US fantasy action adventure in which the team is threatened when one of them unwittingly becomes the host for an alien energy force.
The point of a phoenix, dark or otherwise, is that it rises from the flames. But these are the flames in which this franchise has finally gone down.
Better than Last Stand or Apocalypse but never hitting the heights of X2, Dark Phoenix thrives when its heroes are front and centre. If this is the end, it’s a solid rather than spectacular goodbye.
The latest entry into the superhero canon has no emotional depth whatsoever.
Despite mostly sparky cast-work, the Phoenix never quite rises as hoped in Kinberg’s affectionate but often perfunctory X-Men send-off.
Doesn’t quite go down in flames, just fizzles out.
Sophie Turner is at the fore of an initially fantastic but ultimately frustrating series closer from Simon Kinberg.
Writer-producer-director Simon Kinberg botches it big time.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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