ReviewX-Men: Dark Phoenix film review – Sophie Turner plays Jean Grey in lacklustre final chapter in mutant series
- The series’ all-star cast return for what must surely be their final outing following Fox’s recent acquisition by Disney
- But this retelling of the Dark Phoenix saga, though far more faithful than 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, fails to raise the franchise from the flames
2.5/5 stars
When the time-travelling shenanigans of 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past inadvertently erased the events of 2006’s much-maligned X-Men: The Last Stand, 20th Century Fox’s Marvel-adjacent franchise was gifted the opportunity to revisit one of the comic’s most popular storylines.
Reassembling its all-star cast for what must surely be their final outing following Fox’s recent acquisition by Disney, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is a well-intentioned, if ultimately unnecessary, postscript to the uneven series.
Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner reprises her role as powerful mutant Jean Grey, who is accidentally exposed to a solar flare on a mission into space. This cosmic boost to her already unwieldy abilities propels Jean on a violent rampage, inadvertently causing the death of a fellow teammate.
When this tragedy reunites Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) against her, Jean takes refuge in the company of Jessica Chastain’s invading alien, Vuk.
Simon Kinberg, a regular producer on the series, makes his directorial debut with Dark Phoenix, and delivers a far more faithful retelling of the saga. But that is not to say the film is any more satisfying than Brett Ratner’s 2006 version.