New Mutants, Dead Franchise
Introduction
New Mutants is one of those unlucky movies that had to take a backseat while all the cool kids went outside to have fun. This film was rescheduled three times, first due to reshoots, then it was because it was too close to Deadpool 2, and finally came the Disney purchase of 20th Century Fox. Now this poor film finally released during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and I have to admit, for a movie that was resigned to failure, I actually found the experience to be passable as a movie.
Plot and Setting
The idea behind the New Mutants is that a group of teenagers with attitude are brought to a hospital-like institution so they can master their newly acquired powers. Our protagonist, the new kid on the block, Dani Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt, has gained the ability to make everyone’s worst fears come to life.
While part of the X-Men franchise, the overall look and feel of the film felt very cheap compared to other entries within the series. New Mutants looks like an experiment that could have expanded into whole new avenues with different directions. It is honestly quite sad that this film could not reach its full potential.
However, I need to give credit where credit is due, as New Mutants is probably one of the most original works in the superhero genre in years that does not resort to the dark and gritty or the classically naive to stay relevant. The addition of the horror elements makes the movie feel fresh throughout its run time.
That is to say that the film is not perfect and does suffer from a lot of narrative plot holes. One that happens to baffle me the most concerns the upkeep of the facility. The area is a massive complex, comprising multiple buildings, yet only a sole mutant attendant runs everything. Outside of her forcefield powers, Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga) just functions as the facility’s doctor. What I want to know is who performs maintenance on the building, brings in the food or if this place even has a janitor. Seriously, FOX, you guys could not have coughed up some additional bucks for a few extras?
Another issue that plagues New Mutants is the lack of mystery behind its horror. The film lays its hand of cards on the table from the get-go, so nothing it really does feels like a surprise. Some truly eerie scenes will probably keep younger fans up at night, but it won’t phase an older audience.
Characters and Performances
Almost all the characters of this five-man band have their own distinct personality, which borderlines certain stereotypes seen in horror movies. Yet, this movie seems to have a better character build-up than previous incarnations of X-Men teams which don’t get much time to develop
Danielle ‘Dani’ Moonstar/Mirage as a character is not very interesting. While Hunt gives a relatively decent performance, it does not help that the script gives her very little to do. Her powers bring one’s nightmares to life, but she does not display anything except confusion in response to them. Samuel Guthrie/Cannonball, portrayed by Stranger Things actor Charlie Ross Heaton, who goes through a similar traumatic experience, at least expresses loss and fear through his performance with regards to his power. Hunt sounds mostly clueless outside of her motivational bear speeches.
For the most part, the film nails some of the cast and their backstories. Characters such as the resident furry, Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane, and Samuel Guthrie/Cannonball have backgrounds pulled straight from their respected comics.
Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones does a fantastic job playing the quirky and religious Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane, who was persecuted by a fanatical priest for her mutant powers of lycanthropy. While I mostly like this character, I found her romantic subplot to be shoehorned into the narrative, making the film at times feel closer to a teen drama than a superhero horror movie.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal as Illyana Rasputin/Magik takes the spotlight throughout the film’s runtime for absolutely nailing the character with her performance. The character is a lot more hostile and resentful to those around her than she is in the comics, yet I found her extremely delightful to watch.
She is one of the few mutants within the facility who can control their abilities with relative ease, and that is to say she has a lot of them. I actually had to Google her abilities to figure out what her mutant power is, and this leads onto our next plot hole, which is her teleportation circles.
Illyana could have left whenever she wanted to, as she has the power to teleport anywhere, but the film does not give any solid reason other to sass everyone she comes in contact with. It is also quite hard to understand why she is even there in the first place since she is so proficient with their powers. It is sad to say this, but the film’s best actor played a character that should not have even been in this movie at all.
Conclusion
Josh Boone’s attempt to make a horror-themed superhero film had the potential to be so much more than what we got. While still a suspenseful flick to watch, the abundance of plot-holes and studio-meddling going on behind the scenes dampen this spin-off’s first and probably the only escapade. However, the slim chance that this film could either shine bright and become a cult classic or simply just be forgotten in the media cesspool that is 2020 has yet to be seen.
