If you’ve been following most of the entertainment headlines this weekend, you know that Dark Phoenix, the last of the X-Men films under the 20th Century Fox banner, did not ignite a fire at the box office. It’s safe to say that its fire was extinguished long before it could even spread and the result was an opening weekend of just $32.8 million, the lowest opening of the franchise to date. The news was terrible heading into the weekend when critics bashed the film to the tune of a 23% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dark Phoenix honestly never really had a chance. In this new age of social media where news is spread faster than ever, the behind the scenes turmoil surrounding Dark Phoenix has been well documented, and moviegoers are more keen to spot a potential misfire before they spend their money at the theater. The film reshot its third act, and the reasons for that are still up for debate. Some say it was due to similarities to an already released comic book film while other entertainment outlets report that the studio demanded some changes to make the third act more intimate and less of a spectacle, a complaint that occurred after the previous film, X-Men: Apocalypse. Dark Phoenix had two different release dates before it landed on June 7 and it’s clear that the studio tried to sell this as summer tentpole release to lessen the potential financial blow. Even with the help of Disney after the merger, their marketing efforts couldn’t save an already murky campaign that lacked a true identity of what the film was.
Having detailed all of these issues surrounding the film, I’m shocked that the final product is much better than the negative feedback would lead you to believe. The film is flawed, and you can tell that some of the existing narrative suffered due to reshoots or moments that may have been cut entirely, but I found myself invested in the characters and bought into the struggle involving Jean being consumed by a force that was turning her into something she didn’t understand. The action is the film was entertaining and on the level of most of its comic book counterparts, and it manages to stand up despite there being too many cooks in the kitchen.
“The Dark Phoenix Saga” is arguably one of the best comic book stories ever written, X-Men or otherwise. Chris Claremont and John Byrne crafted an emotional arc that works because, if you followed the stories consistently, you’re watching a beloved character go from the heart of the team to something that can’t be contained and becomes all desire in destruction. In the comic book, The Dark Phoenix levels planets and that destruction lead those to believe that she has to be destroyed to protect the universe. It’s a vast story that begins with “The Phoenix Saga” which is why this story is deserving of The Infinity War/Endgame treatment so it can be adequately told. I hear that was writer and director Simon Kinberg’s initial plan but 20th Century Fox opted to have him tell the story in one film. Just the first of their many mistakes getting this to the big screen.
The X-Men films previously took a stab at “The Dark Phoenix Saga” in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand but the story was a subplot in a short 90-minute film. “The Dark Phoenix Saga” definitely doesn’t deserve to be the B-story in its film adaptation, and that stab at it is mostly considered to be a colossal blunder for the franchise. With Dark Phoenix, Simon Kinberg gets another chance to get this right (he shared co-writing credit on The Last Stand with Zak Penn), and I will say that this take is MUCH better than The Last Stand it’s also better than the previous film, X-Men: Apocalypse, but it’s clear that outside forces have tainted his story a bit. What we get is a very competent film, but the whole time you wish that he had space and time to give this the epic treatment it deserves. Because of some of the narrative issues, Dark Phoenix doesn’t get to be a game changer like Avengers: Endgame, but at the end of the day, it’s not the dumpster fire critics would have you believe it is. If anything, it’s frustrating because you see all the potential and watch in dismay as it all doesn’t quite come together in the way it could have.
Dark Phoenix starts with a short prologue involving a young Jean Grey (Summer Fontana) and the tragic events involving the young mutant’s powers and a car accident that has dire consequences for her parents. Jean is takin in by Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), and he promises her he can help her control her abilities. The film then shifts to 1992, and the X-Men aren’t correctly feared as they have been in the previous films. They are called upon by the President to save the crew of a doomed space shuttle mission and all seven members of the X-Men team including Jean (now played by Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) successfully collect all but one of the astronauts but one remains, and Jean is deemed healthy enough to contain the forces on the ship while Nightcrawler rescues the final occupant. Jean ends up absorbing energy that should’ve killed her, but she survives the ordeal, but when she returns home, Jean’s powers have appeared to enhance, and she has limited control over them. Adding complications is a mysterious alien named Vuk (Jessica Chastain) who encourages Jean to embrace her dark impulses so she can harness whatever force is inside Jean for her gain. Jean’s growing powers create conflicts within the group with some wanting to save her while others are thinking that her demise is their hope.
I accepted early on that this would not be a 100% proper adaptation of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” so all I could hope for was that the essence of the story would be present and told with respect for the source. I’m happy to say that Kinberg mostly gets this right. It’s very clear that he’s a fan of these characters, having been involved in several of the X-Men films and he really does get the heart of the story right. Jean Grey is always at the center of the film, something that was lacking in The Last Stand, and her character arc is a lot of what works in the movie. Credit to Sophie Turner for capturing all aspects of the character without missing the beat. She’s likable when necessary, scared and vulnerable when the moment calls for it and she portrays anger and consumption of power with a confidence worthy of the character. I’m not sure she wants to be the face of the film now considering its reception, but a lot of Dark Phoenix works because of Turner, and her alone makes the film worthy of a viewing.
The other performers also put in solid work. James McAvoy gets to play Xavier through a less heroic lens. The film shows more of his ego and his tendency to meddle in matters if he feels he’s doing the right thing. The character shift allows James McAvoy to do things with the character he hasn’t done before. Michael Fassbender is excellent as always as Magneto with full bravado on display, despite a somewhat limited role. Also limited is Jennifer Lawrence who is okay with what she’s given but you can tell Lawrence did this a favor to a friend rather than a need to explore the character again (It has been confirmed by most of the cast whose contracts were up that they only returned because they wanted Kinberg to have a chance to direct). The rest of the X-Men are also top notch with Tye Sheridan probably offering up our best big screen version of Cyclops and Nicholas Hoult serving up some intensely emotional moments as Beast. The one acting oddity is Jessica Chastain, and it’s not because she’s terrible, she plays the role with spot-on T-1000 intensity, but you can tell that some of her stuff was cut or not thoroughly fleshed out in the script. Her motivations are very limited, and it feels like her presence was meant to be more, but something got lost in translation.
The action sequences are also adequate, with a fight outside of a sprawling mansion being a highlight as it displays the teamwork of the group while showing some solid moments of action. I also thought that the much talked about the third act, which was reshot, didn’t come off that way. Had I not known ahead of time, I never would’ve guessed this was a product of extensive reshoots. It’s probably one of the best sequences of the film and had some crowd-pleasing moments from those in attendance when I saw it. A score by Hans Zimmer also adds to the gravitas of many of these scenes and proves he can score just about anything and make it feel great.
The frustrating thing about Dark Phoenix is that despite the film being serviceable entertainment, it’s clear that we’re getting a Cliffs Notes version of what Simon Kinberg intended. I’m not sure if we’ll get a director’s cut or extended cut of this film down the road, but it’s very deserving of one. Because of how the film has been chopped and remanufactured, there are some continuity issues and characters that deserve more time to develop are a bit shortchanged. Cyclops and Jean’s love story should be the emotional center of the film, but it only works on the level that it does because of the performers and not because it’s fully developed. I hear that they had more moments together to flesh out their love story, but a lot of it was cut after poor test screenings.
As a fan of the X-Men films franchise, I’m sad to see it go out with such negative press surrounding it. The X-Men films are responsible for being a part of the superhero resurgence that has led us to the likes of the MCU, so it’s a shame to see it treated like a rotten stepchild. Dark Phoenix is by no means perfect but considering all of the issues surrounding it, the film is entertaining enough to warrant at least one viewing, even if all of it never truly comes together in the way I had hoped.
