X-Men: Dark Phoenix

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is a rather anticlimactic ending to the series with the characters that we have known and loved for so long.

Dark Phoenix takes place along the same timeline as X-Men: Apocalypse (I won't give any further details in case you haven't watched X-Men: Days of Future Past), but has much less action. The plot is along the same lines, but is a lot weaker.

Dark Phoenix sees James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan and the rest reprise their roles from the previous films. You can't help but miss Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (Apocalypse at least had a special appearance by him) though.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Director Simon Kinberg is no stranger to the X-Men series, having been writer and producer for Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, among others. Dark Phoenix, his directorial debut, however, does not live up to them. The storyline is kind of predictable and akin to previous X-Men movies. The action scenes are fine though and similar to its predecessors.

In my opinion, you should watch Dark Phoenix to see the main characters (Professor X, Magneto, Raven, Beast, etc.) in action one last time; I personally enjoyed it. For those who are more critical of films, I can't give any other compelling reason to watch it.

I feel as though Days of Future Past would've been the perfect (happy) ending to the series (with Logan being the decisive conclusion), and both Apocalypse (despite it being a good movie) and Dark Phoenix are unnecessarily stretching it.

Regardless, it is now officially the end of an era and I can say unequivocally that the original X-Men are going to be missed very, very much...

(The next movie The New Mutants is a complete reboot that is set to release in April 2020 in the US)

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Comments

The Favourite

I absolutely loved The Favourite . Director Yorgos Lanthimos is truly a genius. All three actresses too - Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz - have delivered impeccable performances. The screenplay is written in such a way that the quirks and characteristics of the characters are implicitly conveyed to the audience lucidly. Many scenes were riveting and powerful, and you could see how the characters' actions were justified by strong ulterior motives. This adds a sinister feel to the whole movie, which is amplified by an apt music score (which can be noticed in the trailer as well) in the background. Another unique feature of the film was that it presented in chapters, making it seem like a series of significant events being shown. Furthermore, the cinematography and editing is fantastic. An example of it that I especially liked was that in parts, Lanthimos has superimposed different components of a scene, which are happening concomitantly, over each other, highlig...

Bohemian Rhapsody

Calling all Queen fans! Bohemian Rhapsody is a fitting tribute to legendary performer and the lead singer of the band Queen, Freddie Mercury. The film does a great job in portraying the ups and downs of Mercury's life. The background is always indicative of the mood in the scene. Director Bryan Singer (and Dexter Fletcher who finished the film after Singer was fired midway) recreates Mercury's exuberance on stage and has made sure that the audience experiences it as though they were there. Some of Queen's greatest hits are played intermittently as transitions, making the flow from scene to scene mellifluously smooth. Rami Malek's performance is stunning. He has done extremely well to get into character and portray Mercury's idiosyncrasies and emanate his confidence on stage, and otherwise (not to mention the big fake teeth!). An Oscar-worthy performance perhaps? Now, I'm not here to separate the fact from the fiction. The movie is not the most acc...

Tenet

Tenet is epic. Great action. A unique idea, leading to an intriguing concept. Brilliant execution. Brimming with ambitiousness. Nothing uncharacteristic of a typical Christopher Nolan film. I could not have asked for any more as far as the writing and direction go. The film maintains a relentless intensity throughout, while giving the audience just enough time to savor the stunning visual idiosyncrasies that arise when chronology is redefined, making it breathtaking in every way. This gives it a feel that closely resembles that of Inception . Nolan has coordinated every aspect of the film fastidiously to make it as enthralling as it could possibly be. John David Washington plays his character with a distinct suavity (kind of a hybrid between James Bond and Indiana Jones) that is not unlike his role in Blackkklansman . Robert Pattinson plays the sort of character that you would expect to have seen him play, but have not actually ever seen him play. The both of them fit in suitably....

Reeling In

Search This Blog