This article was first published on the WeChat public account of Universal Screen~! Follow and it's over. Hey!
Let's go back in time to 2015 first.
Hollywood director Josh Boone, who was in high spirits for "The Fault in the Stars", approached Simon Kinberg, the writer and producer of the "X-Men" series, to try to create a youth-oriented film. X-Men spin-offs.
The two hit it off, and the "X-Men" series really needs a more diversified genre attempt, and 20th Century Fox also gave the green light for this new work.
Five years have passed, times have changed, Hollywood dynasties have shaken, and Fox has changed hands.
The film was withdrawn and changed several times (April 13, 2018-August 2, 2019-April 3, 2020-August 28, 2020), the script was greatly changed, and the lineup was uncertain.
The main creator of the film and Fox had serious differences in the tone of the film, and even faced the risk of being frozen and directly online streaming.
The film has not met the audience for a long time. In the eyes of many people, this new work has inevitably become a disaster.
Today, we have finally seen this legendary work with our own eyes——
"The New Mutants"
The film, which landed in American theaters on August 28, did not create miracles under the epidemic, and the media and audience word-of-mouth collectively collapsed. And another comic disaster after "Dark Phoenix".
Of course, if you consider the level of drama behind the scenes, you have to count a new version of "Hellboy".
But the real embarrassment is the "new" in the title.
No one could have imagined that a new work that was full of vigor and tried to create a trilogy would not only fail to get close to the main universe of "X-Men", but was also forced to become the last courtier of the old movie universe, unable to board the ship. Sail into the ark of a new Disney era.
The story begins on a snowy night.
With the shaking of the ground and the deafening sound of explosions, Dany (Bru Hunter), who had just woken up, was dragged out of the house by her panicked father before she could recover.
The constant whistling of the gust of wind was filled with unbearable screams and wailing, and burning vehicles were lifted into the air.
People's homes were torn to shreds by unknown attackers in a rumbling noise, and everything in front of them had been reduced to a sea of fire.
Her father, who was trying to help the others, died in front of Dany's eyes, and the panicked Dany fell down a hill while fleeing, gradually losing consciousness.
After an unknown amount of time, Dany woke up again and found herself locked in a hospital bed.
Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga), who then appears, tells Dany that she is in an agency dedicated to helping young mutants, and that Dany is the only survivor of a tornado disaster.
Dany met four other young mutants who were treated and trained here.
Each of them carries some unforgettable past, and it all has to do with their different superpowers.
As a new member, Dany gradually integrates into this small group like a high school band.
However, the good times didn't last long, and some unexplainable horrors began to appear in the originally very eerie and eccentric hospital. The terrifying visions tore the unhealed scars in everyone's heart, digging out the darkest fears in their hearts.
And the so-called agency itself seems to be hiding some kind of ulterior secrecy...
In this relatively independent work, the honorable traditions of the "X-Men" series, such as the concern for minorities that were drawn by mutants, and the serious thinking rooted in social real issues in the story have no place. ("Dark Phoenix" has personally destroyed all of this)
Of course, it does not mean that every derivative work of "X-Men" must carry these spirits as one of the main tasks. You can also give full play to your own type advantages to fully enrich the entertainment of the work.
And this, "The New Mutants" also failed to do, especially in the case of its "horror element" gimmick.
"The New Mutants" did have the opportunity to become an R-rated movie at one time, especially in the same door "Deadpool" and "Wolverine 3", both of which were brilliant, and "The Clown" also proved that the theme of teenagers and horror elements In the case of the market height that can be achieved, however, the film finally compromised for a more moderate PG-13 rating.
Although the story mode is more like a remake of "Nightmare on Elm Street 3" under the banner of Super Heroes, throughout the film, "The New Mutants" is more like a cheap and pointless imitation of "The Clown" .
Coincidentally, Dany's ability to materialize fear in the film looks identical to Pennywise the clown.
But aside from Roberto's (Henry Zager) terrifying encounter in the pool, The New Mutants doesn't even have a breath-taking Jump Scare.
