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James P. Sumner (65 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies

Jun 5, 2019  
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
5
5.5 (81 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
A poor end to a great series.
With the much-publicised sale of the Fox-owned Marvel properties to Disney, we knew going into this film it would be the last of its series. The three entries that came before breathed life into a tired franchise, and were all must-see blockbusters.

Sadly, Dark Phoenix doesn't live up to the quality of its predecessors.

It reminded me in a lot of ways of Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Rises". It was the end of something special... we had been promised stakes that had never been higher... we expected sadness... we expected fireworks. We expected a big finish.

Unfortunately, Dark Phoenix failed where Dark Knight Rises succeeded, and that was the payoff. The film seemed to be over just as it was getting started. A strong beginning with tension and danger promised more of the same, but it never quite got there. Visually, yes, you could see the build-up, see what was at stake... but you couldn't feel it. I found myself not caring what happened to the characters, which was a real shame.

The film just didn't feel... big enough for what it was trying to do.

We know from the trailers that an early mission into space ends with Jean Grey absorbing a cosmic energy known in the comics as the Phoenix Force. This whole thing felt very watered down compared to the source material, probably because for the entire time, none of the X-Men actually knew what they were dealing with. Just that Jean was angry and, well, you wouldn't like her when she's angry.

The bulk of the story revolves around the heroes trying to save their friend, but even they don't know from what they're trying to save her from. The CGI is well done, and isn't over-used. Some of the character arcs are intriguing to a point, although they lack the depth they needed to really make you care.

Without spoilers, the ending is satisfactory. It's very Dark Knight Rises in some ways, actually. A fitting end to the film, but only because the film itself was below par. The X-Men series that began with First Class deserved so much more.

If you've seen the other three, there's an obligation to say goodbye to the current iteration of these characters. But if you're just after a typical popcorn movie, I'm sad to say you could do much, much better than this.

(Oh, and there's no mid- or post-credits scene, so no need to sit through them.)
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated One Knight Only (League of the Blade, #2) in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
OK
One Knight Only (League of the Blade, #2)
Julia Latham | 2007
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a cute little romance that I enjoyed the character that was all its own. There was nothing new about the plotline, a female wants to prove she’s just as capable as one else (especially me) while her knight in shining armor tries his best to protect her from everything from highwaymen to assassins to spiders crawling in her shoes. It was just like any other romance about a knight falling in love with a maiden, and yet, Lathom added her own little touch of style to it to make it unique.

The story starts out with Anne Kendall masquerading as a woman of high society to save said women from being assassinated for information she knows. An organization called the League of the Blade considers Anne’s protection as one of their many duties for the betterment of the kingdom. Meanwhile, Sir Philip Clifford is acting like a pouting brat because he was not asked to join the League, which has been his lifelong goal. He first meets Anne at her mistress’s house and they begin to become…acquainted with each other even though Philip does not bed Anne, much to her humiliation. He tries to forget her as just a passing interest, and she tries to forget her feelings for him because she realizes she was just a skirt to him. Or so they think.

When Philip runs into her again masquerading as the widowed Lady Rosamond Wolsingham, they realize they that, basically, they still want in each other’s pant. After creeping into the window of her inn room, Philip doesn’t really give her a choice in whether he travels with her in her journey to the king. Adventure ensues.

While I didn’t find this novel particularly fascinating, it was still enjoyable.