Reviews are pouring in for Dark Phoenix, the second cinematic attempt to adapt the classic Marvel storyline of the same name, and they are, for the most part, not good. The flick is currently hovering just above 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. What happened?
Dark Phoenix focuses on a serious problem faced by the X-Men: how to deal with beloved team member Jean Grey when she is imbued with a mysterious, cosmic “Phoenix Force” which overwhelms her to destructive results. The storyline was featured as a subplot in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, in case this sounds strangely familiar.
The film is the directorial debut of longtime X-Men franchise producer Simon Kinberg, and judging by the reviews, it’s easy to see how the film’s failure could be chalked up to his inexperience.
With a talented cast and a story that is the stuff of legend in comics lore, Kinberg managed to turn in a picture that Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus calls, quote, “deeply disappointing.”
Writing for York Dispatch, Katie Walsh was particularly irked by the performance of the film’s lead, Sophie Turner. Walsh wrote:
“Kinberg asks her to be a sledgehammer, requiring her to shout every emotional beat and turn, relentlessly hammering the themes and messaging.”
The critic also reserved plenty of scorn for the flick’s script.
“What’s truly amazing about Dark Phoenix is watching the charismatic, award-winning, star-packed cast flail about in this poorly written nonsense cartoon…perhaps [its worst offense] is proving what X-Men: Apocalypse started in its treatment of Oscar Isaac. Despite the caliber and talent of the actor, lackluster writing, directing, and editing can warp a performance into something truly dreadful. Now that’s power.”
That tone continues throughout the reviews, with many viewers lamenting how curiously flat Dark Phoenix felt, despite its emotional, high-stakes story. William Bibbiani of The Wrap wrote:
“Turner [tries] with some success to infuse the simplistic and irrational storyline with some humanity, but everyone else looks like they’re more interested in what craft service made for lunch that day…it’s just a disappointingly average superhero flick, with a familiar story, disinterested actors, some cool action sequences, and a whole lot of missed opportunities.”
Business Insider’s review also took notice of the fact that the cast looks kind of bored with the entire enterprise. Keep watching the video to learn why Dark Phoenix debuts a brutal Rotten Tomatoes score!
#DarkPhoenix #XMen