The New Mutants

I was recently thinking about when i last visited a cinema, and that was in January of 2020. A year ago? Yes, i know it is crazy. I watched Bad Boys For Life ( i have a review published of the film in this blog ) , and i actually enjoyed this sequel. I was supposed to see a film in february of 2020, known as Birds Of Prey ( the Harley Quinn film, the crazy girl from Suidice Squad ), since i planned to go with a friend of mine. But as we planned to go, the pandemic hit us worldwide. At the time, this film was still running in cinemas, but i decided not to take any chances. So here we are, a year after everything changed worldwide. I have no idea if i will go back to any cinema this year, or next year. I suppose it depends on what will happen with Covid 19, but i am ok seeing films on digital instead. Last year i was reminded that it is 20 years ago, since the first X-Men film came out, from director Bryan Singer. X-Men was one of the coolest action films at that time, because we have not really seen super hero movies on the same level as X-Men. I actually watched this film again last year, and i still enjoy this film for a number of reasons. First of all i think this film did a great introduction to the comic book character Wolverine ( played by actor Hugh Jackman ). I also enjoy the way that this film manage to show each character´s super powers, since they are extrodinary mutants. I have not listened to the commentary track of this film yet, but that´s something i am planning to do. A lot of sequels followed to the X-Men franchise, and most of them were actually pretty good. Even the prequel turned out to be surprisingly good, that started off with X-Men: First Class. Back in 2019 i was hearing a lot of rumours about a film called The New Mutants, a project that is supposed to be connected with the X-Men franchise. This film was supposed to have a premiere early in 2018, but ended up being delayed until August 2020 in cinemas worldwide. Since i had no plans going back to the cinema, i recently rented The New Mutants on VOD. A film i have been curious to see for quite some time, considering i enjoy the X-Men franhise. Is this film better than i expected, or is The New Mutants so bad that you will regret seeing it ?

Danielle "Dani" Moonstar ( Blu Hunt ), a young Cheyenne Native American, escapes the destruction of her reservation during a tornado. She is the only survivor, as she is knocked unconscious. Dani awakens in a hospital run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes ( Alice Braga ).  Cecilia inform Dani that she is a mutant and advises her to remain in the hospital until she learns what her abilities are and control them. Dani is introduced to four other teenagers, Samuel "Sam" Guthrie ( Charlie Heaton ), Illyana Rasputin ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), Roberto "Bobby" da Costa ( Henry Zaga ) and Rahne Sinclair ( Maisie Williams ). All of these teenagers have suffered tragedy in different ways, and they all have special powers. But will this treatment help, or is their past coming back to haunt them?

Let´s begin with saying the most positive thing about The New Mutants. I actually enjoy the idea of these young mutants being patients in a hospital, as if they are going through a treatment program. This reminded me of the teenagers in A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, where young people are being treated for their mental condition. It´s not quite the same in The New Mutants, but you can see some similarities in this film, as we see the young people struggle. both mentally and physically. This is actually a great idea for a film like this, since we know how it is to struggle in your youth, and these young people have to learn to deal with their special powers, while trying to live a normal life. If only this film could have focused more on the treatment of each patient, i think this film could have been interesting. Now to my problem with this film. As a super hero movie, i can´t really say that The New Mutants bring anything fresh or exciting to this genre. There are a few action scenes that are….ok. But not more than that, since it seems that they run out of ideas for a big epic final battle. The demonic looking bear is not as frightening as it should be, and when this is supposed to be the main bad character, you can´t really feel impressed. I have no problem with the idea of a demon bear, it could have been cool if they made it more effective. But i do want to say that the coolest character in this film, is without a doubt Illyana Rasputin, also known as Magik ( played by actress Anya Taylor-Joy ) A cool female character who have no problem being cocky, and say what´s on her mind. The other mutants have some cool Powers, but perhaps not strong personalities as Illyana have. The action scenes and the horror combination, only works in certain scenes. Director Josh Boone ( who directed the very emotional cancer drama film The Fault In Our Stars ) have some good ideas with The New Mutants, but fails to blend them all together in a very predictable super hero movie. Everything is not all bad about this film, but compared to the X-Men films, The New Mutants feels more like a simple rip off than an actual X-Men film. My suggestion, only see this film if you are a fan of this franchise, otherwise you might as well skip it.

Rating: DD