It’s 2019 and we have another exciting version forming part of the overall X-Men franchise called Dark Phoenix, officially in cinemas nationwide this Friday. Consisting of a blockbuster cast anyone would be proud to boast in one setting, Dark Phoenix is a movie many have a keen eye on. In light of all the above it was always going to be interesting to see what the initial reactions were going to be, we’ve had a look and it’s not good, in fact according to various critics Dark Phoenix just might be one of the worst in the entire franchise. Disheartening yes but was that ever going to deter us? Definitely not as we like to make up our own minds. So, is it really that bad?

Cast – James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp & Jessica Chastain

Directors – Simon Kinberg

Genre – Sci-fi/Action

Running Time – 1h 54m

So the great news is Dark Phoenix is not the worst X-Men movie nor is it the worst movie to watch generally. Having said that though it’s also not that great or mind blowing, it simply does a job. When you look at the overall franchise, Dark Phoenix definitely doesn’t compare with the likes of Logan and Days of Future Past, two legendary movies that are not only the best in the overall franchise but also superb movies generally.

From an entertainment point of view, this movie provides it’s fair share of that with some great sequences and fights rendered, this is something we found ourselves enjoying quite a bit. Where it falls short is all the other stuff in between, from the plot (which we found a bit lacking) to the villains (something that is crucial in a movie like this). On the latter, there’s just not enough time spent on the character origins/development which tends to defeat the purpose. The ending was also a bit simplistic and left most things up in the air.

Dark Phoenix is by no means a bad movie, we have seen way worse before and this isn’t even close.  With a running time of just under two hours (which is way short for a movie like this) we feel more time could have been spent on further finessing an initial intriguing story line. If it was a general standalone movie then it probably would have received a good enough review but because it’s an X-Men movie (which is an iconic and legendary franchise) it just has too much legacy and history to compete with. Not the worst but also not that great, still worth a watch though. It gets a 6.5 out of 10 rating from us.

Thank you to the brilliant folk at MNet Movies (in association with Ster Kinekor) for the cool screening.

Picking up in 1992 after the events of X-Men: Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix follows the X-Men as they attempt to defuse the rapidly growing and increasingly erratic powers of friend-turned-foe Jean Grey, played by Sophie Turner. Based on the trailer? We say… Yeah, good luck with that.

Featuring a powerhouse cast that can make anyone drool, we know we did, Sophie Turner stars alongside James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Jessica Chastain. Dark Phoenix hits cinemas on 7 June 2019.

Cast – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant & Dafne Keen

Director – James Mangold

Genre – Science fiction/Drama

Running Time – 2h 21m

The Plot

This is a near-future, one in which no new mutants have been born in two decades. As their numbers dwindled, Professor X’s (Patrick Stewart) dreams of a new stage in evolution slowly died. Logan (Hugh Jackman) is scraping a living as a limo driver in the town on the Mexican border and hustling for medication that he takes out south to a remote, makeshift home he shares with Caliban (Stephen Merchant), nursemaid to the infirm Professor X. Logan attempts to hide from the world and his legacy. However, when a mysterious woman (Elizabeth Rodriguez) asks for Logan’s help with Laura (Dafne Keen), a young mutant being pursued by dark forces, he is drawn back into action despite his hopelessness.

Logan is unlike anything you’ve seen before especially with the superhero tag attached to it. Yes the claws do come out as expected however most of it isn’t centered on the supernatural and instead is a very well thought out story that flows from one scene to the other, kind of reminds you of an old western when watching. It’s masterfully done and is probably far from what most thought it would be, after all it is Wolverine!

Hugh Jackman does what he does best and delivers a killer onscreen performance, this flick definitely was the perfect swansong for him as the legendary Wolverine. Something most don’t seem to mention though and one of the things I was mostly blown away by is the performance of fresh faced Dafne Keen who plays Laura, a true star in the making there. Her character was perfectly cast with her taking to it naturally and having some of the most brilliant fight scenes I’ve seen to date – she kind of made one watch in envy with all those moves and claws to fit. A special mention also deserves to go out to Patrick Stewart otherwise known by most as Professor X, the flick is a great farewell and tribute to him also.

As much as it’s a great movie to watch I kind of felt like some of the scenes could have been cut.

So does this mean that it’s perfect? Not quite, in as much as it’s a great movie to watch I kind of felt like some of the scenes could have been cut and made the movie longer than it should have been. Does that really matter though? No, it definitely doesn’t as the whole premise and offering more than makes up for it. Logan also sets the tone for a new X-Men ensemble possibly complete with new characters, plots and much more – I for one can’t wait to see what direction the franchise takes from this point on.

As you might have seen from previous commentary, Logan is a great movie that some have labelled as being the best superhero flick to date, there’s a good reason why that is. If you haven’t seen it yet…what are you waiting for? A movie that gets a 3.8 out of 5 rating from me definitely deserves your attention.