"Dark Phoenix" Leaves Fox's X-Men In Ashes

It’s common to say to “save the best for last." Fox’s final film involving our favorite mutants, however, didn’t get that message, ending their two decade long control of the X-Men property with a dud that’s arguably the worst X-Men movie to date. Outside of the special effects which are laudable, the acting ranges from average to downright awful. The script is worse, and one has to wonder if everyone involved simply check out for this film.

At first, Dark Phoenix shows some promise with a solid 15 to 20 minute start. But then we meet the alien race and the primary villain, Smith played by Jessica Chastain. From there, the movie goes completely off the rails.

The script is weak and hollow, contradicting events of previous films and being overwhelmingly predictable. And despite an all-star cast, the performances do not match the talent involved. McAvoy, Fassbender, and Turner deliver mediocre performances trying doing what they can with terrible writing. However, Chastain, Sheridan, and Lawrence are downright awful. Chastain and Sheridan are wooden in their performances while Lawrence is obviously not invested in her role.

Hans Zimmer provides some relief with a decent score, but even his part falls short of the greatness we’ve come to expect from him. Ultimately, Dark Phoenix is a terrible end to Fox’s X-Men tenure. But you know what they say about the Phoenix - they rise from the ashes. With the property now handed off to Disney...that rise is now up to them.


Acting and Casting - 0 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 0 | What does this mean?