The X-Men universe has a surprisingly even split between memorable outings (X-Men, X2, First Class, Days of Future Past, Logan) and those that failed to fire (The Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, Apocalypse). Disappointingly, the final X-Men instalment produced by Twentieth Century Fox - now owned by Disney - fits squarely into the latter group. It's not a dire effort by any means, but instead of going out with a bang it merely fizzles out with a whimper. Turning its full attention to Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), a mutant considered throughout X-Men lore as the most powerful of them all, this entry focuses on her struggle with inner demons, both metaphorical (death of her parents) and literal (a dark cosmic force). Internal good-vs-evil conflict is a concept that has been explored through art for centuries, and it has always been at the centre of the X-Men world, but here it's played too simply and too on the nose to be engrossing. Jean's descent into darkness is just a bit, well, m'eh. It's difficult to tell how much of Jean's blandness comes from the lacklustre script or Turner's performance, either way she's not alone: J-Law looks utterly bored as Mystique, Fassbender is on autopilot as Magento and Chastain seems like she can't believe she took the role of dull villain Vuk. Criminally, fan favourite Quicksilver (Evan Peters), who has been given some of the greatest sequences in the previous two X-team flicks, is sidelined after the first act in which his biggest moment is unclipping some seat belts. From an action perspective there's a lot going on with at least six large set pieces - the opening sequence in outer space and the climactic battle aboard a train the highlights - however none of these are truly memorable and, strangely for such a big budget movie, feature some woeful CGI. Not the worst film in the franchise, but a lack of narrative resonance and awe-inspiring action means Dark Phoenix fails to make an impact.
Review of X-Men: Dark Phoenix
