So here we are at the end of the X-men films we have all known and loved. It’s no secret that Dark Phoenix is the last of this generation following on from the original three films and the McAvoy/Fassbender prequels. It’s a sad moment for X-Men fans and even more upsetting when you realise the finale is a complete bore!
Approaching the film I already knew what I was letting myself in for. I had heard rumours of the chopped and changed story lines causing confusion with the original films. Whilst visually the film is very good the rest of the film left a lot to be desired. The plot holes and character timeline changes really stuck out and are hard to see past for anyone that enjoyed the original films. Nightcrawler is a big example of this considering his debut in X-men 2 as a new character yet is in from the beginning in the prequels.
The performances of McAvoy and Fassbender were okay but really lacked the finesse of Stewart and McKellen. Magento in particular is a character that always had a real humour but ultimately remained the bad guy. Fassbender’s delivery is just too inconsistent with not enough comedy. Whilst James McAvoy has delivered some masterclasses in his time, Split and Glass spring to mind, his performance for Dark Phoenix just felt a little erratic.
The best performance in the film comes from Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast. Beast has always been another really great character with plenty of humour and wit. Hoult delivers this exceptionally well and gives the fans those fist clenching moments. You big beautiful blue b*****d.
As a childhood fan of the X-Men there was always going to be one huge thing wrong with this film. NO WOLVERINE NO PARTY! Now I know it doesn’t make sense with the storyline but clearly the story line didn’t matter to the director and producers. Wolverine has always been the stand out for these films and truly the stand out character of the X-men universe. We still never got to see that glorious yellow spandex!! Ladies……..don’t tell you don’t want to see Hugh Jackman in tight yellow spandex!
In conclusion you need to see this film to finish the generation of releases but the box office figures speak for themselves. Thank you for reading and feel free to drop a like or a comment
Bread and Butter Score – 5/10
Bread and Butter Film Review 