Suspenseful thrills are worth the wait Fox’s final XM en decent despite the delay

After suffering more delays than an average train journey during a blizzard, The New Mutants finally hits DVDS following a short run in cinemas back in August.

Originally due for release in 2018, re-shoots and Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox held it back – and makes this the 13th (if you include the Deadpool flicks) and final X-men outing produced by the latter studio.

It’s safe to say the series has had a rocky road, and The New Mutants arrived amid a hail of negative buzz, but, for me, the good outweighs the bad in the X-men movie universe.

And while The New Mutants can’t touch the likes of X2 and First Class, it isn’t the nightmare many envisaged; it’s better than the main crew’s last adventure Dark Phoenix, for one.

Director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) and co-writer Knate Lee (Kidnap) go down the horror route – a first for the franchise – and it suits the potentially destructive powers at our protagonists’ fingertips.

The lead quintet’s claustrophobic time stuck in a secret facility gives a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest vibe and Boone shrouds his film in literal and tonal darkness.

Maisie Williams (Rahne), Anya Taylor-joy (Illyana), Charlie Heaton (Sam), Blu Hunt (Dani) and Henry Zaga (Roberto) all put in top-notch performances, especially the havinga-ball Taylor-joy.

Some of the CGI hints at the behindthe-scenes issues, the climax’s ‘big bad’ was a little too out-there for my liking and there’s a lot made of a plot twist that I saw coming a mile off.

But with enough suspense and action to satisfy comic book movie fans, The New Mutants is no late to the table Christmas turkey.

It’s now over to Disney and the MCU to power up future X-men instalments.