History YMMV / DarkPhoenix

** Daniel Cudmore was suppose to reprise his role as Colossus but was cut in the final film. With the appearance of the Mutant Containment Unit (MCU), it appears that with Cudmore being cast in ''Helstrom'' means that Colossus got captured by the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] after all.

** There were complaints that the costumes seen in ''Film/XMenApocalypse'', which were all personalized for the team, went unused in favor of the more uniform ''New X-Men''-influenced outfits.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Charles Xavier. He is blamed for Jean going out of control and it's indicated that the audience is supposed to agree that he was being reckless and selfish, caring more about his ego than the mutants. However, some viewers find it hard to see it this way. As detailed in InformedWrongness, Xavier has managed to create a bond of trust and respect between mutants and humans, a vast improvement over them being vivisected and/or mutants using their powers to commit atrocities  Despite Mystique's claims, Charles isn't forcing kids into dangerous situations as a publicity stunt; he's sending willing, consenting adults to use their abilities to help people. Also, creating mental blocks in Jean's mind arguably wasn't done to control her, but to protect her and others; Jean's powers are wildly unstable when she's emotionally distressed and what could be more distressing than [[spoiler:being a little girl who accidentally killed her own mother and is now hated by her father]]? Charles clearly cares about Jean and while he could've perhaps approached the situation better, his intentions come off as more benevolent and sympathetic than apparently intended. However, it can also be argued that we are suppose to sympathize with Xavier as Jean forgives him and says that all his action were out of love instead of selfishness.

* ToughActToFollow:
** Coming off the very acclaimed ''Film/{{Logan}}'', this film was seen as an utter downgrade by critics to the emotional drama of the previous film. Jennifer Lawrence's performance in particular was singled out for being rather boring and phoned-in, making [[spoiler:Mystique's death]] devoid of emotional impact.
** Many reviews even compared it unfavorably to ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', the film that many lauded as one of the lower-ranked movies of the franchise.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Many causal movie viewers are under the mistaken belief that Jean had the Phoenix Force in ''X-Men: Apocalypse'' and claim that this film ignores it. However, this is completely overlooking the fact that Jean had the same fiery aura since ''X2: X-Men United'', which was explained in ''X-Men: The Last Stand'' to be telekinetic energy from her mutation. Zak Penn, who co-wrote both movies, said that the Phoenix was not a cosmic force when discussing his scripts in a 2008 interview.

** With the MCU. It's gone so far that after the buyout of Fox by Disney, fans of the MCU wanted to see Marvel Studios shelve it permanently... Even though it wouldn't have been financially feasible in any way for Disney to do so (as, even in the event of a flop, Fox and Disney by extension would get some money back). After the movie bombed, a theory came from Fox fans, hypothesizing that the movie was sabotaged by Disney to serve ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'', though the director said that the ending was changed at the request of test audiences, and Disney did not have authority over Fox at the time that the movie was wrapping up post-production. [[note]]The merger completed less than three months before the release of the film; Disney's only actions on the project were apparently to give the movie a last-minute marketing push.[[/note]]

** With the MCU. It's gone so far that after the buyout of Fox by Disney, fans of the MCU wanted to see Marvel Studios shelve it permanently... Even though it wouldn't have been financially feasible in any way for Disney to do so (as, even in the event of a flop, Fox and Disney by extension would get some money back). After the movie bombed, a conspiracy theory came from Fox fans, hypothesizing that the movie was sabotaged by Disney to serve ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'', even though every account from Hollywood trades dispute this claim, the director said that the ending was changed at the request of test audiences, and Disney did not have authority over Fox at the time that the movie was wrapping up post-production. [[note]]The merger completed less than three months before the release of the film; Disney's only actions on the project were apparently to give the movie a last-minute marketing push.[[/note]]

** Reshoots and delays for ''Dark Phoenix'' occurred shortly after Disney announced its plans to acquire Fox's assets. This led many fans to believe that the reshoots and delays were a result of this impending buyout, possibly to tie the film in with the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in some way. This was not helped at all by an AprilFoolsDay story reported by [=JoBlo=] ''that this would be the case'', which went over more than a few heads. In all likelihood, Fox's earlier apprehension toward working with Marvel Studios with regards to the ''Franchise/FantasticFour'' property would likely indicate that no such plan is in place, and that Fox's iteration of the ''X-Men'' franchise [[ContinuitySnarl/XMenFilmSeries already has enough continuity issues]] to integrate it into the MCU. Not to mention Creator/KevinFeige's refusal to integrate anything Marvel not produced by him (such as ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'') into his movie canon, or perhaps more realistically, the reshoots could have been done to retool the film into a GrandFinale for the series due to the buyout. Some of the people involved also stated the movie had to be made more distinct from ''Civil War'', as its initial version took heavy inspiration from it.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Many causal movie viewers are under the mistaken belief that Jean had the Phoenix Force in X-Men: Apocalypse and claim that this film ignores it. However, this is completely overlooking the fact that Jean had the same fiery aura since X2. Explained to be telekinetic energy from her mutation in X3. Even X2 and X3 co-writer Zak Penn said that Phoenix was not a cosmic force back in a 2008 interview.

