X-Men: Dark Phoenix wraps up the fox franchise in a slightly meandering fashion that sees the series go out with more of a whimper than a bang.
There is however, still a lot to unpack from the movie and throughout this video I’ll be breaking down everything that you need to know about the film, it’s final few scenes and what the studio originally had planned for the ending of the movie.
This is full spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen Dark Phoenix yet and don’t want anything ruined then I highly recommend that you turn off now.
With that out the way I just wanna give a huge thank you for clicking this video, I hope you enjoy it, now sit back, relax and let’s get into my ending explained breakdown of Dark Phoenix.
Dark Phoenix Plot Recap
The movie opens with Jean Grey accidentally killing her mother in a car crash due to her innability to truly control her powers. This is a motif that follows the character throughout the film and this movie is really about her mastering her abilities as a mutant before they inevitably consume her and the world.
From here we watch as she grows into her role as one of the most powerful X-men or should I say X-WOMEN!!!!
hahaha..ahhhhhhhh
Anyway Xavier adopts Jean after we learn that her father was unahle to deal with what she did. This plot twist is what really pushes Jean over the edge in the film and it’s reveal is certainly a big one. We cut to the 90s to discover that unlike the original timeline, The X-men are celebrated and no longer seen as a threat to the public.
That doesn’t mean everything is fine though and some of the X-men still bear resentment towards Xavier who they view as controlling them.
The Phoenix Force
After a space mission goes haywire, the X-men are called to rescue to astronauts and it’s during this scene that Jean is left behind and absorbs a solar flare which we discover is The Phoenix Force. From here we are introduced to Smith, played by Jessica Chastain who is a member of an alien race know as the D’Bari. Fans of the comics will recognise this race as victims of the Phoenix during the Dark Phoenix Saga and will remember that their planet was killed by the titular beast during the run.
Similar to that the movie centres around The D’Bari attempting to find a new home and we learn that they are a shapeshifting alien race which highly plays into why the movie had it’s original ending reshot.
They wish to unleash the phoenix upon Earth and claim the planet for themselves.
Phoenix Down
Having absorbed the flare, Jean is unable to control it and unwittingly unleashes a blast that leads her on a path of discovery towards her true origin. This is where the film really ramps up and it’s also in this conflict that Mystique is murdered by Jean. She was the best X-men…I mean woman…I mean X-person….depending on who she’s mimicking.
Anyway Beast, who was planning to run away with her is heartbroken and Jean, now on the run flees to Magneto. There’s some awesome action scene here and whilst the pacing is really off it still doesn’t stop these brief moments from being enjoyable. Beast joins Magneto after they unite over their love of their fallen X-person and they agree to take Jean out.
Dark Phoenix Ending Explained
This is where the film really tries to get you invested in it’s final act, unfortunately, a lot of the elements are so poorly handled at this point that it becomes difficult to become invested in the action no matter how cool it looks. I really wonder what this final act could have been like if we’d gotten what was originally shot, and though the powers used here are pretty great, I feel like if it had remained in space like originally planned that the movie would’ve been elevated a lot more.
Smith, attempting to steal the Phoenix force from Jean who is at this point unconscious ambushes the X-men with her allies and whilst the mutants put up a fight they aren’t really a match for the extraterrestrials. Get it….X tra…never mind.
Charles has no other option but to wake Jean up and she wipes out all of the Aliens pretty easily. Smith, still determined to get the Phoenix force won’t give up and states that as Jean can’t control the Phoenix, if she kills her then she will kill her friends. Thus Jean flies them both into space, blowing the two of them up and apparently killing them both in the process.
Scott renames the School after Jean, Quicksilver, who was put in a coma cos the writers didn’t know how else to use him when he’s pretty much impossible to beat, wakes up and Charles leaves for Europe in a scene similar to Inception though this feels more like a nightmare. The character is tracked down by Magneto who, in true franchise fashion wishes to meet up with him for a game of chess.
Now whilst, Jean is apparently Dead, similar to the ending of X2, we do get a faint phoenix impression and thus it’s safe to assume that she survived the explosion. However, what I don’t get is why they left the final film in the franchise on a cliffhanger when they knew that there wouldn’t really be anything after it. Perhaps this is no cliffhanger and it’s just a way for the X-men franchise to close out with a happy ending but I feel like we as an audience could have had more closure after being fans for the best part of two decades.
Captain Marvel Similarities
Now from the off it’s pretty clear that the film shares several similarities with the recently released MCU Movie, Captain Marvel. James McAvoy recently said in an interview that the latter part of the film was reshot as it was too similar to another property and it’s crystal clear that this is the case.
Chastain’s character was clearly originally meant to be a Skrull and the refugees in search of a planet too appears as a theme in this film.
Perhaps in the ending, the Phoenix rehoused the alien race instead of killing them and this is why the movie was supposed to have it’s final action piece in space.
We may never know for definite but that seems like the most likely conclusion for me and it’s sort of a shame that this film was originally supposed to be released in the latter part of 2018 as this would’ve meant that it seemed more original when compared to Captain Marvel.
My Review
Overall whilst I do love the X-men franchise, even the dud films in it, I feel like Dark Phoenix is a pretty big disappointment. The lack of a true story is evident here and it’s crazy that fox has once again dropped the ball with such a beloved storyline. I have no idea why they got the guy that wrote the last stand to write and direct this but I guess in Hollywood that you fail up.
The stars, characters, and fans deserved more from this and it’s definitely a movie that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
Ultimately this is hard to recommend and that’s why it gets a…
5/10
Your Thoughts
Obviously, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the film and if you disagree with my overall reaction to it. Comment below and let me know and if you enjoyed this video then please like it and make sure you check out my ranking of all the films from worst to best which will be linked at the end.
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