@jensequel When they shot the movie it was meant to be the first part of a doulogy with this acting as an origin story about how Jean becomes the Phoenix, with her transformation not happening until the end as her character arc. But then the plans for a sequel were cancelled after Fox sold the studio to Disney and then was re-edited to remove any dangling plot threads to make it more stand-alone.
It was more of a storyline centered on Jean’s trauma and overcoming the fear of her own power. The sequel was meant to show the Phoenix in action.
@divine-spark The entire concept of focusing on her trauma was a mistake in the first place and poorly executed all around. The fact that they rewrote the script multiple times and reshot it almost as many times may explain broken plot lines but the movie would still remain mediocre at best.
As it stands, it is 100% forgettable. Hopefully, when Disney decides to reboot the series of films (as Disney is known to do constantly), they will forget this script and focus on the original Dark Phoenix storyline that captured (and broke) fan's hearts. Considering the entire X-Men franchise has been rewritten too many times to count, it would be a refreshing change of pace for a closer adaptation to the original comics. Until then, my original thought of "why?" still remains.
@jensequel Jean had the same traumatic backstory in the comics (though it was her friend that died in a car accident instead of her mother) and trauma played a role in her becoming the Dark Phoenix in the original story. So I think it made sense to focus on it.
Disagree about it being poorly executed. There was an interesting article by a couple of therapist posted on Parade titled “Dark Phoenix is an Eye-Opening Lesson in What PTSD is Like For Women, and Why That Matters”. Recommend it, it is a good read.
As for Disney taking on the story, it seems like they had no interest in telling the Dark Phoenix Saga. WandaVision writer Jac Schaeffer said that women being corrupted by power has been done to many time and that is why avoided doing that with WandaVision.
Shout by SequelBlockedParent2021-05-12T00:14:04Z
When I first read about them filming this my first reaction was why followed by please don't. Then after I saw the trailer I still held onto the why. I finally watched it and that sentiment still remains...why???? I've read the original Dark Phoenix saga. It may not be my favorite story arc like most fans but its a solid one and good for Jean Grey fans. It would be nice to see it done right on the big screen. Considering they have mucked up nearly every X-Men storyline and character over the years, I really was hoping they wouldn't touch this. But they did.
The only characters interesting to watch were Magneto and Vuk (she's the bad guy). Otherwise, the special effects were spot on. But for a storyline that was supposed to be filled with action, it was rather dull.
I wanted to be wrong and like this. But I really just can't. It wasn't a waste of time, but it's definitely forgettable.