DAYS OF
FUTUR E
PROJECTS
Where to see the X-Men nextBREAK OUT THE hankies, 2019 is the
year of sad goodbyes; to the Avengers,
the Night Watch, the Skywalkers and to
the latest incarnation of X-Men. Taking
over from Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart,
Hugh Jackman and co in 2011’s X-Men:
First Class, the stellar line-up, led by
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and
Jennifer Lawrence, have had highs (Days
Of Future Past) and lows (Apocalypse).
For their curtain call, long-time franchise
writer-producer Simon Kinberg has taken
perhaps the most-loved storyline from the
comics, Chris Claremont/John Byrne’s
1980 Dark Phoenix saga (previously
filmed as The Last Stand, aka The Vinnie
Jones One), and directed an entry that’s
enjoyable without ever catching fire.
It starts zippily enough. The X-Men
are sent into space by the US government
to save an imperilled space shuttle
mission like an unfeasibly good-looking
International Rescue. Job done, Jean
Grey (Turner) is consumed by a cosmic
entity that nearly kills her but ultimately
enhances her abilities, making her
all-powerful. She struggles to deal with
her new found skillset and, under the
malign influence of Jessica Chastain’s
Palpatine-like mysterious alien, begins to
act out, splintering the team to breaking
point. Turner cuts an imposing figure but
doesn’t make Jean’s internal conflicts
affecting. Similarly, Chastain (we know
she is evil because we can’t see her
eyebrows) is an intimidating presence, but
her unnamed extra-terrestrial remains
ill-defined and unsatisfying.
Yet Dark Phoenix posits an
interesting set-up — how do you treat
a dysfunctional and dangerous family
member? — and Kinberg and his cast
for the first half at least mine the idea
for good drama, playing nuances the
characters have never displayed before.
McAvoy’s Charles, now on magazine
covers and with the President on speed
dial, is an egotist, letting the success
of his endeavours go to his head and
holding dark secrets about Jean’s past.
Lawrence’s Raven is the voice of caution,
picking Charles up on his hubris,
decision-making and, in the film’s
funniest moment, sexism. Fassbender’s
Erik is running a mutant protection
programme on a hippie commune living
the rest of his life as an X-Schnook until
a cataclysmic event lets the actor ham it
up in vengeful mode. Perhaps the most
affecting work is by Hoult as Hank, who
etches a journey from loss to rage as the
consquences of Jean’s unravelling hit
hard. Inevitably, the interesting dynamics
give way to set-piece overload — a
psychic tug-of-war between Jean and Erik
over a helicopter, a battle in a New York
Subway carriage, and a last-reel
showdown on a speeding train that sees
every X-Dude get a moment in the sun
— which Kinberg marshals with
efficiency rather than brio. Which could
probably apply to the film as a whole. IFX-MEN: DARK
PHOENIX
DIRECTOR Simon Kinberg
CAST Sophie Turner, James McAvoy,
Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence,
Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra
Shipp, Jessica Chastain
PLOT It’s 1992. The X-Men are sent on
a space rescue by Presidential decree.
During the mission, Jean Grey (Turner) is
cosmically imbued with special powers,
the ramifications of which soon take a toll
on the family of superheroes.
OUT NOW
RATED M / 113 MINS
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VERDICT Better than The Last Stand
or Apocalypse but never hitting the
heights of X2 or Days Of Future Past,
Dark Phoenix thrives when its heroes are
front and centre. If this is the end, it’s a
solid rather than spectacular goodbye.SOPHIE TURNER
Dark Phoenix
WILL BE SEEN IN Matthew ‘No Relation To Francis’
Coppola’s PTSD drama Broken Soldier with Ray Liotta
(release date TBC). She will follow up with revenge
thriller Heavy, playing one half of a couple living it up
against the high-end drugs scene. She will also be
answering questions about Sansa Stark until the end
of time.JENNIFER
LAWRENCE
Mystique
WILL BE SEEN IN
an as-yet untitled
Lila Neugebauer film
directed by the renowned
US theatre director.
Lawrence is also attached
to Bad Blood, Adam
McKay’s drama about
bio-tech entrepreneur
Elizabeth Holmes — worth
$9 billion — brought down
by revelations of fraud.NICHOLAS HOULT
Beast
WILL BE SEEN IN
Justin Kurzel’s The
True History Of The
Kelly Gang, opposite
Charlie Hunnam,
Russell Crowe and
George MacKay as the
notorious Australian
outlaw. He will then
make Taylor Nicholls
wilderness thriller
Those Who Wish Me Dead,
starring Angelia Jolie.MICHAEL
FASSBENDER
Magneto
WILL BE SEEN IN
The Wild Bunch.
Fassbender is linked to
Mel Gibson’s remake of
Sam Peckinpah’s 1969
Western, alongside Peter
Dinklage and Jamie Foxx.
Ridley Scott’s recently
announced return to the
Alien prequels suggest
The Fass will return as
android David. Hopefully
he’ll play the flute again.JAMES McAVOY
Professor X
WILL BE SEEN IN
It: Chapter Two,
as the grown-up
Bill Denbrough, the
former leader of
the Losers Club who
takes the fight to
Pennywise the Clown.
McAvoy will also
play arrogant Lord
Asriel in the BBC’s
upcoming science-
fantasy serial
His Dark Materials.