NEW MUTANTS (2020)
8/30/20 - New Mutants (2020) - 4+/5-/10
For a film almost forever lost in developmental limbo, you might expect something tighter, tonally adhesive, and better in general. You had plenty of time to craft the best and this definitely isn’t that. It has quite a few problems but I will say that despite the horrendous backlash, it is not outright bad, nor the worst of the X titles.
Okay, the positives first: Magik looks damn cool. Her design really worked and her action was great to see along with how they portrayed her special friend. I was a fan of Sam/Cannonball’s unmediated power and his story. I also really appreciated the concept of the film; setting new mutants up who are finding their power in a horror film setting. It is the type of idea that will push the superhero genre onwards and upwards.
Now, for the less than great. It was really a lack of definition that plagues most of this flick. From power sets to purposes, from real to illusion; what are the rules here and what are they for because I can’t figure them out. The creepy plaguers of Illyana and the monstrous final villain - what are they and how do they work? I had a difficult time nailing down their residency and requirement. Did they put up a fight getting there? Why do they stay? Why have they not fought back earlier? If the mutants are there to be made into something darker, then their methodology seems suspect. Delving a little deeper, providing some needed explanation and guiding us onto a path of understanding would have helped immensely.
It also had a helluva time with its namesakes. Illyana is brash and combative, like a tortured child might be, but she vascilates so randomly. I liked what Anya Taylor-Joy brought but the character she is playing is all over the place. Is she in pain, horny, vicious, a helpful friend, an escaping foe? Who knows. Can she do almost anything or is she hindered by something we don’t see and can easily be defeated? Should Illyana be so racist to Dani? I can see the reasoning behind it, but there are plenty of better ways to get her snippy bitchyness across, especially to this non-native Russian tortured soul that shouldn’t have the American experience baggage. Could they have cast Bobby as less “Hollywood leading man”, light skinned and tall for the masses, something in direct opposition to the idea of the character? Certainly, but I don’t fault Henry Zaga; they did choose someone who is Brazillian and he does the best with what he is given (which is minimal).
Yes, it had some problems with what should be put in and left out. The direction of all this was a mess. It didn’t feel like a cohesive and concentrated vision of a film. Do we need to force in all of these teen movie tropes? Should there be a full fledged love story that forms in 2 days, a ridiculous Breakfast Club-esque “rebellious youths romp around with dancing and everything”, or any of these characters fluctuating between suicidal, ready for sex, murderous rage and raucous revelling - all within the already cramped confines of mashing a super powers and haunted house horror film together? I don’t know if that is multiple chefs in this kitchen just throwing all the ingredients in the pot or the over-reach of one misguided voice, but either way, it leaves us with a bit of a mess.
This wasn’t the cinematic atrocity that it isn’t being made out to be in some of the press and online. I think some of the weight of being one of the first films to come out during the pandemic, bringing people to theaters which are universally considered some of the most infectious environment, is taking its toll on the general opinions of the movie. It is below average and had a slew of issues, but it is watchable and rarely was I made egregiously angry by it; something the likes of a BvS or even lesser X fodder cannot claim.
X-Men Movie Rankings:
X2: X-Men United (2003) - 7
Logan (2017) - 7-
X-men (2000) - 6
X-Men: First Class (2011) - 6-
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - 6-
Deadpool 2 (2018) - 5-
The Wolverine (2013) - 5-
Deadpool (2016) - 4+
New Mutants (2020) - 4+
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) - 4+
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - 4+
X-Men 3: Last Stand (2006) - 3+
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - 3