Dark Phoenix ★★

Leave it to the culmination of a (semi?) rebooted franchise to cast charismatic James McAvoy, angsty Michael Fassbender, and a broody-faced Sophie Turner to deliver characters lacking each and every one of those qualities. For a while now, I’ve wondered if “X-Men 2.0“ would return to the relationship dynamics of the original installments. Instead, for the last few movies, we’ve gotten half-baked, one dimensional villains and character motivations that will adapt (mutate?) to the plot as necessary. Charles Xavier becomes the catalyst for all things bad in the first half of this movie, and when it becomes more convenient to pawn off the “evil“ on the bad guys, this film does so without a second thought toward the emotional stakes it’s built up so far. 

If you’re willing to throw aside the tradition of political significance, characters with more than one dimension, and true-to-character behaviors, this film can still reasonably exist on the merit of its action sequences. Sure, they’re over CGI’d and not particularly visually compelling BUT we all like seeing superheros use their powers to fight bad guys. Add to that a high-speed train, and I will happily sit down, shut up, enjoy my popcorn, and this movie.

Reviewed by Max Minardi. Full review on FHC 128.