Dark Phoenix Blu-ray Review

"Dark Phoenix" is presented on Blu-ray by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode and a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Captured with Arri Alexas and finished at a 2K Digital Intermediate (DI), the transfer is generally commendable, maintaining Fox's reputation for high-quality releases. While some moments appear oddly soft, and occasional CGI isn't mind-blowing, detail levels are largely impressive. Extreme close-ups, favored by director Kinberg and cinematographer Mauro Fiore, reveal expressive levels of fine detail, especially on facial textures. Colors are striking, with deeply saturated reds, blues, and yellows permeating the frame, balancing almost completely desaturated moments effectively. However, some scenes exhibit minor deficits in shadow detail, though there are no significant compression anomalies.

The transfer delivers an overall excellent visual experience but contends with varying brightness levels that occasionally dip from rich to murky. Night scenes and space sequences render attractive blacks, whereas daytime scenes suffer from dull, grayish shadows. This inconsistency appears tied to Fiore's cinematographic choices, which favor high contrast and intense whites—enhancing action sequences' crispness while flattening dialogue-driven moments. Vivid primary colors infuse energy into action scenes, while radiant secondary hues create eye-catching visuals during Jean Grey's power surges and battles with the D'Bari. The transfer also excels in sharpness and detail resolution; viewers can discern building lines, street details, and background objects clearly. Despite slight dips in resolution quality in a few scenes, the overall presentation remains sharp and engaging, offering a compelling viewing experience.

The audio presentation of "Dark Phoenix" on Blu-ray comes with a notable DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that greatly enhances the viewing experience. This track offers superb directionality and impactful low-frequency effects (LFE) that add a dynamic dimension to the film. The sound design excels during the numerous set pieces with excellent channel separation, though it occasionally shifts to a more straightforward stereo presentation during extensive dialogue scenes. This transition doesn’t detract significantly as Hans Zimmer's compelling score seamlessly envelops the audience via the surround channels, ensuring an ongoing sense of immersion.

The soundtrack's imaging is expansive, providing excellent channel balance with ample background activity that fluidly transitions into the off-screen space. This creates a consistently spacious soundstage throughout most of the film's runtime. The mid-range presents itself with remarkable dynamism and clarity, while the high frequencies and vocals maintain precise articulation even during the film's most chaotic sequences. The bass performance is particularly commendable, delivering deep, room-energizing effects that can be felt physically and contribute to an engaging auditory experience.

In terms of rear channel activity, while not always matching the visual action's intensity, the sound mix effectively springs to life during key moments. Action scenes come alive with immersive directionality—helicopters whirr in the distance, debris scatters, and the distinct sound of Phoenix’s energy flames captivates the listening area. Noteworthy too are the scenes within the train, where clanking metal and other atmospheric sounds dominate from all directions, crafting a satisfying soundfield that places viewers right in the heart of mutant chaos. Such attention to detail in sound design significantly boosts the overall engagement of "Dark Phoenix".

The Blu-ray release of "Dark Phoenix" features an impressive array of extras that significantly enhance the viewing experience. Notably, the extensive making-of documentary "Rise of the Phoenix" provides deep insights into various aspects of production through behind-the-scenes footage and engaging interviews with the cast and crew, although it subtly highlights the disconnect between their ambitions and the film's reception. The presence of an audio commentary by Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker adds further depth, offering detailed explanations on their creative choices. Shorter features like "How to Fly Your Jet to Space with Beast," which is a light-hearted piece with Nicholas Hoult, and a selection of theatrical trailers, round out the offerings. This selection offers viewers substantial content and gives a richer context to the film's creation.

Extras included in this disc:

• Deleted Scenes: With optional commentary by Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker.
• Rise of the Phoenix: The Making of Dark Phoenix: Extensive documentary with BTS footage and interviews.
• How to Fly Your Jet to Space with Beast: Brief and playful segment with Nicholas Hoult.
• Audio Commentary: Discussion by Simon Kinberg and co-producer Hutch Parker.
• Theatrical Trailers: A collection of promotional materials.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Blu-ray Movie Review

Dark Phoenix marks a visually captivating but somewhat convoluted end to a tumultuous chapter of the X-Men franchise. The film, directed by Simon Kinberg, who also co-wrote the screenplay for X-Men: The Last Stand, delves into the story of Jean Grey, played by Sophie Turner. As her powers increase exponentially due to a cosmic event, Jean battles inner demons and repressed memories, a narrative thread rife with potential yet undermined by its muddled execution. Despite references to previous films and elements typical of alternate timeline narratives, the movie struggles to offer a cohesive storyline, echoing a sense of narrative disarray that plagues many superhero adaptations.

From the outset, Dark Phoenix adopts an intriguing stance on its characters' evolution. The X-Men, once outcasts and societal pariahs, are now hailed as heroes—a significant shift from their original depiction. The film intensity heightens as young Jean Grey's mentorship under Charles Xavier surfaces deeper complexities when vested powers disrupt her life. Jessica Chastain’s portrayal of Vuk attempts to add depth but falls short amid comparison to past X-Men adversaries. The climactic moments are defined by alliances between Xavier and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), yet even these scenes fail to deliver the expected gravitas.

As with many entries in the superhero genre, Dark Phoenix grapples with its identity—torn between being part of an overarching narrative and standing alone as an independent piece. While individual performances are commendable and the film delivers on visual spectacles, it lacks the unifying essence that characterized earlier franchise installments. Ultimately, this chapter may leave audiences pondering not just about Dark Phoenix’s fate but also the direction and coherence of the X-Men saga moving forward.

Dark Phoenix, Simon Kinberg's directorial debut after scripting the unsuccessful X-Men: The Last Stand, attempts to revisit iconic moments but ultimately falters. Despite proficient performances from Sophie Turner and her co-stars, the film's plot feels lackluster, rehashing themes without providing fresh narrative depth. Visual effects dazzle, with Jean Grey's transformation into the Phoenix rendered in spectacular fashion. Nevertheless, the storyline suffers due to its compromised character development and unresolved subplots.

The Blu-ray release excels in technical execution. The HD video presentation is superb, showcasing impressive detail and vibrant colors. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack enhances the film’s tension with rich, immersive soundscapes. Though the bonus content is relatively sparse, what is included provides some intriguing behind-the-scenes insights and is likely to satisfy die-hard fans of the franchise.

There are some rather interesting ideas underpinning X-Men: Dark Phoenix, including a kind of feminist subtext along with some roiling psychological issues that were obviously highlighted to try to make this more of a personal story than a traditional sci-fi superhero epic. Unfortunately, the story here never manages to completely convince, probably especially because of previous alternate timeline efforts where people and events come and go almost randomly at times. Fans of this film will most likely be pleased with the technical presentation here, and the disc does offer some appealing supplements.