The New Mutants aims for a different take on the classic superhero coming-of-age story. Sadly, the feel ended up too disparate and lacklustre.
The New Mutants Synopsis
Native American mutant Dani Moonstar loses her father and home in an inexplicable disaster, and wakes up to find herself “sequestered” in a hospital. She is cared for by the stoic Dr. Cecilia Reyes and later agrees to join Reyes’ rehabilitation programme for young mutants. Sadly, her powers soon prove too much to endure, even for the other powerful teenagers in the group.
Snappy Review
Let’s see. I think I stopped paying attention to The New Mutants around … early 2019?
It’s like, I was really keen on this horror-movie take on the X-Men franchise since its announcement. It sounded and felt like something truly different from the deluge of superhero films we’ve been getting for years.
With all the delays, though, I kinda assumed the movie would never hit the big screen, and would end up on a streaming service I have no subscription with. Naturally, when the pandemic hit, I was doubly convinced of my assumption. I forgot about it. I dismissed it to my list of things-i-had-to-miss, because of some rampaging virus.
Well, it’s screened after all, amidst much controversy. Regretfully, I have to say it wasn’t quite worth the wait.
In all, the show wasn’t too awful. While I doubt they would ever win any awards, the gals held their roles well. The feminist angle, intended or not, shone brightly through them.
That said, it’s really, really, not a horror movie. Yeah, there were plenty of ugly-as-F monsters prancing about. The institution itself would be picture-perfect in any asylum horror series too.
But fear? Tension? I didn’t sense any throughout. Neither did I remotely feel any real threat for the characters.
Perhaps it due to the deadly powers of the teens being revealed too early. Or perhaps it’s my own fault. As in, I knew for decades what those five are capable of.
In the end, watching this “different take” on the franchise was akin to going through Sunday morning cartoon recordings. It’s not boring by any measure, don’t get me wrong. But neither did I anticipate any fireworks. There was just no … grip. No terror throughout the show.
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