THE NEW MUTANTS review

October 2017. A simpler time. Case Keenum had only just taken over as Vikings QB. The Twins had just made the playoffs led by manager Paul Molitor. People still thought the Jimmy Butler trade was going to lead the Timberwolves to greatness. 

And the first teaser trailer dropped for The New Mutants, the latest entry in the ever-expanding Fox X-Men franchise, in this case a kind of spinoff film that was going more for horror.

And almost 3 years later the movie is out. In between you had Fox selling basically the whole store to Disney, reshoots, a whole bunch of different release dates (at least 5)....oh, and a pandemic.

After all this the movie arrives with little fanfare, and presumably will be the lowest grossing X-Men film ever. 

And I think it deserves better. It's not great, but it's an entertaining movie made with a real care.

We have seen young mutants dealing with their powers in some of the other films, but here the young (new) mutants are patients (captives?) in a creepy hospital run by one of those doctors who on the outside seems friendly and caring but you know is secretly up to something.

The film is more premise than plot. It's basically just watching the 5 new mutants learn their powers and discover the secret behind why they are really there, through the eyes of the newest arrival Dani (super cute Blu Hunt).

Dani's power is kept secret for a while. The other mutants powers include being a werewolf, teleporting, propelling through the air, and being basically the human torch.

By far the most charismatic of the bunch is Anya Taylor-Joy as the teleporter, whose arm also can turn into a sword. If nothing else this film gives us a couple badass fight moments involving her. C'mon Disney, you can find a place for her in this franchise. 

Maisie Williams is good as the werewolf. It's a little weird seeing her noticeably older in a few scenes that must have been the reshoots. Neither of the 2 guys made a big impression, although neither were bad either. 

For a movie that goes more for horror it's never scary at all, really. The tone is pretty inconsistent overall, as a couple of the comic relief moments really don't gel. The big action finale is surprisingly strong though.

I'm glad this movie at least made it out. I don't think it will be anyone's favorite film from this franchise, but I like that Fox was going more for some less traditional types of movies within the X-Men universe and wish they got to do more. 

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