The story of the 20th Century Fox X-Men movies is one filled with ups and downs, from the tear-jerking ending of Logan to the questionable writing decisions of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And though there have been times when the Fox films have come close to capturing the greatness of the X-Men comics at their best, they’ve usually fallen short as adaptations — and such is the case with the final entry in the series, The New Mutants.

Originally slated for a 2018 release, The New Mutants didn’t hit theaters until August 2020, making it more notorious for its numerous delays than the actual contents of the film. Among the X-Men fans who actually have seen the movie, it’s received negative reception as a shallow imitation of the source material. However, despite the mediocrity of the finished product, a closer look at the film reveals that The New Mutants had all the necessary elements to make it one of the best X-Men movies ever.

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Untapped Potential

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The New Mutants is based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, specifically the iconic 1980s run by legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz. The film draws particular inspiration from the “Demon Bear” arc from New Mutants #18-20, which has become a major fan favorite for its striking, impressionistic artwork, compelling characterization, and dark atmosphere. As such, The New Mutants is both a superhero movie and a horror film — a clever way of adapting the source material, at least in theory.

The movie takes place at Milbury Hospital, a mysterious facility where Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga) is tasked by an unknown benefactor with helping five young mutants learn to control their dangerous powers. However, the psychic powers of Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt) begin to run amok, causing her fellow patients to relive their worst traumas. Eventually, the New Mutants learn that Reyes’ employer isn’t Charles Xavier like they believed, but Nathaniel Essex, better known as the comic villain Mister Sinister, who seeks to recruit the gifted youngsters as his personal team of killers. Together, the New Mutants team up to overcome their inner demons and free themselves from their captors.

On paper, this is a brilliant premise for a New Mutants movie. Part The Breakfast Club and part Stephen King’s It, it’s a story tailor-made to encapsulate the blend of youthful vibrancy and mind-bending terror that made Claremont and Sienkiewicz’s work capture readers’ imaginations back in the 80s. Plus, casting Mister Sinister as the mastermind is an inspired choice. Manipulating and experimenting on troubled young mutants is a big part of his modus operandi in the comics — just ask Cyclops, who grew up in an orphanage much like the film’s Milbury Hospital. He’s the ultimate abusive authority figure, making him a perfect antagonist for a story all about teenage rebellion.

And of course, there’s the titular characters themselves. Besides the aforementioned Dani Moonstar, the film’s core cast consists of Cannonball (Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton), Sunspot (Henry Zaga), Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame) and Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy). Each and every one of these characters is a major fan favorite in their own right — especially Magik, who skyrocketed in popularity throughout the 2010s. As such, bringing this team to life on the big screen should have been a massive success. But alas, that’s far from how things turned out.

An Underwhelming Adaptation

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While adapting the New Mutants comics as a horror film is a brilliant idea in theory, the actual execution leaves much to be desired. The film features only the lightest of horror flavoring, without any potent scares to speak of. And unlike Sam Raimi’s work in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The New Mutants lacks any imaginative visuals or stylistic flair to make the horror elements it does have leave a mark. Not helping matters is the film’s CGI, which looks like it should belong in a PS3 game rather than a modern superhero blockbuster. Director Josh Boone is best known as the man behind the YA romance adaptation The Fault In Our Stars — a far cry from a superhero-horror fusion, to say the least.

That said, the film’s visuals are far from its only weakness. It also suffers from a mediocre script, with dialogue that ranges from forgettably plain to laughably cliché. But the greatest failing of The New Mutants is arguably its weak characterization. One of Chris Claremont’s great strengths as a writer is his strong grasp of character, lending each of his heroes their own distinct voice and personality. For instance, Dani is a clever and determined natural leader. Cannonball is a naive, kind-hearted farm boy, while Sunspot is a deceptively cunning jokester.

However, the rich, nuanced characterization of these characters is nowhere to be found in their film adaptation. Dani and Cannonball are sad about their dead fathers, and Sunspot is rich. That’s about the extent of their character development in the movie. Wolfsbane fares marginally better due to the strength of Maisie Williams’ performance, which makes her the only genuinely charming member of the cast. Unfortunately, the script isn’t doing her any favors. And while some fans were happy to see the long-standing queer subtext of Dani and Wolfsbane’s relationship become outright text on the big screen, the actual quality of their romance subplot isn’t anything to write home about.

As for the film’s antagonists, the rich potential of pitting the team against Mister Sinister goes ultimately wasted. Essex is only ever mentioned by name throughout the film, never seen in person — though Jon Hamm was at one point in talks to play the villain, his part was eventually cut. Instead, the main antagonist is Dr. Reyes, who lacks the necessary menace, presence, or nuance to serve as an effective big bad. In the end, she’s dispatched unceremoniously by the giant CGI Demon Bear, which serves as the final enemy of the film.

Everything New Is Old Again

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Magik is of special note, as she arguably serves as a microcosm of everything good and bad about the film. On the one hand, Anya Taylor-Joy is perfectly cast for the role. She delivers the best performance of the film, trying earnestly to convey both Magik’s edgy, rebellious outward persona and the traumatized, vulnerable side she keeps hidden. Unfortunately, Taylor-Joy’s talent can’t overcome a weak script. Magik is saddled with some truly questionable writing decisions, from the racist insults she hurls at Dani to her revised backstory, which tones down the supernatural elements from the comics without removing them entirely. The result is a muddled, confusing mess of a character who fails to live up to the greatness of her comic counterpart.

The film itself is much the same — it can’t quite decide if it wants to be a grounded horror film or a fantastical X-Men adventure, and it poorly tries to balance both extremes. Despite a strong premise and a couple of well-cast characters, the writing and visuals completely fail to capture what made fans fall in love with the source material. With more skilled storytellers at the helm, The New Mutants could have been one of the greatest X-Men movies yet. But instead, it’s doomed to be forgotten as a minor footnote in the history of superhero cinema.

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