masterrobert
Since: Dec, 2018
08/28/2020 18:03:05
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Film A (probably) Marvel cult classic
This might not be the best X-Men movie, but it's dark tone will make it (probably) be surely a cult classic for years to come.
Film How not to adapt a comicbook or make a film
I was eagerly anticipating the New Mutants film, being a fan of many of the characters, especially Magik. Even after the many delays the film suffered, it remained one of my most anticipated releases. I could not have been more disappointed.
Even beyond its failures as an adaptation, the film is a failure in practically every way. It is not scary. Its mystery is incredibly weak. It has no flow from scene to scene, as events and actions are simply forgotten about once the scene ends and many things the characters do have no reason behind them. The dialogue is also bad. The focus on Dani as the sole main character and the POV character also hurt the film, as her character is not capable of carrying a movie as written.
As an adaptation of Chris Claremont's seminal New Mutants comic from the 1980s, it's even worse. Not a single change which was made to any of the characters was for the better, and in many cases was for the worse. Having the characters accidentally kill their loved ones when their powers first manifest is an ok change, but there is no need for Cecelia Reyes to be the villain or for Roberto to suddenly be white. The Bear being fake and defeated by talking to it was lame. Dani is an amazing character in the comics and complete bore in the film.
And then there's Magik. Imagine if there was a movie about Superman where he didn't come from a dead planet, inexplicably got his powers from eating spinach instead of from the sun, and constantly told childish racist jokes. You'd say 'that's not Superman,' and you'd be right. That's what they did to Magik. The writer and director decided that her comics origin of being kidnapped to hell was too complicated and so changed it to having her be a victim of child traffickers. All this does is makes her even more confusing, because her real origin explains how she got magic powers and her new origin doesn't provide any explanation of that whatsoever. At the end, there is no way to know if she even has magical powers or is just some reality-warping mutant. This utter lack of thought was also put into the 'special place' she created for herself as a small child, which is... hell? Not Wonderland, not Candyland, not Disneyland, but hell. What the hell? It is also seen in the way her sword is used, having a big reveal shot of the blade despite the fact that she had used it several times throughout the movie beforehand. Such a simple thing any amateur filmmaker would know not to do.
The really sad thing is, Magik is still arguably the best part of the movie, as she gets the only cool moments. Only she and Dani have anything approaching an arc or a purpose in the story. Rahne is only there as a love interest, and Sam and Roberto are complete wastes of space. What a waste of a great cast of characters and a cool premise.