Film Shapes

Turned up at Morley Event Cinemas for a 10:30am screening of X-Men: Dark Phoenix only to be told it was a BYB showing. What's this, you ask? Apparently, it's a Bring Your Baby session. Ohhh no. But in fact, one quiet baby and a potentially scarred 3 year old didn't cause much fuss. The bloody lights were kept half-dimmed, though. No matter, onto the film itself. This has taken a pasting online and in the film press and I can't quite see why. It's not brilliant but it's a clear head better than Apocalypse and surely a few lengths closer to the post than the Wolverine Origins fiasco. There are some well-structured action sequences that elicited a touch of excitement, some of the performances are solid (Fassbender, McAvoy) and the story plays with a couple of meaty themes - mainly abandonment and sacrifice, much in keeping with the earlier (better) films. But, that said, there are some sizeable missteps. A few of the characters' decisions didn't...