Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan, Jodi Smit-McPhee, Kota Eberhardt, Andrew Stehlin, Scott Shepherd.

A final offering, one that should have the audience gripped, almost putty like in the hands of the producers, the directors and actors alike, after all an audience will have been waiting for this moment for a period of years, their hopes always on the verge of bursting – then the realisation sets in, the climax that you want is not what the franchise could have been, in that moment the highs and excitement that you once felt, the love and care that you showed, is gone, has departed quicker than an express train hurtling through your local station as you casually ignore the warning about standing close to the yellow line.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix should act as a warning to all about taking a franchise beyond its naturally fitting conclusion, or at least the part where some of the stars of the film look naturally tired of the characters they have created. It is always with regret when you see a film brought out in which you have the deep seated understanding that what is taking place before you, what is being unveiled, is a dying entity, one in which very few pluses can be found, and whilst Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult and a woefully underused Evan Peters all visibly gave their all to making the film as at least enjoyable in parts, the overwhelming factor is one of utter dismay, of a film rushed out before the inevitable loss to another studio.

It may be harsh to think that way, but it does explain why the sense of deja  vu is rife throughout the film. In the original trilogy the weakest link was arguably The Last Stand, a story that at least gave a more tangible reason for Famka Janssen’s reading of Jean Gray as a being of immense power and rage. In Dark Phoenix what the viewer is left with is a ghost of that reality, a less than concrete performance in which the idea of manipulation and temptation is not portrayed as anything other than a side show to the rebirth of a character in a different form.

Such a deception, a ploy to which Sophie Turner does not deserve, in which the fans of the series of films certainly should not have been asked to bear. In part visually enticing, but that does not make up for the dreadful script, the awkwardness in which the premise is raised and gut-wrenching finale which surely makes X-Men: Dark Phoenix a considerable effort to get through.

Ian D. Hall