Disclaimer: The views expressed here are mine alone and do not represent those of allgames.com.
Introduction to the Dark Phoenix Movie Review by Ms. H
Dark Phoenix is a Marvel movie; however, they seemed to have partnered with other studios to get this movie done. Was the collaboration a success and was the movie Dark Phoenix worth my time and money? In other words, is Dark Phoenix a movie you should rush out to see? Check out my movie review to find out.
Synopsis of the Dark Phoenix Movie
Dark Phoenix is basically an X-Men movie with some familiar characters appearing such as Storm, etc.The Dark Phoenix movie centered around the main character Jean Grey from the time she was a child until she became an adult. Similar to other superhero movies, the film started with her background story and the fact that she had special powers. Also similar to some other superhero movies, an automobile accident was involved. Villain(s) enter later in the movie and again -- as with other superhero movies, a one-time enemy teamed up with the “good guys” to fight against villains.
Characters in the Dark Phoenix Movie
I’m not or was not a Game of Thrones watcher and I inadvertently found out that the star of this movie, Sophie Turner who plays the part of Jean Grey/Phoenix was also in this TV series. Speaking of stars -- There are some big names in this movie such as Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender and others. I think the stand-out actor in the Dark Phoenix movie was Jessica Chastain who played the role of the leader of the villains.
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) in the Dark Phoenix Movie
Suffice it to say there was plenty of CGI in the Dark Phoenix movie. In fact, due to the slow pace of the movie in the beginning, I found myself trying to figure out what backgrounds were real, props or CGI as I watched the Dark Phoenix movie.
Mood of the Dark Phoenix Movie
In my opinion, the Dark Phoenix movie spent too much time on the melancholy drama of Jean Grey which sort of transformed the movie from being one of action and adventure to one of a sad story with a somewhat confused main character. All is not lost though -- there is some action in this movie; however, you have to wait until the end of the film to see it.
Lack of Action in Dark Phoenix
If you want to see an exciting Marvel action adventure film, I would suggest you pass on this one -- unless you wait until the movie is almost over -- which I alluded to previously. My recommendation if this movie is re-done is for the writer/director to start the film with exciting action scenes which is almost the playbook for most movies from Marvel Studios. Unfortunately, the Dark Phoenix movie seemed more focused on gloom and doom instead.
The Actors’ Performances in the Dark Phoenix Movie
To critique the actors’ performances, I think that most of them did an adequate job. The weak link in the movie to me was the actor, Alexandra Shipp who played the part of Storm. I’m not familiar with her as an actress, but she seemed nervous, uncomfortable and did not act naturally when she had a speaking part in the movie. It’s unfortunate Marvel and others did not sign Halle Berry to reclaim the part of Storm since I think she would have been another big name in this movie to help draw an audience.
Assessment of the Dark Phoenix Movie
In a nutshell -- I was underwhelmed with the movie Dark Phoenix. In my opinion, the story was long and drawn out. Spoiler Alert: Also, is it just me, or does it seem as if some of the major players seemed to be destroyed lately in superhero movies -- maybe as an attention-grabber? Go figure.
To answer the question of if the Dark Phoenix movie was worth my time and money -- Fortunately, I had enough credits to get a free movie, except for the $1.65 ($1.50 + tax) charged since this is supposedly a “premium” movie and does not qualify to be absolutely free at the theater I went to. I think the movie was worth the $1.65 I paid to see it, but I probably would not rush out to pay the full ticket price to see this movie. Regarding my time, I left the theater as soon as the movie ended after checking a few of the credits , so a lot of my time was not lost.
Rating on the Dark Phoenix Movie
Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Dark Phoenix movie 2 stars.