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Overanalyzing Anime
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Possessed by a power unlike anything she, or the world, has ever seen before - Jean Grey must learn to control the power of the “Phoenix” before its flames consume her.. and everything else.
X-Men movies have always been sort of mixed bags in terms of what one can expect. While they do have their standouts, such as “Logan,” “First Class,” and the “Deadpool” series, they also have some ‘less than great’ iterations in the form of, “Apocalypse,” “The Last Stand,” and “Origins: Wolverine.” While I want to think that “Dark Phoenix” might rise from the ashes of the last ensemble X-Men film - reborn, like the films namesake - I cannot shake the feeling that it may never amount to nothing more than additional ashes in the pile.
Let’s start with the interesting aspects of the trailer.
While possibly a misdirection, it is heavily implied that Jenifer Lawrence’s Mystique will meet her end during the events of this film. If the passing back and forth between a crying Jean Grey and a comforting Mystique (followed by a funeral scene) weren’t enough, then the fact that Hank - her kind of, sort of ex - seemed especially upset at the funeral should be enough to convince anyone that it is her in that grave. However, its because it all seems so obvious that its Mystique that I feel inclined to believe that it has to be someone else; it just seems far too careless to give away what could be such a ‘gut punch’ of a death in the movies trailer. I mean, could you imagine “Avengers: Infinity War” alluding to the death of Loki in its trailer by showing Thanos choking him? It just would not happen. However, it does not change the fact that someone is in that grave - my money just happens to be on anyone other than Mystique.
Moving away from that mystery, let us take a moment to discuss the movies titular character - Jean Grey. While I mention “Apocalypse” on the list of less than great X-Men movies, it did give us our first glimpse at Jean Grey’s power - even giving her the honor of providing the final blow towards the would-be God of Mutants, Apocalypse. As a long time fan of the X-Men series it was obvious that, in showing us the extent of her power, the series was setting up one of its most iconic stories - “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” wherein we would see Jean Grey become possessed by an other-worldly power known as the ‘Phoenix Force.’
Or, not.
As with the last movie that attempted to tell this story - “The Last Stand” - it seems as though “Dark Phoenix” may be opting to make the ‘Phoenix Force’ an innate power that has always been within Jean Grey since she was a child and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, - especially given the grounded nature of the X-Men series so far - it does feel as though it may be setting itself up for failure.
So far the movies of the “First Class” era have shied away from tackling topics that occurred in the original trilogy. Typically when movies attempt to recreate past iterations in a similar fashion, they fall flat. You need look no further than “The Amazing Spider-Man” series which was a (poor) reboot of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man.” It wasn’t until the formula was completely switched for “Homecoming” that fans were really back on board with Spider-Man.
Now, with this being only a trailer, all of this is just speculation. But, I cannot shake the feeling that this is just a reboot/remake of “The Last Stand,” and with that movie being widely accepted as the worst in the series, I worry that this story may end up following suit. But, I could be wrong. Some differences include the fact that at least part of this story takes place in space (or at least the Exposphere) - so maybe the idea of an alien force infecting Jean is not entirely impossible. It would surely be welcome, seeing as a Marvel story about “snapping” out half of existence is lauded as one of the best comic book movies of all time.
All in all, the trailer has me simultaneously hopeful and worried that “Dark Phoenix” may wind up being either one of the greatest X-Men movie of all time, or one of the worst. Leave a comment letting me know what your thoughts are!
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