I can't believe it's all over.
The final installment in my favorite superhero franchise is here and mostly indicates a bittersweet revelation for me that an era of filmmaking is ended: one that allowed for cinematic universes before it was popular, one that bent comic book style to suit its own needs, one that allowed each installment freedom to create unique aesthetics and plots while still remaining thematically true to source material. And while the Dark Phoenix saga has been done before in this franchise, it's nice to see another attempt at what is arguably the most famous (and insanely difficult to adapt) comic series under the X-Men title.
Dark Phoenix is a deceptively simple film, one that boils the bizarre elements of its source material down to a few core moments, mostly associated with character. Not development, exactly, but more of a snapshot of really interesting character circumstances, if that is even a thing. On a space mission, Jean Grey gets stuck saving her teammates and is caught in a radioactive storm. She appears to absorb the energy which, after they return home, has unlocked the potential of her psychic powers. Unfortunately, she also becomes increasingly unstable emotionally as she learns the truth of her condition and her past. The X-Men try to help her, but the team fractures as they learn the telepathic control Professor Xavier had been exerting over her development.
Meanwhile, an alien race known as the D'Bari hunt the Phoenix Force, the apparently semi-sentient cosmic energy Jean has absorbed, which had previously destroyed their planet. Of course, in the comics, it is Jean herself who inadvertently done the deed, but this movie tries hard to make sure we sympathize with Jean. Sophie Turner's teary eyes -- so often in closeup here -- do more than enough to endear us as she battles her inner turmoil. It would seem writer/director Simon Kinberg might have thought the popular failure of The Last Stand was a result of Famke Janssen's Jean Grey being more ambiguous, even demonic. That is only my suspicion, of course, but it would explain the drastically different tone in this film.
Indeed, it is Professor Xavier here who is almost villainous, and I found it a little surprising that he wasn't put on the chopping block in this movie, compared to Patrick Stewart's untimely disintegration previously. James McAvoy allows the character to go through some unexpected ups and downs that we've never really seen from Xavier before in film. Then again, he is forced to confront true horror when, at a moment of intense personal failing, he witnesses Jean murder Mystique. And his ending here is probably more touching, as he abdicates his rule over the school, allowing Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) to preside over the renamed Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters.
The film suffers, it's true, from a straightforward script, simplified themes, and general disregard for most of the characters. This one really only cares about Xavier and Jean, and in that sense it is pretty magnificent. But the rest of the film relies on the vaguest shorthand regarding all other characters, assuming that the previous installments had created enough drama for audiences to fully appreciate everything going on. But now that we're used to more than twenty films in a shared universe with the MCU, Kinberg just doesn't have enough treasure in this safe to make anyone rich by proxy.
And while I perfectly enjoyed this film (and all X-Men films, including the much-hated Last Stand), perhaps we can hope that if/when the X-Men characters start popping up in MCU movies, we can get some more mileage out of this particular storyline. Perhaps the producers will allow for a more full exploration of the Dark Phoenix saga, complete with the Hellfire Club and Mastermind and the Shi'ar. Perhaps we'll also finally get Mister Sinister and Galactus. Perhaps we'll finally get to see Savage Land!
Okay, maybe I'm getting carried away. But I'll keep hoping! Kind of like how I've been hoping for The New Mutants for years now.
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