As of the writing of this review, Dark Phoenix holds a bewilderingly low rating of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even on Imdb, I see some disparagingly negative reviews that do not even specify what they particularly disliked about the film. Frankly, I do not intend to sugarcoat my review so as to counterbalance the low score derived from these reviews. Rather I hope to give the movie a fair chance and undermine the undeserved hate it has received from so many outlets so that interested potential viewers do not unjustly miss out on an otherwise OK film.
Now, if we are to focus solely on the X-Men films and not the solo Wolverine/Deadpool vehicles , I'd say X2 is still the best one of them with Future Past and First Class being close competitors. However, it can be agreed that Apocalypse was an absolute bore if not an abomination like X3. However, my point is if that even if Apocalypse could acquire a 47% RT score, I fail to see what upended Dark Phoenix with a pathetic 22% . One of my main complaints with Apocalypse was how uninspired and boring the action sequences had been . Even the main villain Apocalyspe had such a generic "I want to destroy the World" motivation. Here at least, they give the villains some sense of purpose even though it could have been better fleshed out.
They also tried to give Charles Xavier a bit more of a character dilemma instead of presenting him as the evergreen moralist. I also think James McAvoy gave his best performance yet as Professor X. However, Fasbender's portrayal of Magneto still felt so-so. He is still the same character from previous movies without much growth. They definitely could have introduced some interesting character evolution. The rest of the X-Men cast were the same as in previous films although Storm certainly was more fleshed out than in Apocalypse.
Now how does the story compare to X3 which was also based on the Dark Phoenix saga in the comics. Well, despite the bad dialogue and directing, I think it was told better in the older movie. However, what primarily holds the interest in the 2019 version are the action sequences. I felt the X-Men really acted as a team with all the mutants complimenting one another's superpowers to fight a common enemy. I am glad they didn't keep on overusing the same setup each time a fight scene ensued.
I also think they missed a fine opportunity to make Jessica Chastain more intimidating as a villain. She definitely is an excellent actor who could have brought more life to her role if it were more well written.
There are some cringeworthy SJW moments in the first act but the main catalyst for these scenes (thankfully) gets removed from the script before the second act starts.
So in conclusion, this movie is NOT a masterpiece nor is it the best X-men movie (which for me goes like X2>Future Past> X-Men 2000>First Class> Phoenix> Apocalypse> X3) But if all you want is a decent enjoyable theater experience where you can momentarily forget a somewhat uneventful life and focus on some effective PG-13 fantasy, then Dark Phoenix won't be a bad recommendation
