‘Dark Phoenix’ Reviews: See What Critics Say About The X-Men Movie

The reviews are in, and it sounds like the X-Men franchise isn’t closing on a high note. “Dark Phoenix” critics sound largely disappointed by the grand finale.

The movie, adapting a famous Marvel Comics arc that “X-Men: The Last Stand” also tried to tackle, shows Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) getting new powers. A cosmic force makes her incredibly powerful, but she quickly spirals out of control.

The critics aren’t thrilled with the movie. While some have mixed feelings, others straight out panned “Dark Phoenix.”

Vanity Fair — Richard Lawson

“Kinberg tries for that wonder, especially in the film’s ominous and almost artful opening stretches — but all too soon the film settles into a dull plug-and-play rhythm, giving us heavy talk about the onus of extraordinary ability that is lazily rehashed from the X-Men films that have come before.”

CBR — Meagan Damore

“Even though Jean is at the heart of this film, she isn’t its most compelling aspect, but only because we hardly know her before her dark turn. Instead, characters who have been around longer — like Charles Xavier and Beast — end up with the meatier storylines. This is a shame, if only because it removes Jean from the center of her own story.”

The Wrap — William Bibbiani

“It’s a film about redeeming [Professor X] for hurting a woman, not so much a film about the woman he wronged. And since the film’s antagonists are both powerful women, one overcome with dangerous emotions and one dangerously devoid of them, and since the film’s a body count that skews heavily towards one gender, it’s hard not to interpret ‘Dark Phoenix’ as one-sided, paranoid, and sexist.”

Mashable — Angie Han

“There’s no memorable soundtrack, no thrilling action sequences, not even a detectable sense of humor. ‘Dark Phoenix’ isn't especially ugly or upsetting, but it’s no pleasure to sit through, either. It’s just there, robotically going through the motions of recounting a story, without stopping to consider why it’s bothering in the first place.”

ScreenRant — Molly Freeman

“‘Dark Phoenix’ provides an unsatisfying ending to the X-Men film franchise, with a storyline that's neither character-driven nor well-developed.”

Variety — Owen Gleiberman

“McAvoy, with his gleam of cunning, plays to both sides of our sympathies, and so does Turner, who gets us to embrace Jean as a superhero, in part, because she’s a destroyer. The pleasure of ‘Dark Phoenix’ is watching her emerge from the wreckage.”

AV Club — A.A. Dowd

“Certainly, this series, uneven and repetitive though it could be, deserved a stronger sendoff before the inevitable MCU reboot. But maybe it got that in ‘Logan,’ whose final image is more powerful—and conclusive—than anything this skimpy, quasi-farewell can muster.”

“Dark Phoenix” hits theaters Friday.