“The New Mutants” Brings Nothing New, Only Chaos
5/12 ForReel Score | 2/5 Stars
They say good things come to those who wait. When it comes to The New Mutants, that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. With more than two years of production complications and opening as one of the first films amidst theater re-openings in a global pandemic, The New Mutants is dead on arrival. Everything about this film was mismanaged, misrepresented, or just flat out bad.
One of the biggest issues was a terrible marketing campaign. The New Mutants was marketed as a horror addition to the superhero genre, much like R-Rated Logan (which the film loosely tries to shoe horn connection to) and Deadpool films, both of which having successfully pulled off mature superhero entertainment. Sadly, The New Mutants never comes close to achieving that goal. In fact, Josh Boone’s film has a serious identity crisis throughout. Is it horror? Is it thriller? Drama? Is it a run-of-the-mill superhero film? Your guess is as good as mine. The New Mutants fails to achieve storytelling on par with any of these genres.
Furthermore, much like the storytelling, the acting leaves much to be desired. Anya Taylor-Joy (Glass, Thoroughbreds) playing Magik is both the best actress on screen and the most interesting character in the story, which is consistent with what we’ve come to expect from her flourishing acting career. Maisie Williams playing Wolfsbayne, however, underwhelms - a far cry from her Game of Thrones days.
On a singular positive note, the special effects were noteworthy.
The New Mutants is a mis-marketed film with identity issues and lack of an original story despite the potential of the premise. It ranks firmly near the bottom of Fox’s Mutant-led franchise, somewhere in the realm of X-Men Origins: Wolverine or Dark Phoenix.
Acting and Casting - 1 | 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?