X-Men: Dark Phoenix

THE GIST: After coming in contact with an unknown energy source in space, Jean Grey's powers seem to grow past her ability to control them. Given that she was already almost dangerously powerful, her newfound abilities might actually pose a threat to mutants and humans alike.

I'm very disappointed to have to report that the latest installment in the X-Men saga is not just weak, but actually pretty bad. It's also unfortunate because this was the final installment produced by 20th Century Fox, so the saga bows out with a whimper.

Now that Fox has been absorbed by Disney, which already owned Marvel, the X-Men are finally back in the hands of the label that originated the comics and that has created an unprecedented, never-ending, and record-busting series of incredibly well made movies about its stable of superheroes. It will likely take a few years before we get to see what Marvel conjures up for the X-Men, but it will almost assuredly be great.

Perhaps, after making so many movies about the X-Men, Fox felt under pressure to write them a final chapter. If so, it might have brought closure, but they signed off on a sour note.

The casting is as good as always, the score captivating, and the visual effects spectacular. What doesn't work is the screenplay, and for a very simple reason: the anti-hero, Vuk, is treated like an afterthought.

Movies, based on comic books or not, often have a main plot and a subplot; the latter can be effectively used to either propel the action forward or simply justify the passage of time.

Here, Jean's issues with her powers and her past memories take center stage (sure, okay, the title is, after all, Dark Phoenix), but Vuk's people's history, provenance, needs, wants, strengths, and weaknesses are never fleshed out. As I said earlier, they're an afterthought; theirs is more of a subplot, to be used as filler, than the enormous threat that we're told they represent to Earth and its people.

This is not to say that Jean's story isn't interesting enough to carry the movie. It's just that the screenplay never effectively amalgamates the two storylines and so it ultimately feels lacking. At the end of the day, if a movie has a bad guy, we have to know enough about that character to care for or against it. Here, we're just told "Be very, very afraid of the aliens and look! There's Jean doing her thing!!"

THE BOTTOM LINE: Unfortunately, unless you're a fan of the X-Men like I am, and therefore want or need to see all of their movies, you can skip this one. It's ultimately disappointing.

Grade: 4