‘Dark Phoenix’ is X-Men-lite
Sophie Turner (almost) saves the day. Review,
If this is indeed the end, “Dark Phoenix” finishes off the X-Men movie saga in frustratingly middling fashion, however fitting for a superhero franchise that only a few times actually reached its cinematic potential.
It’s also a lame-duck finale since the Disney/Fox merger means the mighty mutant population – and a whole new cast of actors – probably will be dogooding their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe sooner or later to hang with the Avengers. But “Dark Phoenix” (★★☆☆; rated PG-13; in theaters nationwide Friday) can’t even make the most of its last outing, letting down Sophie Turner’s fiery performance.
The “Game of Thrones” star debuted as powerful telekinetic Jean Grey in 2016’s equally underwhelming “X-Men: Apocalypse,” and Turner’s character gets the spotlight, moody title treatment and a tragic origin story in this finale. As for the X-Men, though, the usually maligned group actually is enjoying positive PR for the first time in forever as “Dark Phoenix” kicks off.
Their leader Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) gets the call from NASA when a space shuttle finds itself stuck in space, and the X-Men blast off to rescue the astronauts. The good guys succeed, but Jean gets hit by a mysterious cosmic force that, instead of killing her, imbues her with one heck of a power boost. It works a little too well: Having godlike abilities tears Jean apart externally – and internally, especially when she’s responsible for something seriously gnarly happening to a teammate – but she also begins to enjoy the sheer magnitude of what she now possesses.
Jean comes on the radar of an otherworldly being (Jessica Chastain) who wants to harness her abilities, and she also becomes a target for sometime Xnemesis Magneto (Michael Fassbender). The master of magnetism also rekindles his old rivalry with Xavier, with a different moral twist from previous films.
“Dark Phoenix” is one of the more emotionally intense of the X-Men flicks, thanks to Turner running the gamut from fear to self-loathing to rage. Even if the film on the whole is lackluster, she delivers as a young woman whose feelings and life barrel out of control, as well as a superhero (or supervillain?) you believe holds the world’s fate at her whims.
But mainly, “Dark Phoenix” sticks to the formula: Evan Peters’ chillaxed speedster Quicksilver gets one cool scene and that’s pretty much it; the romance between Jean and boyfriend Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) is flat; there’s conflict (plus some chess) between Magneto and Xavier; and other characters like Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) don’t have a whole lot to do. Jennifer Lawrence also returns as shapeshifter Mystique and at least makes the most of her limited action as resident voice of reason.
In the hands of Simon Kinberg, a longtime X-Men writer and producer who takes the director’s chair, “Dark Phoenix” at times resembles a late-1990s Jerry Bruckheimer action movie more than a superhero fest – and it’s a nice change-up for the ubiquitous genre, with a cool, propulsive Hans Zimmer score.
Yet the movie feels small for something with such humongous, universe-shattering stakes – and not in a good way. Jean becomes a galactic-level antagonist capable of changing life itself, not unlike that other comic-book dude Thanos. He snagged two space-sprawling, blockbuster “Avengers” movies; by comparison, one of the major “Dark Phoenix” action sequences takes place on a train. On Earth.
The first couple of “X-Men” movies in the 2000s, and more recently, “X-Men: First Class” and “Logan,” set the standard for what this franchise could and should do. Compared to that ilk, “Dark Phoenix” simply flames out.