Lauren Shuler-Donner pulls a Josh Tranks on Dark Phoenix.
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/x-men...hl4U737EVtRpXI
LSD was really good, Kinberg took control over production with First Class and it’s been mostly downhill ever since.
If there is one sequence I'm going to praise, it's the Nightcrawler sequence on the train. My only criticism is that no classical music was played over it.
I saw the film yesterday, and I liked it. It wasn't the tire-fire that some people say it is, but it's by no means the best the franchise has to offer. It's far better than X3 and Origins, and I enjoyed it more than First Class, which I consider the best of the bad X-Movies. Not sure where I'd place it in relation to the good ones: I'll need time and an eventual rewatch to gauge that.
In terms of the good, I thought the actors put in good performances, which is something you usually have to be wary of in directorial deputs. Sophie Turner really carried the movie in my eyes: she got to show a far wider range of emotions than Famke did back in the day and did so effectively. There were also some cool set pieces (I loved Jean's at the end), and I liked Jean and Scott together. They weren't the most established on-screen romance, but I thought the actors sold it well enough. Also, there was some really nice framing and a different style of shooting than we're used to with these movies, and I thought it was really effective.
As for the stuff that didn't work, the big sore thumb is Jessica Chastain and her cadre. It's not that the idea behind them was bad: it's just that they don't have nearly enough to work with. They, and the PF itself, need a bit more fleshing out. I also wish Storm had more to her, but the brisk pacing of the movie kinda necessitated her going by the wayside; however, she did have some awesome action beats. Going along those lines, the movie as a whole needed more room to breathe: it's lacking in connective tissue, and it kinda gives it a haphazard feeling at times. I get why it goes from A to B, but there were a couple times I didn't get why the characters knew to go from A to B.
Overall, the movie needs a director's cut (about 15-20 extra minutes would do the trick), but I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't get one.
Some spoilery notes:
spoilers:end of spoilers
--Mystique's death was surprisingly bloody for PG-13. I was fine with it, just surprised that they got away with that level of gore in the rating.
--Jean going ape on the D'Bari at the end was awesome. I mean, she gets impaled from behind and just goes, "Nope." I just wish her and Chastain coulda had a bit of a physical smackdown prior to the Phoenix-splosion
--I think Cyclops's "You always come back to me" moment was used too soon. If you save it until the end right before Jean sacrifices herself, I think it works much better.
--I like Cyke's f-bomb, but I don't think it was given the emphasis it needed. It works, but the it jumps right off him and doesn't give it time to hit you.
--Cyclops got a ricochet beam knockout! I freaking loved that, and his beams in general were the best I think they've ever been portrayed. When you get hit, you get your ass knocked down. I also loved the custom optic cannon they had on the jet.
What can I say but, "I love comics."
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!