** The fact that the film was directed, written, and produced by Simon Kinberg, one of the co-writers of ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', and, for all intents and purposes, appears to be a partial remake of said movie (which proved to be false, that being said), has made it the butt of more than a few jokes. The fact that Kinberg was previously heavily involved in [[Film/FantasticFour2015 another superhero film]] with an infamous TroubledProduction regarding haphazard reshoots has not helped matters. When the movie came out, this was taken further when some argued that Kinberg's new take on the material was actually ''worse'' than ''The Last Stand'' (though it's still TruerToTheText).

** Daniel Cudmore was suppose to reprise his role as Colossus but was cut in the final film. With the appearance of the Mutant Containment Unit (MCU), it appears that with Cudmore being cast in ''Hellstrom'' means that Colossus got captured by the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] after all.

* MisaimedMarketing: The movie was made to be a psychological thriller with less emphasis on spectacle and more focus on internal conflict, with Jean Grey as the protagonist. Depicting her as a TragicHero who is struggling with her mental health as the result of her repressed childhood trauma resurfacing in adulthood. Her telepathy going out of control is suppose to parallel schizophrenia for example. However, the movie was mismarketed as a superhero event film and grand finale for the series with Jean as a villainous antagonist that the X-Men must stop in their greatest battle ever. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0sw9Y29GVY&list=PL4P2exRjRCFzVfdXDBXQqJxVI0h0tyXsQ&index=2&t=0s This backfired and contributed to its negative reception.]]

* {{Sequelitis}}: This movie received the lowest critical score out of all the main X-Men movies, with critics saying that it's a very disappointing send-off to a franchise that restarted the comic book movie genre. Most notably, it received ''worse'' review aggregate scores on Website/RottenTomatoes and Metacritic than even ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' and ''Film/XMenApocalypse '', which are considered among the worst in the series, with some critics and fans actually preferring ''The Last Stand'' over this movie.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Most people were wary of film's premise given that the last time the Dark Phoenix plotline was adapted on screen was in the largely-disliked ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' -- a film which also had the same writer (despite the fact that the story he wanted to tell didn’t end up on screen due to studio meddling. Even the writer of the original storyline Chris Claremont said this and has defended the writer).

* ConfirmationBias: Many fans have said that it was too soon to do the Dark Phoenix Saga as there needed to be a Phoenix Saga to show Jean's rise in order to make us care about her downfall. [[spoiler:But the movie proved be an InNameOnly adaptation and the plot is based more on the Phoenix Saga than the Dark Phoenix Saga with the space shuttle, Jean's transformation into Phoenix, the villains being aliens, and Jean saving the day. While there are some elements from Dark Phoenix, the premise of Jean becoming a villain is completely absent. However, there are critics and fans that completely misread Jean's arc as being the same one she had in X3 where she was serial killer.]]

** Mystique's line "You might want to think about changing the name to X-Women" has been ridiculed as cheap PanderingToTheBase. Many fans point out that X-Men is a play on the word human, and has nothing to do with gender. Furthermore, Mystique's justification (that women always save the men) falls flat given how not only did she nearly doom all mutantkind in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' but also that the franchise itself has a history of not making full use of its female characters in twenty years of movies. If anything, this line comes off as a cheap attempt by Fox to capitalize on the success of ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'', which came out to critical and commercial success before and during the filming of ''Dark Phoenix''(though in actuality it was meant to be joke to produce laughs similar to Deadpool 2's gender neutral joke). On top of that, being pissed about women needing to save the men when it should be the other way around is the attitude we expect from a male character in a 1950s movie rather than a female one in a 2019 movie. There's just ''so'' much wrong with her entire beef with Charles (oh, yeah - making them beloved superheroes that have finally cooled down the public's hatred of mutants is apparently ''bad'' now) that this whole movie might've been seen quite differently if not for it.
** On a related note, the scene where [[MundaneUtility Storm uses her powers to make ice cubes for Scott's drink at the party]] is often mocked as the perfect encapsulation of her [[AdvertisedExtra complete lack of importance or development]] of this specific version of the character.

* TheScrappy: Jennifer Lawrence's performance of Mystique has always been very polarizing with people, but in this movie the character got critically panned by both critics and fans for her abrasive behaviour towards Charles for blaming him for acts [[InformedWrongness he didn't deserved to be blamed for]] (see UnintentionallySympathetic entry below) and the AesopAmnesia her character suffered after the CharacterDevelopment she received in [[Film/XMenApocalypse the previous movie]]. [[SnarkBait Her ridiculed "X-Women" line]] definitely didn't help.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Most people were wary of film's premise given that the last time the Dark Phoenix plotline was adapted on screen was in the largely-disliked ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' -- a film which also had the same writer(despite the fact that the story he wanted to tell didn’t end up on screen due to studio muddling. Even the writer of the original storyline Chris Claremont said this and has defended the writer).

