The New Mutants (2020) review

 

Over the years, there have been numerous instances where a film had to be pushed back from its originally intended release date. The reasons for this can often vary from film to film and range from scenarios such as the need for reshoots after poor test screenings or, on a more somber note, circumstances caused by outside forces that are completely beyond their control like, say, a global pandemic. But while this is often a natural thing for films to go through, today’s film, The New Mutants, is quite possibly one of the most infamous films in recent memory if only because of how utterly long it took for it to get released. To put all this into perspective, the latest installment of the X-Men franchise was filmed in the summer of 2017 and was originally set to come out on April 13^th, 2018. It ultimately came out… on August 26^th, 2020. How did this happen, you ask? Well, when its first delay was announced, it was reported that the film was set to undergo some reshoots that would allow it to further embrace its horror elements. However, by the time that the reshoots were set to happen, 20^th Century Fox was purchased by Disney, which meant that the X-Men franchise was now under the control of Marvel Studios. Thus, this retroactively made The New Mutants the final installment of one of the superhero genre’s most prolific franchises as it awaits its inevitable reboot as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And yet, after several months without any major developments, it was reported that the film was finally set to come out on April 3^rd, 2020, with its director, Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars), revealing that the final cut of the film would largely be in line with his original vision… and then came COVID-19. Thus, like almost all the other blockbusters that were set to come out this year, the film was pushed back yet again before finally being set for an August 28^th release, officially putting an end to its release schedule woes. And while it may not be the kind of film whose quality matches its highly publicized reputation, I will still give it credit for what it could potentially do for both the X-Men franchise and the superhero genre going forward.

After an incident involving a mysterious force that ravages the Native American reservation that she lives on, teenager Danielle ‘Dani’ Moonstar (Blu Hunt) finds herself in a hospital run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga). Reyes informs Dani that she was the sole survivor of this attack and that she’s been brought to her facility because she’s part of the mutant race and must learn how to properly control her abilities. Dani soon meets the four other teenaged mutants at the facility, including Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), who can transform into a wolf, sorceress Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Samuel Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), who can propel himself like a cannonball, and rich kid Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga), who can manipulate solar energy. And just like her, they’ve all experienced moments in their lives where their abilities have resulted in unspeakable tragedies. Through their interactions with one another, the quintet begins to speculate that Reyes is preparing them to be transferred to Professor Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters so that, naturally, they can join the X-Men. At the same time, though, they also start to get inundated with disturbing nightmares revolving around the inciting moments of their traumatic pasts. Because of this, they soon begin to realize that Dr. Reyes’ facility is not the mutant sanctuary that they were led to believe it was. Instead, they discover that Reyes is working for an organization that plans on using their abilities for sinister purposes. And as it turns out, they’re particularly interested in Dani because while she doesn’t quite know what her powers are, they may have something to do with whatever caused the destruction of her home.

One of the biggest selling points of The New Mutants is that it’s a horror-themed superhero film which, if we’re mainly talking about the films that have been released since 2008, is an approach that the superhero genre hasn’t really tackled, for the most part. Now, obviously, there have been plenty of horror-themed superhero projects over the years such as the ongoing Marvel Zombies series and the horror genre, in general, has been a major part of the comics industry for quite some time. However, when it comes to, specifically, films based on Marvel and DC characters, the last major horror-themed superhero films to come from either company were the Blade trilogy, 2005’s Constantine, and the Ghost Rider films starring Nicolas Cage… all of which were made in the time before the Marvel Cinematic Universe truly redefined the genre. With all this in mind, The New Mutants deserves quite a bit of credit for its willingness to tackle a genre that superhero films of the cinematic universe era haven’t really addressed yet. Obviously, one’s thoughts on how effective the film is at being a horror film may vary, but overall, it does deliver some solidly effective horror imagery, which isn’t too surprising given that its cinematographer, Peter Deming, has worked for the likes of Wes Craven and Sam Raimi. And while I’ve very much gone on record about how I’m not much of a comic reader, it seems like making a horror film with these particular characters is an appropriate enough route to take given the serious nature of the source material. This also means that this is a superhero film that intentionally doesn’t try to be a big-budget, action-oriented outing like most of the other films in the genre. As neat as this is, though, the film does suffer from being a bit undercooked in some places when it comes to its story. Nothing in here is ‘badly written’, for the record, but at the same time, those long-rumored reshoots probably would’ve smoothed out a bunch of its rough edges.

