Michael Bowers

Apparently this movie had major production issues such as extensive reshoots, constant rewrites & also it was originally meant to be released in 2018 but was pushed back until this year. Director Simon Kenberg, who has written & produced, previous X-Men films, attempts to make a better go of the ‘Dark Phoenix’ saga after Brett Rattner’s X-Men: The Last Stand attempted to do the storyline justice, though it wasn’t universally popular with its execution of it. X-Men: Dark Phoenix definitely has some pacing issues & you could tell the production issues & postponements have somewhat affected it. As a result, it doesn’t even belong in the same conversation at First Class or Days of Future Past, both of which are two of my favourite superhero movies. However for me it is definitely better than the last film in this prequel series, Apocalypse, as it feels like a human personal story about how Jean Grey is affected by the Phoenix persona. Sophie Turner does an admirable job of portraying the multiple personalities angle for her character. What also makes this movie work for me is the theme of taking responsibility for your past & facing the consequences. Charles Xavier & Jean themselves being the two best examples that spring to mind. I like that the story dealt more with ethical dilemmas and consequences of decisions made, in particular with how Xavier’s relationship with Jean leads to the main action within the film. There was one quote that stuck with me: ‘Sometimes, you want to believe that people are something that they are not. By the time you realize who they are, it's too late.’ That quote rings true throughout the film, in particular with how certain characters react to Jean’s actions when the Phoenix is in control. X-Men: Dark Phoenix definitely lessens the humour of previous movies and I think that suits the overall tone of the story, though I understand if people don’t agree with it. I want to conclude by saying I more than understand how some people will not like this movie. There are definitely issues such as pacing, which is wonky at the best of times and the quality could definitely have been better. But in my opinion it is way better than the staggeringly low rating on Rotten Tomatoes as it does at least have more of a focus on the characters than The Last Stand or Apocalypse. However, I think it’s a good thing the Fox X-Men franchise has ended as the story has definitely run its course. Plus, I’m interested to see if these characters will be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the future. X-Men 1 & 2, First Class, Days of Future Past, The Wolverine & Logan are way superior to Dark Phoenix but I believe that this is better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Last Stand & Apocalypse. You may disagree but I wanted to stand up for this movie given the amount of negativity it is receiving.

Let me start by saying it’s fantastic what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has achieved over the last 11 years, culminating Avengers: Endgame. The way that we’ve grown to care about Iron Man, Captain America, Thor amongst others is a true achievement. We’ve also had multiple heroes across many different films and it’s hard to see how, or if, this will be replicated at the same level again. Saying that, while I really enjoyed Endgame, I didn’t feel it reached the same heights or quality as Avengers: Infinity War. The ending was very satisfying and the respect/love for these characters definitely shines through in Anthony & Joe Russo’s epic but I feel like the stakes were lower than in Infinity War. Part of that is because Infinity War is the first part of a two-part story involving the mad titan - Thanos. In that movie, the story belongs primarily to him and when our beloved Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy are in battle, the stakes felt very intimate and real. I genuinely didn’t know who would be safe or what direction the story would take. Infinity War could get away with that more before there was obviously going to be a lack of a conclusion as far as the overall story is concerned. Endgame had to wrap everything up so I do give this movie more leniency in that respect. While Endgame has some of those elements in it, the stakes didn’t quite reach that height. Going into the final battle, I was pretty certain what the outcome would be and the battle itself didn’t feel quite as epic as it could have been, but that’s probably just me. However that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything about this movie that I liked, I loved the opening act of the film, which is primarily the characters reacting to & dealing with the aftermath of the snap. There were at least one or two things which happened that I didn’t expect, which is always refreshing and there were some truly emotionally satisfying moments. I apologise if I’ve given away anything but I’ve tried very hard to avoid going into spoilers. Go and see Endgame. Despite my reservations, I did have a much higher opinion of Infinity War after seeing it a second time, and I definitely plan to see Avengers: Endgame again. Fingers crossed the same thing happens again!