Five youths are locked inside a secret facility for seemingly no real reason, all of them are affected from past traumas. As they bond and connect, they begin to feel frightened and attacked by monsters from their past and a being known as The Demon Bear. The group must start to learn how to control their abilities in order to fight for their freedom and their lives. We have all heard of the infamous delays and post-production nightmares that this film had to endure, but now that's it's finally here, I can comfortably confirm, without spoilers, that it was kind of worth the wait. The story isn't the most unique as it's taking story elements from "A Nightmare On Elm Street 3" and "The Breakfast Club", as what the director, Josh Boone, has confirmed served as his main inspirations. The story doesn't have mind-blowing twists and turns, but I do feel that the real surprise of the film was the tone itself. While the marketing pushes hard on the film being a horror creature feature, the truth is that it's very much a teen drama that not only pulls parallels from "Breakfast Club", but also Boone's own work from "The Fault In Our Stars". Because of this, the film has a very slow pace for both an hour and a half runtime and the typical superhero film. It's not hard to see how some people might not get into the film as it's more on character drama than scares or action. Don't get me wrong, there's thrills and action, but the focus is mainly on the drama, which brings up some of the darkest aspects of the film. From the grisly backgrounds to our characters to the inspirations behind their personal demons, the film holds no punches. There's still some nice one-liners sprinkled in though, mainly by the male leads and Illyana.
The real core behind the film is the cast of characters, considering the rather thin story. Dani Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt, is the main protagonist as the narrative mainly follows her from the beginning to the end. She still has no clue for what her powers could be and finds it difficult to fit in the facility and her peers. Dani however confides in the friendly lycanthrope, Rahne Sinclair, played by Maisie Williams. The chemistry and the growing relationship between Dani and Rahne is really the heart of the movie as their blooming romance doesn't feel like an executive's agenda, but a genuine connection between the two that brings us the first major LGTBQ relationship in a superhero film. Anna-Taylor Joy plays Illyana Rasputin, a Russian sorceress who acts cold towards Dani and talks with her puppet friend, Lockheed. Taylor Joy does such a great job in making the audience both hate and love Illyana as the film goes on. Charlie Heaton plays Sam Gurthie, a youth from Kentucky who has the ability to launch himself in hyper speeds which results in a lot of self-inflicted injuries. Heaton's acting is great as always, but his accent does hit and miss at times. Henry Zaga plays Roberto de Costa, a flirty Brazilian with the ability to set himself on fire and have super strength. Despite the internet complaining on Zaga being too white to play a Brazilian despite being one himself, Zaga really nails the character in my opinion and much like the comics, proves to be my favourite of the team aside from Warlock. Lastly, there's Alice Barga as Cecilia Reyes, the doctor who runs the facility and has the ability to create force fields around the facility and others. Although Barga does a good job in portraying a calculating, strict obstructer, her motivations are very lacking to say the least. Although the film does attempt to give reasons for her actions, which I won't spoil, her mutant status conflicts with her role as a whole. Despite this small blunder and some awkward accents here and there, the main cast of mutant youths are simply enjoyable to watch and supported by great actors in their own right.
Josh Boone is a director who has stayed dedicated to this film no matter how many delays and development hell it has been through. It's made quite clear that he has passion for these characters and the source material they originate in, from their portrayals on screen to the decision of making the movie more of a teen drama rather than a typical action blockbuster. The setting of the run-down hospital facility lends into both haunting and visually striking imagery, which is helped by Peter Deming's brilliant cinematography. From tight close-ups to picturesque wide shots, Deming's cinematography is really good and adds character to the claustrophobic nature of the film's setting. The look of the film itself isn't colourful for the most part and has a consistent use of shadows and greys, creating a very effective gothic feel that works for the film's light horror tone. The score by Mark Snow is honestly pretty forgettable. I seriously can't recall any original piece of music for the life of me, even though I don't think it's terrible. Honestly, the use of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2" in the trailers is the only thing notable for the music, aside from Marilyn Manson's cover of "Cry Little Sister" which was originally supposed to debut in the accompanying soundtrack back in 2018. The visual effects are average to say the least. When the characters demonstrate their powers, the CGI is honesty pretty good in giving these abilities more personality that fits to their respective characters. The make-up and creature effects are also extremely good when the respective monster shows up or act of bloody violence occurs. However, the climax isn't the most visually engaging as outside of Illyana's abilities, it's a lot of ugly greys and green-screen. As for the action sequences, they aren't much to write home about. Although there are some satisfying moments, mainly when characters are freely using their powers, there's simply not much action itself until the end, as the film isn't trying to be an action superhero flick. The horror sequences though are pretty good at creating those creepy vibes, though I personally don't find them completely scary. Overall, Boone's directing and vision shine through all the way, even if there are some flaws that stand out.
"The New Mutants" may not be seen as the best film of the "X-Men" franchise, but it's a pretty unique entry in the superhero genre as a whole. Although the story isn't the most creative, Reyes is a generic villain with lack of motivation, accents of characters are hit and miss, Snow's score is very forgettable, and the CGI during the climatic battle can get pretty ugly at times, I appreciate the film that we got at the end of the day. From an excellent use of a dark tone that allows shocking material, light doses of humour that match the teenage spirit of the characters, the heavy focus on teen character drama compared to the majority of superhero films, the fantastic cast and characters with enjoyable personalities and believable chemistry, the first major LGBTQ romance in the superhero genre, the gothic setting and colours, Deming's solid cinematography, some nice visual effects for mutant powers as well as make-up effects during stand-out scenes, the light doses of horror-inspired sequences do give off effective creepiness, and Boone's passionate directing holds what could have been a sinking ship together till the end. It's a damn shame that we will probably never get the trilogy Boone and the cast deserved as I enjoy the characters enough to want to see them on another journey as well as encounter favourites such as Warlock. Was it truly worth two and a half years of delays? Maybe not, but I'm just satisfied I finally got a chance to watch this movie after all of this time.
Verdict: 7.5/10. Really good film as a stand-alone and in the "X-Men" franchise as a whole. I would really recommend for you all to watch it in theatre if you can. It really deserves as much support as it can after so many years of bad luck. Who knows? It might get a sequel if enough people come out to see it...
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