Tag: Dark Phoenix

The Top 5 Worst Films of 2019

2019 was surprisingly a great year for films. For every great film, there are also terrible films that were released as well. There weren’t as much bad films as I thought there would be, but there were some films that yielded mixed results. As the year comes to a close, we reflect back on the previous year on the duds that were on the big screen. Here are the top 5 worst films of the year.

5. Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbes & Shaw

Originally in my review for “Hobbes & Shaw”, I called the film stupid and fun. And yes, it is fun as it has mindless action and the film doesn’t have anything harmful. The film doesn’t terrible direction, acting, or action sequences. So why is this film on the list? Well, this film is simply a cash cow. Don’t get me wrong, films are made to sell tickets and to collect money. But when I usually watch films, I don’t get the impression that these films are made to make money. But “Hobbes & Shaw” was clearly made to make fast money. Nothing in the film advances the film series nor is the film intelligent. The film panders to the lowest common denominator, it goes for the cheap laughs and the cheap action. Did I originally enjoy the film? Yes, it is a film that doesn’t require much thinking and I’m sure everyone will like this film but after further reflection of “Hobbes & Shaw”, this is a cash cow that should have never been made.

4. The Lion King (2019)

“The Lion King” is on the list for the same reason “Hobbes & Shaw” is on this list. It is simply a cash cow made by Disney. But where “Hobbes & Shaw” was at least fun and had a somewhat enjoyable time, “The Lion King” is a lifeless remake that adds nothing to the film. It seems like the “The Lion King” is a shot by shot remake of the original film with not much added to the film. Remakes should be made when the filmmakers want to add more to the story or can improve upon on the visuals. Does the 2019 version of “The Lion King” add more to the original story that was told 25 years ago? No, not really. Does it improve on the visuals of the original film? Well, the 2019 version is beautiful to look at, but all of the film is CGI, hence being another animated film. Add to this an A list cast who deliver lines without any life and are quite annoying. Sadly “The Lion King” has grossed over a billion dollars at the box office, it doesn’t seem like Disney will be stopping these “live action remakes” anytime soon.

3. Hellboy (2019)

It’s a shame that Hellboy wasn’t as good as it predecessors. It certainly had an opportunity to be as great as the Guillermo Del Toro directed films, but it fails miserably to live up to those films. The plot is a cliche plot that we have seen so many times, it feels tiring and recycling and the CGI looks awful as well. I was surprised someone didn’t try to clean up the visual as they look like they’re from a video game 20 years ago. To add to this, the first half of the film felt very unnecessary and the last half was cliche filled. I certainly enjoyed David Harbour as the titular character, but his role as Hellboy unfortunately could not save this film.

2. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged

I almost forgot this film’s name, I had to Google the name of the film, this is how awful “47 Meters Down: Uncaged” is. Speaking of the title, why is it called “47 Meters Down”? It has no connection to the first film at all and the film does not take place 47 meters below the ocean or sea. It takes place in an ancient lake that is filled with blind sharks. Yes, a lake with sharks and I am sure the film explained the reasoning for this but I do not care to recall the film. The film doesn’t make me root for any other characters, no one in this has a redeemable quality to them and the film doesn’t make me care for any of them. I am not sure what else to say but “47 Meters Down: Uncaged” would have been best as a direct to DVD or streaming sequel. It had no reason to be on the big screen.

1. Dark Phoenix

There is a method to my rankings and I decided to place “Dark Phoenix” over “47 Meters Down” because of its potential it had. No one saw the trailer to “47 Meters Down” and expected a film that was going to be exceptionally great, we all knew it was going to be mediocre. But “Dark Phoenix” could have been an excellent film. Sure, the “X-Men series” has had its duds, but there have also been well crafted films. So why is “Dark Phoenix” the worst film of the year? Well, I have a sense that no one behind the scenes cared about the film. They certainly knew that this was going to be the last Fox “X-Men” film and knew Disney would just bury the film in favor to whatever the MCU was making. There was no care or effort placed into this film. How do I know this is the case? Well the filmmakers were too lazy to place makeup on certain characters to make themselves look older. It may sound like a nitpick, but if your film take place in multiple decades, you would think the characters would start to age just a bit. There is no way that Jennifer Lawrence’s character in the early 1960’s looks the same as she did in the early 1990’s. 30 years goes by and I guess the characters are supposed to be young forever. I can forgive all the amateurish errors if the film wasn’t such a bore. I felt like I needed a nap after a viewing of “Dark Phoenix”. The worst thing to make your film is boring because then no one is interested in your story. It’s very disappointing to say that a film series that was once beloved has crashed to oblivion.

Now that that the worst of list is done and over with, the best of the year will be coming out shortly.

Dark Phoenix Film Review

Directed by Simon Kinberg

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action including some gunplay, disturbing images, and brief strong language 

The X-Men series was a game changer when it first arrived in 2000. The X-Men series is a precursor to the superhero genre overload we are getting today .With that being said, it is unfortunate that we are seeing an end of an era with the Fox X-Men series coming to a close. But after a viewing of Dark Phoenix, it is more unfortunate that the X-Men series comes to disappointing end.

Dark Phoenix is the newest installment in the X-Men series, in which Jean Grey (played by Sophie Turner) has uncontrollable powers that turn her into the Phoenix, an all powerful force that wrecks havoc. The X-Men try to track her down and help her before she can hurt anyone else. Meanwhile, there is also a villain (played by Jessica Chastain) who is wanting Jean’s power and tries to extract it from her.

From the plot line, the audience is lead to believe that this is something that would be interesting. But Dark Phoenix is very dull and boring, despite the possibility of being very interesting. Most scenes feel tedious to watch and feels like a chore. All the dialogue and “character driven” scenes add to nothing. Towards the middle of the film, you want to film just to end. But when you think its over, its not. Dark Phoenix has a run time of just under two hours, but the long, overdrawn scenes make it seem like it has the run time of a Transformers film.

The film is also filled with multiple continuity errors. Most of these are more than likely not errors, but director and screenwriter Simon Kinberg being lazy and not doing his job well. In X-Men First Class (2011) which takes place in the early 60’s with McAvoy, Fassbender, and Lawrence playing young characters of Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique, respectively. But Dark Phoenix takes place in the early 90’s and none of those characters mentioned have aged a day. Dark Phoenix also takes place several years before X-Men (2000) and its hard to believe that McAvoy and Fassbender will turn to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan in just a few years. If Simon Kinberg wanted a somewhat believable continuity, he should have had those actors in makeup just to avoid a huge error.

As mentioned before, Dark Phoenix is supposed to take place several years before the original events of X-Men. Without giving away some spoilers, some of the events happening in this film make some of the events happening in X-Men and its original two sequels impossible. This is another failure on the part of the screenwriter who lazily wrote this with no references to the previous X-Men films.

With the cluttered mess of Dark Phoenix, the highlight of the film is Sophie Turner as Jean Grey. Turner does a well job portraying a young woman who is confused on what to do with her powers. Upon further research, Turner did study  dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia which does show when Turner is on the screen. Turner’s co-star, Jessica Chastain plays an uninteresting villain who wants Jean’s powers. Most of the blame is on the screenplay, which writes Chastain as a boring villain with a cliche motivation.

Dark Phoenix is a total failure and a disappointing end to a once beloved film series. The film has nothing to offer with the exception of Sophie Turner doing a good job with the mess of a screenplay given to her. The continuity “errors” make the film unwatchable for fans of the series, Dark Phoenix is a poor excuse for a film that is not necessary to watch.

1/4