Synopsis
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
Review
After three years of waiting and almost four years since production Josh Boone’s The New Mutants is finally in cinemas. No a phrase I ever thought I would actually be writing. But yes, it is finally here, but is it worth the wait?
The short answer is… kind of?
The New Mutants is a frustrating blend of truly unique, original Marvel-tinged horror and bland Riverdale teen drama. It’s clear that the young characters were the reason 20th Century Studios (then still called Fox) hired Josh Boone to writer and direct the film.
Riding on the back of success with The Fault In Their Stars, Boone was hot property for the angsty teenage market. But here he’s lost amongst a sea of luscious visual effects and struggling to tread water. Though he and writing partner Knate Lee (Kidnap) are able to capture some good relationships between the four leads they drop the ball in making this a compelling story of young mutants.
The New Mutants is much slower and smaller in scale than any other X-Men film to-date. It has more in common with Logan than it does with say Days of Future Past. In fact it even borrows a brief piece of stock footage connecting its story to Logan via the Essex Corporation. It actually sets the film up to be something entirely unique before struggling to make good on its promise.
The problem with The New Mutants is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Never fully leaning in to either the horror or the teen drama. Instead it flip-flops between the two and never fully manages to satisfy an appetite for either.
Henry Zaga’s Robert particularly falls foul of this. Much of his dialogue centres around his attraction to the female members of the cast. Rather than building a complex character about the death of his girlfriend – the entire reason he’s at the hospital – he is instead relegated to chauvinist eye-candy.
There is hope within the narrative though. Masie Williams (with terrible Scottish accent) as Rahne and Blu Hunt as Danielle bring something fresh to the story. The same-sex relationship between the pair is nicely understated and therefore feels quite forward thinking for a film produced in 2016.
But it’s Anya Taylor-Joy who is the standout within the young cast. Her interpretation of Illyana is pitch perfect from the outset. She bursts from the screen whenever she is on camera and feels like a breath of fresh air to the franchise. It’s a shame her character was introduced here and not in a vehicle which is much more suited to her talents.
Taylor-Joy also feels at home in the VFX heavy third act fight sequence. In terms of scale, the third act fight against a giant bear is as big as it gets for The New Mutants. But despite the rumoured lack of support form the studio, the film features from really great visuals.
Each of the character’s mutant powers are well represented on screen. It feels a cut above early entries in the X-Men franchise and is on par with other contemporary comic book movies. Robert’s transformation in to not-Human-Torch is impressive, as is Sam’s (Charlie Heaton) ability to blast himself in any direction. The only let down is that we never fully see Rahne transform in to Wolfsbane which makes me think it wasn’t quite achievable in a believable fashion.
The various creatures which also appear in the film: the smiling men, Lockheed and the bear are all brilliantly rendered. The New Mutants genuinely has some of the best VFX of the entire franchise. It’s a shame they couldn’t have been put to better use.
Mark Snow provides an engaging score to underpin the story. It doesn’t have the punch of scores for Apocalypse or Days of Future Past but is perfectly suited to this low-key film. A listen to the isolated score is an absolute must after seeing the film.
Ultimately there’s nothing bad about The New Mutants. There just isn’t enough good to make it worth your time.
Verdict
The New Mutants looks great and sounds great but finally arrives on the big screen with little to hold the audience’s attention.
6/10
New Mutants stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga, and Alice Braga. The film is directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay by Boone and Knate Lee. Production credits go to Simon Kinberg, Lauren Schuler Donner and Karen Rosenfelt.
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