For any fan of horror films, all the horror elements in the film are familiar. (It's a pity that the scene in the trailer paying tribute to "Nightmare Street" didn't appear in the feature film)
The slowly falling snowflakes condensed from blood and the rapidly corroded door panels are reminiscent of "Silent Hill";
The smiling man looks like a weakened hybrid of a hunchback and a hollow ghost;
The sense of oppression brought by the hospital as a confined space is not as good as the mediocre work "Hospital Horror" by Mr. Carpenter. (Too wasteful of the Medfield Mental Hospital, where the film was filmed)
Also rated at PG-13, Tim Burton made an excellent demonstration of the use of horror elements in "Miss Pei's Fantasy Castle".
Among the many screenwriters of this film, none of them have participated in the creation of horror films. More importantly, it is difficult for films with superhero blood to grasp the desperation and powerlessness that ordinary humans will have in horror films. .
It can be seen that "The New Mutants" still has the awareness of creating such an atmosphere in the first half, but in the end, it still embarks on the old road of "The Nun" - "physical exorcism".
When the characters in the film can punch the smiling faces, or chop a group of smiling faces to pieces with a sharp blade in minutes, what else do we need to be afraid of? Honestly wait for a CGI melee.
After all, director Boone may not be good at mobilizing horror elements at all, and the depiction of the ignorant emotional state of teenagers is clearly in his creative comfort zone. (There are really good pictures and bridges in the film, but they are not convincing enough)
However, it is impossible to place the horror elements and youth dramas in a more harmonious frame, and the fundamental reason is the perfunctory characterization.
It is a difficult task to take into account the background and inner growth of multiple characters in a film length of more than 90 minutes, not to mention the "hard requirements" for film length such as action scenes.
The problem with "Dark Phoenix" is that pressing the fast-forward button makes the characters collapse, while "The New Mutants" is more direct. The growth of the five main characters requires the audience to make up their own minds.
The audience knows about their superpowers and a few words about the past, but what impact does the heavy psychological burden they bear have on these characters to this day?
How do these knots and superpowers combine to shape the character?
The most obvious example of how effectively the first X-Men was able to give Magneto a charismatic personality.
Except for the occasional rebellious and impulsive adolescence (still out of the ordinary), several main characters do not have obvious personality or physical defects, which directly led to the setting of the "hospital" being dug out of its foundation.
And increasing the influence of a certain fear on a character's behavior or character is precisely what The New Mutants should learn most from The Clown.
The previous foreshadowing is perfunctory, not to mention how to overcome the knot.
Only by truly accepting yourself inwardly and removing those lingering shame and guilt is the key to mastering your superpowers in the right way.
And several in the film are basically pushed away by the progress bar.
There has never been an "emotional moment" that immerses the audience in the character's inner world, and no matter how drastically the script has undergone changes, this is the part that should not be ignored.
So we see that Wolf Venom (Maisie Williams) can transform according to his wishes at any moment in the film. Roberto's ability suddenly upgraded and he became a full sunspot in order to cope with the final battle. Cannon (Charlie Heaton) has a reasonable amount of energy to beat himself.
At the critical turning point of Dany's unraveling of the knot, her father's hurried exhortation is like counting down the time to finish the film, and almost all key points reveal the emptiness of the script and the poor execution.
"X-Men" started out with a group of heroes eight years before the official rise of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe", opening up a new situation for the superhero theme, and the interaction and cooperation between multiple characters are just right.
And "The New Mutants" actually ended up fighting each other. The wonderful battle between the Mystic and the Demon Bear played by Anya Taylor-Joy is really impressive, but if you look at it from a team perspective , the final battle is ineligible.
Looking at the vague connections to the main universe in The New Mutants, one can't help but imagine what it looked like.
At that time, there were also Professor X played by James McAvoy and the new version of Storm in the "institution", and Mr. Sinister still had hope of appearing, rather than forever becoming a flashed name in the series, all of them. These gradual peeling processes can be seen on the riddled sheet.
The leftover eggs hardly provide any excitement, and the process of finding them is no longer fun.
Witnessing them is more like walking among the ruins of the deceased dynasty, the grandeur is no longer, their era only exists in the distant memory, and there is helpless regret and sadness in the cold wind.
PS. If there is one reason to recommend "The New Mutants", it must be Anya!
Only the secret guest she plays can defuse some of the dullness and boredom brought by this film. (It would be great if there was a one-man movie of Whistleblower)
By the way, let's take a look at Anya's "Witch" directed by Robert Eggers. If you also like Anya, I don't need to mention it again!
View more about The New Mutants reviews
