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Saw Dark Phoenix today with movie buddy, and we both would give it a solid B, just like Entertainment Weekly's reviewer did.
I'm somewhat puzzled by the reactions to Dark Phoenix and the marketing. The trailers don't quite fit the film. There's dialogue and bits in the trailers that aren't in the film or have been twisted in a way that appear to be marketing a different film entirely.
For myself? The film has some of the same issues I had with Captain Marvel and to a degree Endgame, in that I'm not entirely certain the retro stuff works. 1980s and 1990s films had better special effects than you may think. It's interesting how much some of it reminds me of Captain Marvel, although...I think I liked this film slightly better in some respects. Both films slant a bit too heavily towards male supporting leads...which is a weakness for both of them. This one, however, unlike Captain Marvel, was savvy enough to have two strong female leads. But because of Captain Marvel -- that strength was undercut and removed from the film -- in the editing room.
Also the dialogue could have been punched up a notch -- an issue I'd also had with Captain Marvel, actually. Except Marvel's dialogue was funnier.
But other than that -- a solid effort. Again, like Captain Marvel.
And some of the things the writer did -- in how he adapted a very lengthy and convoluted comic book plot arc into a 2 hour movie was rather brilliant. Also there's some very good character arcs. Charles and Erik's arc comes full circle in a satisfying manner, and for once Storm is allowed to shine. (In that respect, it's much better film than Captain Marvel, and a more complex one, with a lot more to say. Captain Marvel felt rather simplistic in its overall thematic approach and a tad neat. Phoenix is darker, and not as neat. It doesn't pat you on the butt and give you a warm fuzzy, it sort of pushes you to think a bit about it.)
Although movie buddy and I agreed that you may well have to be a comics fan, in particular a fan of the X-men comics and have seen all the films to appreciate it, not to mention other small details. And not be insistent on the original story being recreated as is, or worship at the feet of it. The original story had serious flaws and does not age well, this one is far more empowering and far less misogynistic and sexist.
I won't go into detail on it -- because I've begun to figure out that there aren't any X-men fans on my DW correspondence list at the moment. Sigh. Fuss. And. Bother.
But I will state that as I watched the film, and tried in the back of my mind to understand the hate thrown at the film (not to mention the hate that had been thrown at Captain Marvel -- and this after seeing the embarrassingly bad Aquaman, which weirdly is top earner at the box office) -- I came to some less than...well, kind or favorable takes on the modern movie critic. Now I'm beginning to rethink it, and I'm wondering if there is more going on here than meets the eye.
So, since my first edit of this review, this is the fourth, I've gone online and figured out that: ( spoilers for the movie and Captain Marvel and inside the Disney/Fox deal and how it screwed up a major movie's marketing release and caused it to bomb at the box office...and oh, why Captain Marvel is important to all of this.. )
2. Lovely night, very mild. In the low 80s during the day, blue skies, and 70s dipping to the 60s tonight. My A/C got a break. It's only been on all winter -- because they overheat my building. On way home from movie, did stop for a bit to listen to Romeo and Juliet being performed in a park near the subway station. It seemed to be a good performance, but alas, I was tired and wanted to be home.
I'm somewhat puzzled by the reactions to Dark Phoenix and the marketing. The trailers don't quite fit the film. There's dialogue and bits in the trailers that aren't in the film or have been twisted in a way that appear to be marketing a different film entirely.
For myself? The film has some of the same issues I had with Captain Marvel and to a degree Endgame, in that I'm not entirely certain the retro stuff works. 1980s and 1990s films had better special effects than you may think. It's interesting how much some of it reminds me of Captain Marvel, although...I think I liked this film slightly better in some respects. Both films slant a bit too heavily towards male supporting leads...which is a weakness for both of them. This one, however, unlike Captain Marvel, was savvy enough to have two strong female leads. But because of Captain Marvel -- that strength was undercut and removed from the film -- in the editing room.
Also the dialogue could have been punched up a notch -- an issue I'd also had with Captain Marvel, actually. Except Marvel's dialogue was funnier.
But other than that -- a solid effort. Again, like Captain Marvel.
And some of the things the writer did -- in how he adapted a very lengthy and convoluted comic book plot arc into a 2 hour movie was rather brilliant. Also there's some very good character arcs. Charles and Erik's arc comes full circle in a satisfying manner, and for once Storm is allowed to shine. (In that respect, it's much better film than Captain Marvel, and a more complex one, with a lot more to say. Captain Marvel felt rather simplistic in its overall thematic approach and a tad neat. Phoenix is darker, and not as neat. It doesn't pat you on the butt and give you a warm fuzzy, it sort of pushes you to think a bit about it.)
Although movie buddy and I agreed that you may well have to be a comics fan, in particular a fan of the X-men comics and have seen all the films to appreciate it, not to mention other small details. And not be insistent on the original story being recreated as is, or worship at the feet of it. The original story had serious flaws and does not age well, this one is far more empowering and far less misogynistic and sexist.
I won't go into detail on it -- because I've begun to figure out that there aren't any X-men fans on my DW correspondence list at the moment. Sigh. Fuss. And. Bother.
But I will state that as I watched the film, and tried in the back of my mind to understand the hate thrown at the film (not to mention the hate that had been thrown at Captain Marvel -- and this after seeing the embarrassingly bad Aquaman, which weirdly is top earner at the box office) -- I came to some less than...well, kind or favorable takes on the modern movie critic. Now I'm beginning to rethink it, and I'm wondering if there is more going on here than meets the eye.
So, since my first edit of this review, this is the fourth, I've gone online and figured out that: ( spoilers for the movie and Captain Marvel and inside the Disney/Fox deal and how it screwed up a major movie's marketing release and caused it to bomb at the box office...and oh, why Captain Marvel is important to all of this.. )
2. Lovely night, very mild. In the low 80s during the day, blue skies, and 70s dipping to the 60s tonight. My A/C got a break. It's only been on all winter -- because they overheat my building. On way home from movie, did stop for a bit to listen to Romeo and Juliet being performed in a park near the subway station. It seemed to be a good performance, but alas, I was tired and wanted to be home.