* ConfirmationBias: Many fans have said that it was too soon to do the Dark Phoenix Saga as there needed to be a Phoenix Saga to show Jean’s rise in order to make us care about her downfall. [[spoiler:But the movie proved be an InNameOnly adaptation and the plot is based more on the Phoenix Saga than the Dark Phoenix Saga with the space shuttle, Jean’s transformation into Phoenix, the villains being aliens, and Jean saving the day. While there are some elements from Dark Phoenix, the premise of Jean becoming a villain is completely absent. However, there are critics and fans that completely misread Jean’s arc as being the same one she had in X3 where she was serial killer.]]

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how Lawerence, Fassbender, and McAvoy were phoning it in, many agree that Sophie Turner was the one exception and praised her for having an excellent performance as Jean.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how Lawerence, Fassbender, and McAvoy were phoning it in, many agree that Sophie Turner was the one exception and praised him for having an excellent performance as Jean.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how a lot the actors were phoning it in, many agree that Sophie Turner was the one exception and praised him for having an excellent performance as Jean.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how a lot the actors were phoning it in, many agree that Michael Fassbender was the one exception and praised him for having an excellent performance as Magneto.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The X-Men cameo from ''Film/Deadpool2'' involves this version of Professor X and a handful of the prominent X-Men, [[spoiler:except for Jean and Mystique]].
* HarsherInHindsight: In ''Film/XMenApocalypse'', when Charles comforts Jean after she has had visions of a nightmarish future, Jean drops this line about her fiery Phoenix powers: "I'm afraid one day I am going to hurt someone.". Now, Jean's fears are realised when [[spoiler:she accidentally uses her unstable powers to shove back Mystique and impale her, killing her off]].

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how the the actors playing the older characters were phoning it in, many agree that Sophie Turner was the one exception and praised him for having an excellent performance as Magneto.

* {{Sequelitis}}: This movie received the lowest critical score out of all the main X-Men movies, with critics saying that it's a very disappointing send-off to a franchise that restarted the comic book movie genre. Most notably, it received ''worse'' review aggregate scores on Website/RottenTomatoes and Metacritic than even ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' and ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', which are considered among the worst in the series, with some critics and fans actually preferring ''The Last Stand'' over this movie.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how the majority of the actors were phoning it in, many agree that Sophie Turner was the one exception and praised him for having an excellent performance as Magneto.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While there was much criticism on how the majority of the actors were phoning it in, many agree that Michael Fassbender was the one exception and praised him for having an excellent performance as Magneto.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Most people were wary of film's premise given that the last time the Dark Phoenix plotline was adapted on screen was in the largely-disliked ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' -- a film which also had the same writer(despite the fact that the story he wanted to tell didn’t end up on screen due to studio muddling. Even the writer of the original storyline Chris Claremont said this and has defended the writer.)

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Most people were wary of film's premise given that the last time the Dark Phoenix plotline was adapted on screen was in the largely-disliked ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' -- a film which also had the same writer(despite the fact that what happened with the Phoenix storyline was not his idea but studio executive muddling. Even the writer of the original storyline Chris Claremont said this and likes the writer.)

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Most people were wary of film's premise given that the last time the Dark Phoenix plotline was adapted on screen was in the largely-disliked ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' -- a film which also had the same writer.

** Even so, part of what made the original storyline so compelling was who it was happening to - a character who had been a main part of the franchise since its inception. The argument that we didn't get to know and love this version of Jean well enough to feel the way we should about all of this holds water.

** Mystique is seen as this by many when she calls out Xavier. She mocks Xavier by saying that she can’t remember a moment where Xavier actually “risked something” like the rest of the X-Men did, despite the fact that Xavier had sacrificed just as much (including the use of his legs, something ''she was there for'') in the previous movies. Not only that, she also lectures Xavier for trying to make heroes out of the X-Men. This sentiment comes of as contradictory to her rousing speech she made to them in the previous movie and her observation that they're "just kids" is downright nonsensical due to the team being in their late 20s at the youngest and having been doing this for nearly a decade, making Mystique come off as both overprotective and hypocritical.

** On a related note, the scene where Storm uses her powers to make ice cubes for Scott's drink at the party is often mocked as the perfect encapsulation of her [[AdvertisedExtra complete lack of importance or development]] of this specific version of the character.

** Mystique's line "You might want to think about changing the name to X-Women" has been ridiculed as cheap PanderingToTheBase. Many fans point out that X-Men is a play on the word human, and has nothing to do with gender. Furthermore, Mystique's justification (that women always save the men) falls flat given how not only did she nearly doom all mutantkind in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' but also that the franchise itself has a history of not making full use of its female characters in twenty years of movies. If anything, this line comes off as a cheap attempt by Fox to capitalize on the success of ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'', which came out to critical and commercial success before and during the filming of ''Dark Phoenix''. On top of that, being pissed about women needing to save the men when it should be the other way around is the attitude we expect from a male character in a 1950s movie rather than a female one in a 2019 movie. There's just ''so'' much wrong with her entire beef with Charles (oh, yeah - making them beloved superheroes that have finally cooled down the public's hatred of mutants is apparently ''bad'' now) that this whole movie might've been seen quite differently if not for it.