It’s also clear that this film was heavily influenced by the classic teen films that were made by John Hughes in the ’80s. Case in point, you very much get a Breakfast Club vibe from these proceedings straight down to it being about five main characters who overcome their differences as they confront their current predicament and the adult authority figure who oppresses them. Overall, it’s nice to see an X-Men film like this that’s based entirely from the perspective of younger characters (and no, not in the X-Men: First Class way), and sure enough, this film’s leads all do great jobs in their respective roles, with the biggest standout of the bunch being the story’s main protagonist, Blu Hunt as Dani Moonstar. Right from the get-go, Dani is immediately established as the most sympathetic protagonist of the bunch, a status that is then further exemplified by the touching romance that forms between her and Maisie Williams’ Rahne. In other words, these two are very much the heart of the film, which is good considering all the dark paths that are taken regarding the main characters’ tragic backstories. Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton is another solid standout as Sam who, like Dani and Rahne, is one of the more sympathetic leads whereas the other two, Roberto and Illyana, start off by being rather vindictive towards Dani. Illyana is usually the more mean-spirited of the two although this is offset by her having the most disturbing backstory of them all… plus, she’s the one who gets to headline all the film’s big action sequences. And while Roberto (a character who was previously played by Adan Canto in X-Men: Days of Future Past as one of the young mutants in that film’s dystopian future) is arguably the least focused on member of the group, he still manages to provide some solid comic relief by way of his nonchalant persona. Finally, closing out the main cast is Alice Braga as Dr. Reyes, who does a wonderful job of effectively blurring the line between being a seemingly helpful mentor and the malevolent agent that she truly is.

At this point, it’s probably safe to say that The New Mutants will ultimately be known more for all the time that it spent off the release calendar rather than anything in the film itself. Reviews for it have been mediocre at best, but as can often be the case, its low score on Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t quite reflect its overall quality. Yes, I will agree that this is a rather average entry in the superhero genre, but that doesn’t mean that it’s ‘bad’, per se. It’s just that, in this instance, the reshoots that were planned for this film but ultimately never happened probably would’ve been quite helpful in expanding upon some underdeveloped plot-threads. And yes, I stand by that statement even though reshoots have been a controversial subject when it comes to recent Fox-produced Marvel films such as Dark Phoenix and, most infamously, Fan4stic due to how much they have impacted the quality of their films. For what it’s worth, though, The New Mutants benefits greatly from its solid cast and for its noble efforts to be one of the first big superhero horror films of the genre’s modern era. And so, with that in mind, the best thing that I can say about this film is that, while it’s far from perfect, it could very well serve as a great showcase for two potential ways in which the superhero genre can evolve going forward. For starters, I can only imagine the possibilities for future superhero films that embrace the horror genre, especially given the recent rise in quality that the horror genre, in general, has been experiencing. In fact, the MCU is already developing a horror-themed superhero film of their own by way of the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel right down to getting Sam Raimi, one of the most iconic horror film directors in the industry, to direct it. Another key aspect that could help influence future superhero films is the fact that this is a film that largely revolves around a younger cast. Granted, this technically isn’t something that’s new for the genre as it has been applied to films like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Shazam, but if we’re specifically talking about X-Men, I do think that this could be a unique way to redevelop the Children of the Atom for their future debut in the MCU. If anything, it could help remedy one of the most common criticisms that fans have had with the X-Men films in that they often focused on a select few characters (namely, Wolverine, Professor X, and Magneto) rather than emphasize the franchise’s team dynamic.

But on that note, I also want to point out that one of the most surreal aspects of this film is the fact that, as I noted earlier, it is, officially, the final installment of the X-Men franchise. Now, obviously, this isn’t that big of a surprise given that it was the last film in the series that was made before Disney purchased Fox, but it’s still quite fascinating that the final installment of one of the most prominent franchises in the history of the superhero film genre… is a relatively minor spin-off. And to be clear, it’s not like this film doesn’t try to connect itself to the franchise because it does even if its primary connections aren’t the things that drive the plot (i.e. while not directly mentioned in the film, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Illyana is, technically, the sister of X-Men mainstay Colossus). Still, you’d think that the distinction of being the last X-Men film of the franchise’s original run would go to a mainline entry like Dark Phoenix or, heck, even one of the Deadpool films given how successful they were. And yet, given that Dark Phoenix was also subjected to a largely negative reception, some have noted that how the series ultimately concluded mirrors the typically mixed results that it often yielded. In other words, this is a franchise that has had both the highest of highs (e.g. the Deadpool films, Days of Future Past, Logan, and X2: X-Men United) and the lowest of lows (e.g. Dark Phoenix (even though, as you may recall, I personally liked it), X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and X-Men: The Last Stand). Thus, as I alluded to earlier, we’re at a point now where most folks are just waiting to see how the Marvel Cinematic Universe adapts these characters after it had spent the last 12 years operating quite well without them. And yet, as much as I am looking forward to seeing the MCU incarnations of these classic characters, I must admit that the conclusion of the original X-Men franchise makes me rather sad. Sure, I only truly got into it during the latter half of its run, but films like First Class and Days of Future Past helped shape my love for the superhero genre just as much as the MCU films have done. And, of course, regardless of one’s thoughts on these films, they were essential to the process of shaping this great genre into what it is today.

