Saturday, July 13, 2019

"Dark Phoenix" (2019) -- Initial Thoughts


Michael Fassbender is absolutely the best part of this movie.  The directions they go with his character Erik/Magneto delighted me in ways I wasn't expecting.  His character arc has been the real joy of the three "young X-men" movies.  (I don't count Days of Future Past in that because it's got both the young and mature versions of the characters.)


The rest of the movie?  Was okay.

I mean, I liked that they had Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) confront his habit of meddling with people's minds and realize that he's become convinced of his own infallibility.  I liked that Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) got some very juicy interior conflict, plus a nice chunk of screen time.


And I liked the ending a lot more than I expected.  I can't tell if this is supposed to be the capstone on the series, but I kind of hope it is, because it ended in a really good place and I liked it.  I've read that now that Disney bought Fox, this is the last film from Fox with these characters, and I think that would make me happy.  Start over fresh in a few years, add them to the MCU, whatever.

Things I disliked?  I still don't dig Sophie Turner.  And I didn't like how it kind of copied/mirrored parts of Captain Marvel.  And there was an effect they used that looked an awful lot like the way people crumbled when "snapped" in the MCU.  Like, seriously?  Couldn't come up with a fresh image, like exploding into little stars or something?  And the villains... were flat.

I didn't love this, but it was ultimately satisfying, and I know I will enjoy watching this again on DVD.  If you love the series, or are a Fassbender fan, this is worth seeing in the theater.  Especially since it looks like it's the last time we'll see these versions of these characters.

But the absence of Wolverine was keenly felt.  By me, anyway.

16 comments:

  1. Speaking of DISNEY what are some of your favorite animated movies and also live-action movies from the DISNEY COMPANY? Some of mine are LADY AND THE TRAMP, POLLYANNA and THE PARENT TRAP. I am a big fan of BRIAN KEITH and DEAN JONES. Classic TV Fan

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    1. Classic TV Fan, my favorite Disney movies include Robin Hood, the animated 101 Dalmations, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the original The Parent Trap, the original That Darn Cat, Tangled, the live-action Cinderella, Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, The Three Musketeers, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Not counting Pixar, the MCU, etc.

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  2. I don't know the work of MICHAEL FASSBENDER but he did the movie about STEVE JOBS where he played the title character. The imdb cast list has KATHERINE WATERSTON in it. I am a fan of her dad SAM WATERSTON who played lawyers on ILL FLY AWAY(2 seasons) and LAW AND ORDER where he played JACK MCCOY for 16 years!(all except the first four years.) I don't watch the show he and MARTIN SHEEN are on with JANE FONDA & LILY TOMLIN. Classic TV Fan

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    1. You should try some Michael Fassbender. He's a fascinating, nuanced actor. I especially like him in Slow West and Jane Eyre, but he never disappoints me in anything I've seen of his. I haven't seen his turn as Steve Jobs, though.

      I'm afraid I've not really watched any of those shows. I tend to gravitate more toward police procedurals than lawyer shows. Except Perry Mason. I really like that one.

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  3. My brother saw the trailer to this and he was like, "Sophie Turner plays the MC so it's not gonna be great."

    (He doesn't care for Sophie Turner's acting; says she's flat.)

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    1. Katie, your brother's not wrong. I find her dull, tbh.

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  4. LAW AND ORDER is different in that the first half is about the cops on the case and the second part is about the trial. The show ended in 2010 but it is rerun on different channels. JERRY ORBACH played one of the cops. Have you seen LAW AND ORDER-SVU with MARISKA HARGITAY? I am also a big fan of PERRY MASON-the show and the TV-Movies that aired from 1985 to 1993. Classic TV Fan

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    1. Classic TV Fan, I'm afraid "rerun channels" don't help me any because my TV set does not get any channels at all. I'm too much of a story junkie to be able to have cable or even network TV -- I would watch TV all day long and ignore my children. And since I'm a homeschooler, that's totally not gonna work ;-)

      I've never watched L&O:SVU and have no desire to, as I know it deals mainly with sexual crimes and I am sensitive to those kinds of storylines.

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  5. JERRY ORBACH did a voice in the movie BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. He sang BE OUR GUEST. He also guest-starred on MURDER, SHE WROTE with ANGELA LANSBURY. Miss Lansbury was also in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST as MRS. POTTS. Im a big fan of MURDER, SHE WROTE and also of ANGELA. Classic TV Fan

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    1. Classic TV Fan, I mostly know Jerry Orbach from Dirty Dancing. I didn't realize he voiced Lumiere in the animated movie! Interesting. I totally loved Ewan MacGregor's turn as Lumiere in the live-action one -- he, Ian McKellen, and Luke Evans were my favorite things about it.

      Angela Lansbury is so classy I'm always shocked when she shows up in a non-classy role like the one as Glenn Ford's wife in Dear Heart. Which was a peculiar movie, all around. Have you seen it?

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  6. Ive only seen parts of DEAR HEART. However, I am a big fan of GLENN FORD. I have mostly seen him in westerns and comedies. Also I haven't watched those two LAW shows very often-because I like more G and PG shows. My kind of drama shows are family shows and shows like MURDER, SHE WROTE; MATLOCK and DIAGNOSIS MURDER. Do you like family shows that are comedy like THE BRADY BUNCH, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW and BEWITCHED? If not, what are your faves? Classic TV Fan

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    1. Classic TV Fan, I'm a major fan of Glenn Ford too. He's just marvelous.

      I like shows that revolve around their characters, like Combat!, The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek: The Original Series, Five Mile Creek, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Bones, Castle, Leverage, The Big Valley, and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. I gravitate toward more serious shows, westerns, and mysteries, but my favorite show ever is Combat!, which is a '60s drama about WWII soldiers in France.

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  7. Have you ever seen COLUMBO with PETER FALK? Three of my faves are all old ones-with JANET LEIGH, DICK VAN DYKE and RUTH GORDON. Another fave is one of the newer ones. It guest starred RIP TORN whose passing was just last week-on July 9. Classic TV Fan

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    1. Nope, never watched Columbo. I mostly know Peter Falk from The Princess Bride.

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  8. I am so far away from "getting" all of the timelines in this X-Men series (and in fact I think I have an X-Men movie I haven't watched yet), but I love them nonetheless. For me, the superhero movies are pure entertainment, so while I know I miss *a lot*, I don't really mind. Hope to see this one soon! :)

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    1. Rissi, their timelines are all kinds of nonsense. I have stopped trying to make it all make sense and just love them for their juicy character interaction :-)

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