nice to see some variance between the D’Bari’s goals: were any of them content to live out their lives peacefully? Were these just the fanatics of their species? Did any of them initially buy in before seeing what Vuk brought them to and thought, “this is too far?”

The action was solid, with a mostly good range of power use (even if they weren't as creatively applied as in previous installments). I liked the space rescue sequence a lot (minus apparently not caring about covering Kurt's hands in the vacuum of space) and the fights in New York City and on the train were well-done and comic booky. I was disappointed in the Quicksilver super-speed scene this time and agree with others on Twitter that every character should get spotlight moments like his. Regardless, it was cool that the team didn't hold back their powers and that the effects budget had the capability to let them cut loose. Weaponizing the team’s powers through the X-jet was a great idea! The one character cutting loose that seems weird in hindsight is Kurt’s murder spree on the train: at first it didn’t strike me as particularly odd, given the X-men aren’t at a Superman-level of not killing their enemies and all comic book heroes tend to get their bloodlust elevated in live-action, but after hearing my brother and others online point it out, yeah, it’s an odd choice for him.

Simon Kinberg’s writing and direction carried over a consistent feel from the previous installments, which (like others have noted) was not the case in the transition from X2 to Last Stand. Whatever my wishes for things that they could’ve covered or done differently here, these at least felt like the same characters we’ve been following for the past 1-3 films. He kept the action clear and managed to juggle the characters who did get the most focus pretty well. The scope could’ve been a bit bigger given Jean’s potential and left me wanting more, but I liked that they kept personal focus on the characters instead of having Jean gain absolute power and then stand behind Magneto, saying nothing. I wish they had used the 90s setting a lot more: the only 90s thing about this is that the space shuttle is still in regular operation. First Class and DOFP used their decades to enhance their respective stories; I’m sorry Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix fell short of that. They could’ve at least made a nod to Scott being an X2-canon boy band fan! I get the reason for the team’s matching uniforms—Xavier wanted an orderly image—but they really should’ve used the 90s-inspired ones from the end of Apocalypse instead. They looked so much cooler! I wish they’d brought back John Ottman’s main theme as the X-theme here, because this score didn’t resonate with me like the music of the previous films did.

Dark Phoenix is definitely a mixed bag, but overall I enjoyed a lot of it while wishing it had taken things further. I admire its ambition, even if its success is hampered by the same mistakes of previous films. I’ll buy it on home video, but for the first time I’m looking forward to the MCU’s X-men relaunch more than feeling sad about losing Fox’s version (though Feige is right to let the franchise rest for a bit). While this movie doesn’t have the emotional impact that Endgame does as a culmination, the X-films (along with Blade) kickstarted the modern superhero film and the weight of the franchise’s reach and impact is not lost on me. This series has been a huge part of my life for more than half of my life and I would’ve followed these actors and characters into another adventure—I still genuinely love or like nearly all of the movies in this 19-year franchise—but I do think they’ve kinda run their course. I’m happy that this felt like an ending even though it wasn’t planned as one, and I know I’ll revisit these films even after Disney releases their take on the franchise (which should really be a long-running TV series rather than films, but that’s neither here nor there). It feels weird to say goodbye, but it’s time.

If you’re into the X-men or a fan of these films, don’t let the rotten reviews scare you off from seeing this one. It’s not perfect, but it’s well-acted and there are solid themes with good action. It’s definitely worth a trip to the theater to see this version of Marvel’s merry mutants on the big screen one last time!

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