The Flickering Myth writing team share their thoughts on the first teaser trailer for X-Men: Dark Phoenix…
Having pushed back the release of the movie from its original November 2018 date to accommodate reshoots – allegedly off the back of a rather negative reaction to a test screening – 20th Century Fox gave us our first glimpse of what may well be the final instalment of Fox’s main X-Men series yesterday with the release of the first trailer for X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
The film, which marks the directorial debut of long time X-Men writer and producer Simon Kinberg, is set to present an adaptation of the classic comic book arc The Dark Phoenix Saga – material that Fox (and Kinberg) already tackled once with X-Men: The Last Stand. It didn’t work out so well last time, so will this be a repeat of 2006, or second time lucky and a fitting end to Fox’s X-Men franchise? We’ll have to wait until February to find out for sure, but n the meantime here’s what our writing team made of this first peek…
Chris Cooper: Absolutely…fine? I guess? The suits look cool. Problem is, not only does this just look like a remake of X3 (a low bar to meet), but after Apocalypse it all seems so disjointed to me. I still don’t understand how they’ve moved on a decade at a time with each film. Anyway, taken on its own merits the trailer is decent enough. I just don’t think I’ve got much energy for the big X ensemble pieces now.
SEE ALSO: Simon Kinberg discusses the cosmic storyline of X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Eric Bay-Andersen: I’m in the minority in that I thought Apocalypse was a decent film, but it also served as a fitting end to the X-Men series. As Chris said, this is a fine trailer, but so far it seems like this film’s sole reason for existing is simply to do the Dark Phoenix storyline better than The Last Stand did. Not that that’s not a bad ambition (and fans who want to see it done well will surely appreciate it), but is it worth dragging back all the characters for yet another go around when there’s not really anything new to say or a fresh way to do it? I suspect not, but I’ll go see it anyway. Side-note: I see the trailer cliche of slowing down a famous song for a ‘chilling’ effect lives on, and that it now extends to songs that were slow to begin with!
Cameron Frew: One word, and probably the worst word of all when it comes to trailers; boring. There’s the cliched use of a slowed down song; uninspiring, bland cinematography; dull, enigmatic dialogue. Not even the story they’re trying to sell is enticing (it seems to be a mashup between The Last Stand and Chronicle, almost). At least there’s a shot of Fassbender screaming while probably lifting something heavy.
Shaun Munro: As expected this looks like a totally soulless, generic blockbuster. Sophie Turner proved she can’t do an American accent to save her life in Apocalypse, so I’m not optimistic about a film focused on her. And are we really doing the whole “Magneto goes evil and debates philosophies with Xavier” shtick for the upteenth time? If this turns out anything more than forgettable I would be shocked.
SEE ALSO: X-Men: Dark Phoenix director shuts down Jessica Chastain fan theory
Allen Christian: I think it looks like it could be good, I just can’t imagine why these folks are all here, doing this one more time. This is the fourth film in this particular run, and its emotional weight is going to be hefted onto characters we barely met in the third. It feels unplanned and unearned, much like Apocalypse. At this point, it feels like these characters, as a punishment for some mortal sin, are damned to trip through time, reenacting the X-Men’s greatest hits.
Henry Bevan: I’m not the biggest fan of the X-Men franchise and this trailer hasn’t done anything that makes me interested in this film. I’m a Cyclops fan and like Tye Sheridan as a performer so I’m interested to see what he does in the role. But, considering Lawrence, McAvoy and Fassbender seemed pretty bored in Apocalypse, I think I’d be more interested in watching a film about their lawyers negotiating new contracts for this outing.
Helen Murdoch: Average. I didn’t enjoy Apocalypse at all and I don’t rate Sophie Turner as an actress. I’m sure McAvoy and Fassebender will be great like always but this trailer is underwhelming.
SEE ALSO: Sophie Turner and Jessica Chastain face off in X-Men: Dark Phoenix reshoot photos
Tom Beasley: It’s all a bit same old, same old as far as X-Men is concerned. The main franchise stuff for X-Men just never inspires me and I can’t bring myself to care. As trailers go, it’s fine, but given the really interesting things Fox is doing elsewhere in the X-Men universe, this is all a bit bland.
George Chrysostomou: I’m not loving the new trailer. Whilst it is still miles ahead of what I expected it to look like and very likely better than X3, I’m still missing the point as to why this movie needs to be made in the first place. I’m getting a little tired of this version of the X-Men and I really think this will be the last hurrah for the Fox franchise.
Red Stewart: I pretty much agree with the general consensus that the trailer was bland and underwhelming, especially since we were waiting all this time for some form of marketing. I think Sophie Turner is getting too much hate though- I felt she did a good job in X-Men: Apocalypse, and seems capable of handling the Dark Phoenix character. I’ll also say the cinematography looks great this time around- I’m getting a nice Roger Deakins vibe from Mauro Fiore.
Ricky Church: Look like they just decided to remake The Last Stand. So many of the beats in this trailer follow the beats from that film. This looks fairly average and nothing new from the likes of the previous X-Men films. I have to wonder why – yet again – we aren’t seeing Mystique and Beast in their full mutant forms when they’re supposed to be “mutant and proud” and this age in their lives. Similarly, the costumes look good, but I would much prefer the ones we got the briefest looks at from the end of Apocalypse. Now they’re back to a bit of a bland look. All in all, nothing to really excite me from this trailer for what is probably Fox’s last X-Men film before Disney takes over.
So, not much enthusiasm from our writing team at all, and it seems that Fox’s marketing team will have its work cut out to win over our writers ahead of the film’s release. But what did you make of the first trailer for Dark Phoenix? Were you underwhelmed, or are you eagerly anticipating the film? Let us know in the comments below…
In Dark Phoenix, the X-Men face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix sees Simon Kinberg directing a cast that includes franchise veterans Michael Fassbender (Magneto), James McAvoy (Professor X), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler), Evan Peters (Quicksilver) and Olivia Munn (Psylocke) alongside new additions Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game) and Lamar Johnson (Kings). It is set for release on February 14th 2019.
