X-Men: Dark Phoenix

This year, it's time to say goodbye to some beloved franchises. After the Avengers, the X-Men are now also taking their hats off in their current form. In the future, the popular mutants will also be part of the Disney/Marvel family, so they're guaranteed to be brought back to all-new big screen life in a few years. For the swan song of the team around the younger versions of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), the X-Men have to leave for a dangerous rescue mission into space - with fatal consequences: Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is hit by a mysterious radiation wave that was supposed to kill her. But Jean survives the disaster - and is more powerful than ever afterwards. Charles wants to help her get the new power under control - but Jean enjoys destroying, spreading fear and terror. Now her friends must try to stop her before she completely destroys the reputation the mutants have worked hard to build over the past few years, and innocents are harmed. But this battle against Dark Phoenix quickly claims a victim that changes everything.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix has some very good moments. Especially the first act can convince all along the line: both dramaturgically, as well as from the effects to the rousing music, for which this time Hans Zimmer was hired. The beginning makes you want to see the film and gives the impression that the disappointing Dark Phoenix appearance that Brett Ratner served up in X-Men: The Last Stand is being made up for here. Completely surprisingly, this first act ends with one of the main characters saying goodbye, and all indications are that fans of the franchise are now in for a brilliant finale. But too many obstacles stand in the way of that, unfortunately.

Don't even get me started on thinking about all the inconsistencies this film brings. Even if the timeline was changed, the characters - especially Charles Xavier and Magneto, should be starting to look a lot like their older versions - after all, the series started in 2000, which is only 8 years from when X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set. Besides, it also makes little sense to sacrifice characters who will actually play important roles later on. Yeah, the creators didn't really put much effort into staying in line with the other films in the series here.

However, even leaving that aside, this finale has its flaws. It just seems half-baked and somewhat awkwardly pieced together in many places. Thereby, there are some strong moments with good show values. But in the end there's nothing more than solid mediocrity - and the X-Men just don't deserve that. It may be that these weaknesses would not weigh so heavily if Marvel had not demonstrated a few months ago how to perfectly tie up many loose ends in a franchise. But even comparing it directly to Avengers: Endgame, X-Men: Dark Phoenix just feels a bit dispassionate and pale. Yes, it's still entertaining for long stretches, but it also makes it really easy for fans to say goodbye. And so this time, unfortunately, there is also only one: Worth seeing with cutbacks!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp