X-Men: Dark Phoenix to date has grossed $34 million from a $200 million dollar budget. Critics and comic fans agree that the X-Men movie franchise lacks accuracy and consistency among it’s films. This film is rated the worst among the other X-Men films released, leaving fans worried if the New Mutants will make it to the cinematic format. X-Men: Dark Phoenix is the X-Men‘s final battle like the Endgame for the Avengers. This film loosely focuses on the Dark Phoenix comic series…
The D’Bari race are among the billions killed by Dark Phoenix in the comics. In this film, they come to Earth to claim the power of the Phoenix Force, to help rebuild their race. This is similar to the portrayal of the Skrulls in Captain Marvel 2019, but the D’Bari killed the human forms they choose to mimic and seem to be physically stronger than some their mutant opponents. The leader Vuk tried to manipulate Jean into giving the power of the Phoenix to her, which is somewhat similar with Sebastian Shaw bringing Jean Grey into the folds of the HellFire Club. The HellFire Club was featured in X-Men: First Class.
It’s confusing with how Dark Phoenix was displayed in this movie compared to her portrayal in the Last Stand and Apocalypse. In the Last Stand, Jean is approached by Charles and Erik about her powers and receives an invitation to their Institution for the gifted. In this movie, Jean inadvertently kills her mother and injures her father in a car crash. From there, Charles decides to take Jean and train her to control her powers correctly. In X-Men United, Jean’s power of the Phoenix manifested when she sacrifices herself to save the X-Men. This throws off the audience because in Apocalypse and The Last Stand, Jean’s inner power was always caged away mentally by Xavier, as if the Phoenix Force was apart of Jean all along and he knew of the darker side the power has. Both times we see the Dark Phoenix on film, she disintegrates her victims in a form that is similar to the Gauntlet snap in Infinity War and Endgame. Why do you think movie producers like the use of ashes as the form of death caused by cosmic power?
This film continues the difference in ideals between Charles and Erik. The lost of Mystique brought the rivalry back to life between the leaders. Erik resides on Genosha with his following of mutant refugees, without the scrutiny of the world governments. When Erik finds out Jean killed Mystique, he sets out to destroy her while Xavier tries his last attempt into saving her. Because the X-Men began to fall apart and helping mutants is not being perceived as self served, Xavier retires his position at the X-Mansion. Erik wanted nothing more but to stand apart from humans since his traumatic upbringing while Xavier, always believed that mutants could coexist peacefully with humans. In the end, both Erik and Xavier are right and wrong on how mutants should exist on Earth.
If the all X-Men films have inconsistent story plots, why has the franchise last over 12 films? Why do we as comic fans keep buying into it? It’s because of the great actors who’ve portrayed the iconic characters and the CGI visual creativity of the mutant powers. It’s possible that the MCU will include the X-Men, since Disney owns 20th Century Fox, but that X-Men would become a reboot, new actors and new story. X-Men: Dark Phoenix should have been a two part feature, where the finale would bring the audience full circle back to the X-Men of 2000 or if the past was really altered by the help of Wolverine in Days of Future Past, then the movie should have brought the story to that time line. What are your thoughts on film surrounding Dark Phoenix? Leave your comments below!
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