Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Dark Phoenix Movie Review

Sophie Turner stars in Dark Phoenix

Off the Charts

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: In Dark Phoenix, the X-Men face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite - not only to save Jean's soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.


Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, and Jessica Chastain

What's Good: The final showdown is downright spectacular, rivaling the 2000 original for best of series. For a last hurrah, it's hard to ask for more. Even softies Beast and Nightcrawler manage to grow a pair, and kick some ass.

What's Not: Like it or not, it's time for the series to end. You can see it on the faces of its stars (particularly Fassbender & JLaw) and poor Mr. McAvoy, who literally gets carried around for the last 30 minutes or so.

Budget: $200 million

Runtime: 114 minutes (Feels shorter.)

Target Audience: Marvel fans. Anyone who likes killer action.

Bottom Line: Think of this as a do-over for 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, which bored the you-know-what out of me. It's dark, but manages to hold your attention until its dramatic conclusion, when all Hell breaks loose (in a jaw-dropping display of special effects and violence.)

Grade: B