The final X-Men film from Fox, pre-Disney merger, has finally bowed on screens, some two years and five months after it was originally supposed to do so. It would have been naïve to think going into the film that it would resemble anything close to quality cinema, especially given how close it came to never see the light of day, and what we get is an underwritten and tonal mess.
The premise is simple, four young Mutants, Illyana Rasputin (Anya-Taylor Joy), Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), and Roberto Da Costa (Henry Zaga) are locked away at a mysterious hospital, believing they are there to learn to control their powers. However, upon the arrival of Danielle ‘Dani’ Moonstar (Blu Hunt) they’re all confronted with demons from their past as they attempt to escape captivity.
The reason the film garnered so much attention when its first trailer dropped way back in 2017, was its apparent departure from anything seen before in the X-Men world. Its billing as Marvel’s ‘first horror’ movie piqued the interest of many and has probably been the overriding reason it stayed in moviegoers’ minds, even as it continually failed to meet release dates. Disney’s decision to let it roll out with a PG-13 rating also gave hope to many that the horror elements would be heightened, and well, even a little bit scary.
Director Josh Boone’s film fails on all these accounts; the scares are nothing to write home about, nor does the world he’s built carry the threat needed to put audiences on the back foot. In fact, the scariest moment of the film is when the ‘Hush’ episode of Buffy is playing in the background of a scene.
If you’re going to shoot an over 90-minute film based in one location about escape, then that feeling of claustrophobia and tension, and an inability to see a way out at every turn has to be there, ala Scorsese’s “Shutter Island”. The sheer lack of urgency in the writing comes across right away and never really repents, and Boone’s attempts to shoehorn material to link it to ‘Logan” looks even worse now that the film is three years old.
The most frustrating part of all is actually the only shining light of the film, its cast. There is clearly a good story and characters here if given the time to breathe on screen. Anya Taylor-Joy exudes charisma every time she’s on-screen, despite her character’s wildly unnecessary racist undertone. While Maisie Williams gives her all to elevate the weak material given to her. Given creative license and freedom to do good by the characters, and in the hands of someone capable, the story could easily have made for a well-received Disney+ show. However, a reassembling of the cast for a reboot of sorts is now highly unlikely.
A shame for Fox’s X-Men series to go out with a whimper — not that Disney will mind, they’ll just be happy to have it gone. [D+]
The man doesn't stop. James Gunn has confirmed he's already hard at work writing his next film, even as ‘Man of Tomorrow’ makes its way toward theaters next summer.