Review: The New Mutants (2020)

The New Mutants (2020)

TLDR: A sad, dismal final chapter in Fox's once-acclaimed X-Men saga. The New Mutants shows promise in fragments, but its poor script and plot and often awkward execution makes for a sickly overall package that is quite fitting for this equally-sickly year that it has finally been released in...

The New Mutants were an alt-X-Men team created in the early 80's in an effort to revamp and re-contemporize a new team of teenage X-Men. The new series became a smash-hit with new star mutants like Magik, Cannonball, Sunspot, Wolfsbane and Mirage, all of whom continue to headline Marvel comics to this day. Josh Boone's The New Mutants, which was announced more than five years ago and shot in 2017, has finally seen the light of day in 2020... The film seeks to adapt the team's beloved 'Demon Bear' storyline, while introducing audiences to this fresh team of mutant superheroes. In doing so, Boone tries to create an omelet-homage from the likes of Stephen King-esque horror mixed with John Hughe's teenage drama (especially The Breakfast Club). The end result is a burnt eggy dish made from whatever scattered ingredients had been sitting in the fridge for far too long. The re-working of the film that has been done over the past three years in order to make it a presentable film is evident throughout; continuity errors, inconsistent CGI, and bewildering plot holes are rife throughout The New Mutants. It is a mess of a film to say the least...

The New Mutants primarily follows Dani Moonstar (Blue Hunt), a Native American mutant, who finds herself locked up in a mutant hospital after suffering a personal tragedy. There she meets fellow teen mutants, Illyana, Sam, Bobby and Rahne, each of whom have interesting mutant powers and similar tragic backstories. They are all told by Dr. Reyes (the only doctor and worker ever shown in the hospital...) that they are all there to learn how to control their powers before being allowed to leave. While the film communicates it as a twist, it is soon discovered that, no, they are not in a real hospital but actually a prison! *head explode* The film's first twenty or so minutes leading to this revelation really are pretty awful and among the worst of the film's whole (the scene up in the clock tower... ooooof...). The rest of the film thereafter revolves around the teens getting to know one another and then eventually figuring out how to break out of the prison after each begins being haunted by nightmarish images. In that, the film's balance between the dramatic and horror beats are more awkward than politicians on Twitter. There is even the horrendously stereotypical montage scene in which the group begins spontaneously dancing together to illustrate that, yes, they are beginning to like one another and relate to each other. It does not help that the script is awful and many of the performances are quite cringeworthy (there are a lot of colourful accents, most of which do not sit right). Unfortunately, Dani, who is the stand-in for the audience, is played by Blu Hunt who is noticeably the weakest actor of the ensemble cast. Unsurprisingly, Anya Taylor-Joy who plays Illyana/Magik is by far the strongest of the cast and even manages to make her standoffish and withdrawn character compelling and likeable. She is a true talent and one that quickly continues to rise in the industry.

The one positive from the film is that it does a good job in the five mutants characterizations - something that any fans of the New Mutants would be happy to hear and see. Each of their mutant powers (except for Rahne) are visualized well and their stories are fairly faithful to the comic source material. It is a shame that the story that they operate within is such a messy misfire and one that no longer has a possibility for rectification. One can only hope that the MCU one day tries to retackle the beloved New Mutants to give them the grand silver screen story and love that they deserve.