Rating: 3.5/5

Early Man (2018) review

Over the course of the past five decades, one animation company has provided audiences with a wide array of delightful content capable of appealing to all ages; I’m, of course, referring to the legendary stop-motion animation studio known as Aardman Animations. Aardman was founded by animators Peter Lord and David Sproxton in 1972 and was named after a superhero-type character that the duo created for the British children’s TV series Vision On. In the years since, they’ve been behind several critically-acclaimed projects such as Arthur Christmas, the Shaun the Sheep series and its subsequent film adaptation, Creature Comforts, and of course, Wallace and Gromit. They also notably worked on the animation for the iconic music video for Peter Gabriel’s song ‘Sledgehammer’ along with fellow stop-motion pioneers the Brothers Quay (disclaimer: apologies to the Brothers Quay for not mentioning them in my last post). And one of the animators who worked on that video was Nick Park, who has gone on to become one of Aardman’s most famous filmmakers. Not only is he the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts, but he also co-directed Aardman’s first feature-length film, Chicken Run. And now, he’s back on the big-screen with his first feature film in more than a decade since the 2005 Wallace and Gromit feature film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, with Early Man. Like any Aardman production, Early Man bases itself around a delightfully creative premise by being about a bunch of cavemen who learn how to play football (or, as it’s known here in the United States, soccer). And while the film does tend to rely on the usual tropes that come out of its genre, it’s still just as endearing as the numerous Aardman classics that came before it.

In a quaint little forest village during the time of the Stone Age, a happy-go-lucky caveman named Dug (Eddie Redmayne) lives a peaceful lifestyle with the fellow members of his tribe, including his pet boar Hognob (vocals provided by director Nick Park) and Bobnar (Timothy Spall), the tribe’s chieftain. However, their daily routine of hunting rabbits is soon upended by the unexpected arrival of the Bronze Age. More specifically, an army of Bronze Age men led by the devious Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) arrives on the scene to mine for valuable minerals, forcing Dug and the rest of his tribe to flee into the dangerous and volcanic-laden badlands that surround their village. Not willing to give up their home that easily, however, Dug ends up sneaking into the Bronze Age’s city where he discovers their greatest passion, the sport of football. After learning that his tribe’s ancestors were the ones responsible for creating the sport, Dug publicly challenges the local champions, Real Bronzio, to a game. As part of an agreement with Nooth, Dug and his tribe will be allowed to have their valley back if they win but will be forced into a life of working for the Bronze Age in their mines if they lose. And if that wasn’t enough, Dug soon realizes that his fellow tribe members aren’t very good at football given the fact that they legitimately didn’t know about its role in their history until recently. Thus, with the help of an enthusiastic football hopeful from the Bronze Age city named Goona (Maisie Williams), Dug begins to work his tribe into proper shape before the big game so that they can stand a chance against Real Bronzio and, therefore, save their home.

Now because Early Man is, technically speaking, a ‘sports film’, its plot does end up going down a lot of the genre’s typical narrative routes. To put it simply, Early Man is about a bunch of underdogs who find themselves having to take on an imposing group of superior opponents; in other words, it’s not that hard to figure out what’s going to end up happening in this story. Still, despite the rather predictable nature of the plot, Early Man does feature the most definitive aspect of any classic Aardman production, charm. As I pointed out in my recent retrospective on their films, Aardman has been well-known for their sharp writing when it comes to humor. Sure enough, this film is so full of great visual gags and humorous dialogue that a second viewing is arguably required so that one can catch them all. And, of course, being an Aardman production, Early Man boasts some excellent stop-motion animation; as old-fashioned as the process may be, the vividness of the images that Park and his team manage to produce here is quite impressive. As for the film’s eclectic cast of characters, while they too are admittedly your basic collection of sports film archetypes (along with some, like the members of the rival soccer team Real Bronzio, not getting as much screen-time as they should), they do have the benefit of being portrayed by a solid voice cast. Eddie Redmayne, Maisie Williams, and Timothy Spall are all quite likable as main protagonists Dug, Goona, and Bobnar, respectively, while Tom Hiddleston is delightfully hammy as the main antagonist Lord Nooth.

In conclusion, despite some of the criticisms that I’ve addressed here, I do want to make it clear that I did enjoy Early Man. This is Aardman that we’re talking about, after all; even their lesser works still manage to have that British charm that has been a staple of their work since the very beginning. Oh sure, there are quite a few instances in this film where you can tell what’s going to happen in the plot from a mile away. This also ends up affecting the film’s cast of characters, many of whom are the usual characters that you’d see in a sports film. Still, despite all that, Aardman’s charm is still apparent throughout. It may not be their most sharply-written film to date, but it still boasts plenty of instances of their trademark style of humor that is backed by the studio’s always-terrific stop-motion animation. And really, at the end of the day, the film is just a genuinely feel-good animated comedy. Yes, it’s a simple plot with a straightforward cast of characters, but when said characters prove to be a very likable group portrayed by a terrific voice cast, it’s hard not to be charmed by all the hi-jinx that they get into, whether it’s being chased by a ferocious giant duck or hopping across a pool of lava as part of their training regimen. As a result, Early Man is by no means Aardman’s best film, but for fans of their work, it is still very much worth checking out. Sadly, like a lot of recent Aardman films, this one hasn’t made much of an impact at the U.S. box-office. Case in point, when I went to go see this during the second weekend of its release, I was the only person in the theater… that, folks, is a first for me.

Rating: 4/5