Dark Phoenix hasn’t even been released in the US yet, but its initial reviews are in and they’re not great. In fact, the film debuted to the worst ever Rotten Tomatoes score an X-Men film has ever seen.
The new movie, starring Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner, hit cinemas in the UK today (June 5) but US audiences have to wait until June 7 for its release.
After reading the reviews, however, I’m not sure Americans will be counting down the seconds.
20th Century Fox describe the movie as ‘the most intense and emotional X-Men movie ever made’, but it seems they’ve been a bit over-confident there, because at the time of writing Dark Phoenix has a score of just 21 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The score is the lowest of any X-Men movie; 26 per cent lower than X-Men: Apocalypse, and 37 per cent lower than X-Men: The Last Stand, two films which are often considered the worst X-Men team up films to hit cinemas.
Check out the trailer:
The site’s critics consensus reads:
Dark Phoenix ends an era of the X-Men franchise by taking a second stab at adapting a classic comics arc — with deeply disappointing results.
‘Deeply disappointing’ just isn’t a phrase you want to hear about a film, especially one from a franchise as big as X-Men, and some of the reviews are even more disheartening.
One person described the film as ‘a wholly disappointing and forgetful culmination of this X-Men run’, while another said it was ‘a joyless addition to the long-running X-Men franchise’.
Dark Phoenix follows the story of Jean Gray (Turner), who develops incredible powers after being hit by a cosmic force while on a rescue mission in space. She becomes corrupted by the power and spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart in the process.
Fans should probably give the film a chance – everyone has their own opinion of what’s good, after all – but maybe don’t let your hopes get too high.
Dark Phoenix is set for UK release on June 5, 2019.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.