‘The New Mutants’ Movie Review

The New Mutants is a spinoff of Fox’s X-Men film franchise about some of the younger and lesser known mutants within that universe. A teenage girl named Danielle (Blu Hunt) is the sole survivor of a mysterious freak disaster and is brought to a special institute run by Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga), who informs Danielle that she is actually a mutant. At her institute, Reyes studies the behavior of young, struggling mutants and helps them control their abilities. But when the other patients (Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga) begin to experience nightmarish hallucinations, they start to realize that Reyes’ facility isn’t exactly what it seems.

This movie was already rather infamous before it was even released in theaters. It was originally intended to come out in April 2018, but for various reasons, it kept being pushed back until finally being released two and a half years later. Multiple reshoots had been planned, but they were ultimately cancelled, resulting in the “finished” product we have now. And it’s... okay. It isn’t too bad, but it isn’t that great. It’s simply adequate. A lot of people were expecting the film to be a complete disaster, and I can’t say I wasn’t worried, myself, but it ended up being better than we feared. But it isn’t anything special, either.

The cast in the film features some absolutely fantastic young actors. Director Josh Boone said that he took a lot of inspiration from John Hughes movies, and it’s very evident, as the cast has a very Breakfast Club vibe. In addition, each of them is living with some type of horrible trauma with regards to their unique abilities. Danielle, played by Blu Hunt, is ostensibly the lead. She is still a relative newcomer, with a brief stint on “The Originals” being her biggest credit, but she really shines here. Her role is very much that of the “new kid” archetype, and she fills the role commendably. Probably the biggest name in the cast is Maisie Williams, and she’s terrific. Her character is very shy and innocent, which she pulls off flawlessly. I’ve adored Anya Taylor-Joy ever since 2016’s The Witch, and she’s great as the “mean girl” of the group. This makes her more tender, vulnerable moments hit that much harder as a result of her typically rude and mean-spirited behavior. Charlie Heaton, who had previously wowed me in “Stranger Things” (especially in the first season), gives a pretty solid performance, although he isn’t given quite as many opportunities to shine as the previously-mentioned characters. He also plays a shy, quiet role, and since Williams’ character gets more screen time and development, he sometimes feels a little unnecessary. Henry Zaga, another actor who’s still fairly under-the-radar, is our classic jock, and while his performance is good, his character tends to lurch back and forth between genuinely endearing and just plain obnoxious. Some of the teen movie clichés the film employs can feel a bit stale, and Zaga’s character is probably the most prominent example. Alice Braga as Dr. Reyes plays her character well enough, but not quite to the degree that it keeps her character from feeling boring and overdone. She’s just another obvious villain masquerading as an understanding caregiver. I doubt the audience was ever supposed to be convinced that she was truly as good-hearted as she presented herself to be, but it just ended up being uninteresting.

One thing that really worked for me was the awkward budding romance between Danielle and Rahne (Maisie Williams’ character). For one, it was nice to see some queer representation in a mainstream comic book film. But the two of them feel very authentic. Their bonding over their trauma and existential crises, saccharine as it may be at times, is so believable, and you really like seeing them together. I also really loved what was done with Illyana (Taylor-Joy’s character). As I said before, she’s not exactly the nicest person, but when we see her genuinely sad or afraid, you instantly want to just give her a hug. She also has a purple dragon puppet named Lockheed (a nod to the comics) that she carries around as a security blanket, and this adds just a touch of innocence to her otherwise hardened exterior. These two particular dynamics were the real emotional core of the film.

One of the things that was initially appealing about The New Mutants was that it was going to be a superhero horror movie. While it wasn’t the first to combine the two (I absolutely love Darkman), it was the first to do so for a wider audience. The horror aspects of this film are decent. It’s pretty tame, but I was impressed by how few jump scares there were, given how YA horror tends to rely on them completely (I’m not against jump scares in any case, just dependence on them). There is a great atmosphere and some pretty creative visuals. The action scenes are a little by-the-numbers. Epic action sequences these days can only be so unique, but to me, what makes movies like Mad Max: Fury Road or The Avengers so special is how interesting the visuals themselves are and how clever the movie surrounding said sequences is. When you have a fairly standard effects-heavy action-fantasy battle, especially when it’s on a fairly small scale, it can feel a bit stale. I don’t think it’s necessarily poor, but it isn’t anything special.

One thing that I feel like holds the film back is that the stakes don’t feel all that high. Because the movie is very horror centric, the setting is somewhat confined. This works when the characters are being chased by creatures and/or trying to escape because it adds to the feeling of being trapped. But when the big third act battle happens, the only real solution seems to be moving into a much bigger room. This would have worked if the finale still went for a horror vibe. But in a big action/sci-fi battle, it just feels too cramped. I should also address that the film strays from the comics quite a bit at certain points, but I know that general audiences might not care.

The long-awaited X-Men spinoff is hardly a complete train wreck, but it isn’t likely to become a beloved classic. It’s got a solid ensemble cast and some cool concepts, but it doesn’t make the best use of any of them. It’s a messy collection of decent ingredients that certainly isn’t worthless, but don’t expect anything beyond a passable diversion.

SCORE: 3/5