The New Mutants
The New Mutants
Starring Blu Hunt, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton
Directed by Josh Boone
Way back in the day, when life was a lot easier although we didn't know it yet, way back in 2017, I saw the first trailer for "The New Mutants," an X-Men spinoff film that was hailed as the first superhero horror film, and I was beyond excited because it incorporated two of my favorite things: horror and superheroes. The film was slated to be released April 13, 2018...but then it got pushed back to February 19,2019...and then pushed back again to August 2, 2019...and then again to April 3, 2020...until COVID-19 hit, setting the film back yet again to August 28, 2019...but finally it was released in theaters. The result was something I was expecting by now, as the old saying goes: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me four or more times, and I just don't care anymore. Thus was the result of finally seeing "The New Mutants" - I just didn't care anymore.
After a traumatic event, Dani "Mirage" Moonstar (Blu Hunt) awakens to find herself in a strange hospital led by Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), who informs the teen that her whole community was wiped out, and only she survived. She finds that the hospital also houses four other teens: Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair (Maisie Williams), Illyana "Magik" Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), and Roberto "Sunspot" da Costa (Henry Zaga). Dr. Reyes keeps the teens at the facility so they can understand and hone in on their newfound mutant powers, but the teens suspect something more is at hand when they learn that Reyes is also a mutant who's put a force field around the grounds so they can't leave. Soon each of them are haunted by visions of their past, leading them to believe that something sinister has infiltrated the hospital and threatens to destroy them all.
"The New Mutants" falls into the unique category where it tries to do too much, but provides way too little in the final product, which is a surprise since it's almost been three years in the making. The film tries to be a John Hughes coming-of-age film, along with a supernatural almost haunted house type horror, as well as a superhero origin story, and at a scant 94 minutes (the shortest of all the X-Men films), fails to deliver on any of its ideals. Coincidentally, it leads the viewer feeling that something is missing in the final product, a hollow shell of a film that could've been amazing (and was supposed to be the launchpad of a new trilogy), but ultimately missing out on its main importance.
The main positive point of the film is the setting itself, which leaves the viewer with a claustrophobic feel as the hospital is incredibly isolated, dimly lit, and inescapable due to the impenetrable force field around it. You feel as hopeless as the kids feel there in the fact that they seemingly can't get out, and are haunted by terrifying visions of their greatest fears.
Other than that, the film is a hollow shell of other films, filled with typical tropes and jump scares that litter the horror PG-13 landscape like discarded masks and equally as annoying. The effects are extremely laughable (although understandable since it was almost three years ago), and the denouement was quick, simple, and anti-climactic. Nothing about the film is memorable, and even though many people think this is the worst X-Men film, I say it's worse than that: it's not the worst, but simply forgettable, which is worse than being the worst in the franchise, because at least you remember the worst.
The film does do a decent job at portraying unique mutants that aren't your cookie-cutter white characters. Dani is Native American (as is the actress), Sunspot is Brazilian (as is the actor), Magik is Russian (unlike the Argentinian actress), Wolfsbane is Scottish (unlike the British actress), and Reyes is Hispanic, while only Cannonball being the southern white male character (also unlike the British actor). All the actors perform well, with the standouts being Maisie Williams, who struggles with her faith in dealing with not just having the mutant ability of turning into a wolf but also her romantic feelings for Dani; Blu Hunt as Dani, who struggles with understanding what her powers are; and Anya Taylor-Joy who truly shines as Magik, a character I'd love to see a solo spinoff from. Other than that, the rest of the characters are bland and forgettable, and while they try to show all their origins, fail to give any depth of human characteristics to any of them.
Again, when it comes to the effects, it's almost laughable with the end result. The "terrifying" demons aren't terrifying at all, and the final enemy is nothing more than an oversized CGI mess that's not at all intimidating. That - along with a story that's equally too rushed and not at all developed - leads to the film being bland, predictable, and unfortunately forgettable - a mess three years in the making.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "lost time is never found again," and in the case of "The New Mutants," time didn't make the heart grow fonder, but instead provided a very lackluster film that we lost a lot of time in waiting for its final release.
The Score: C+
After a traumatic event, Dani "Mirage" Moonstar (Blu Hunt) awakens to find herself in a strange hospital led by Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), who informs the teen that her whole community was wiped out, and only she survived. She finds that the hospital also houses four other teens: Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair (Maisie Williams), Illyana "Magik" Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), and Roberto "Sunspot" da Costa (Henry Zaga). Dr. Reyes keeps the teens at the facility so they can understand and hone in on their newfound mutant powers, but the teens suspect something more is at hand when they learn that Reyes is also a mutant who's put a force field around the grounds so they can't leave. Soon each of them are haunted by visions of their past, leading them to believe that something sinister has infiltrated the hospital and threatens to destroy them all.
"The New Mutants" falls into the unique category where it tries to do too much, but provides way too little in the final product, which is a surprise since it's almost been three years in the making. The film tries to be a John Hughes coming-of-age film, along with a supernatural almost haunted house type horror, as well as a superhero origin story, and at a scant 94 minutes (the shortest of all the X-Men films), fails to deliver on any of its ideals. Coincidentally, it leads the viewer feeling that something is missing in the final product, a hollow shell of a film that could've been amazing (and was supposed to be the launchpad of a new trilogy), but ultimately missing out on its main importance.
The main positive point of the film is the setting itself, which leaves the viewer with a claustrophobic feel as the hospital is incredibly isolated, dimly lit, and inescapable due to the impenetrable force field around it. You feel as hopeless as the kids feel there in the fact that they seemingly can't get out, and are haunted by terrifying visions of their greatest fears.
Other than that, the film is a hollow shell of other films, filled with typical tropes and jump scares that litter the horror PG-13 landscape like discarded masks and equally as annoying. The effects are extremely laughable (although understandable since it was almost three years ago), and the denouement was quick, simple, and anti-climactic. Nothing about the film is memorable, and even though many people think this is the worst X-Men film, I say it's worse than that: it's not the worst, but simply forgettable, which is worse than being the worst in the franchise, because at least you remember the worst.
The film does do a decent job at portraying unique mutants that aren't your cookie-cutter white characters. Dani is Native American (as is the actress), Sunspot is Brazilian (as is the actor), Magik is Russian (unlike the Argentinian actress), Wolfsbane is Scottish (unlike the British actress), and Reyes is Hispanic, while only Cannonball being the southern white male character (also unlike the British actor). All the actors perform well, with the standouts being Maisie Williams, who struggles with her faith in dealing with not just having the mutant ability of turning into a wolf but also her romantic feelings for Dani; Blu Hunt as Dani, who struggles with understanding what her powers are; and Anya Taylor-Joy who truly shines as Magik, a character I'd love to see a solo spinoff from. Other than that, the rest of the characters are bland and forgettable, and while they try to show all their origins, fail to give any depth of human characteristics to any of them.
Again, when it comes to the effects, it's almost laughable with the end result. The "terrifying" demons aren't terrifying at all, and the final enemy is nothing more than an oversized CGI mess that's not at all intimidating. That - along with a story that's equally too rushed and not at all developed - leads to the film being bland, predictable, and unfortunately forgettable - a mess three years in the making.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "lost time is never found again," and in the case of "The New Mutants," time didn't make the heart grow fonder, but instead provided a very lackluster film that we lost a lot of time in waiting for its final release.
The Score: C+
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