Fox just can’t seem to get the ‘Dark Phoenix’ arc right; now 0-2

Posted on June 14, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

Whether you love super-hero movies or you don’t, the continuing stream of comic-book adaptations can be traced back to the creative and financial success of two films: 2000’s “X-Men” and 2002’s “Spider-Man.”

“X-Men” would spawn an equally successful sequel, “X2: X-Men United,” but the third film in the series, “X-Men: Last Stand,” fell very flat as it attempted to translate two celebrated story lines from the comics, including the heralded “Dark Phoenix” arc.

This, combined with the tepid reaction to the first Wolverine spin-off, would lead to a soft reboot in the form of “X-Men: First Class,” which brought the action back to the 1960s and recast a number of the main characters, including James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr and Jennifer Lawrence as Raven. Like the first go-around, a solid sequel would follow in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” which creatively combined the two time-lines, only for the third installment, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” to stumble out of the gate.

Disney finalized the purchase of 20th Century Fox during the production of the latest installment, “Dark Phoenix,” meaning that aside from the spin-off film, “The New Mutants” set for release next year,” the film franchise has most likely come to an end, and the X-Men will eventually be rebooted again to make their debut in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

As such, the hopes for “Dark Phoenix” were two-fold: finally adapt the famed comic book arc in a satisfactory way, and send off the storied franchise on a high note after its latest stumble. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t meet either of those goals, instead delivering a story that only remotely resembles the original arc, while also feeling incredibly rushed, as characters race from one overreaction to the next, culminating in a battle that was fun to watch, but carried little to no emotional weight because I simply found myself not caring.

Subscribe to our e-Edition and read the rest of the story. Already a subscriber? Click here to sign in.