More and more Hollywood is getting to be just like the corporate world, replete with shareholders, profit margins and net and gross earnings. Franchises are all part of this process, hence why there are so many of them. The X-Men franchise is probably one of the oldest franchises in Hollywood today--this has been around for almost 20 years starting in 2000. So now we are offered "Dark Phoenix" which I hear should close the franchise, however if there's a handsome profit, who knows?
This is the story of one of the X-Men's most beloved characters, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), as she evolves into the iconic DARK PHOENIX. During a life-threatening rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family, including Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fasbender), Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), Ororo Munroe (Alexandra Shipp) and others apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet.
The film is the most intense and emotional X-Men movie ever made. It is the culmination of 20 years of X-Men movies, as the family of mutants that we've come to know and love must face their most devastating enemy yet--one of their own.
Others to round out the cast are Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Jessica Chastain as Vuk, Scott Shepherd as Scott Grey, Jean's father, Ato Essandoh as Jones, Brian d'Arcy James as USA President, Halston Sage as Dazzler and Lamar Johnson as Match.
Considering that Simon Kinberg has written a number of the X-Men films, it should be no surprise that his direction of this would be intense and effective. His directing experience has centered on TV, but this was staged and paced well by him. I've always felt that any director or writer would be served well by honing their skills on a good deal of TV, and this filmmaker proved this concept. It will be interesting to see how he handles his "355" which is in pre-production. It was also effectively written by Kinberg ("The Legacy" (TV movie) '02, "xXx: State of the Union" '05, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" '05, "X-Men: The Last Stand" '06, "Jumper" '08, "Sherlock Holmes" '09, "This Means War" '12, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" '14, "Fantastic Four" '15, "X-Men: Apocalypse" '16) plus TV and a TV short. Without coming across with being bias, for a franchise that was interesting back in the day, has become tired and seemingly ordinary. This film jumped around too much and some of the scenes were having a difficult time connecting. Although I felt the same about "xXx: State of the Union", there have been other films out of this franchise that have been memorable-- "Logan" comes to mind as do others, but I feel this franchise needs to come to an end. It has had a good run, and ending it doesn't mean it failed--nothing lasts forever, whether it be good or not so good. Certainly if this makes a good deal of money, 20th Century Fox will continue it. Cha-ching!--again the corporate world mindset. There were good moments in this--it wasn't a wash, but maybe its time to hang the reigns up. If you like his writing, his "Killer's Game" is in pre-production. Certainly, the visual effects predominantly designed by MPC (Motion Picture Company) were seamless and intriguing.
What ever happened to the film industry being an art form? Some films are artistically done, but so many of them sacrifice creativity for dollars and cents. Anymore, its reboots, remakes, sequels, prequels, franchises and the like that permeate the multiplex. Rare do we see original and fresh. I yearn to see the film industry go back to that. If you do see this, see it on the large screen--it does come in a nifty IMAX version, because any other format will make this look cheap.
Out of 4 Stars: 2.5 Rated: PG-13 114mins
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