The New Mutants
- Thread starter Vivek
- Start date
gedmac66
Sr Member
Wow , that’s a quick turnaround isn’t it !?... I mean going from a ‘relatively’ limited film release in August to DVD/BluRay in November ?...
I’ll still end up buying a copy when it becomes available over here , but I’m still wondering why it wasn’t advertised nor screened in Aus in general.
Has anyone (where it did get a release) and who’s seen the movie , care to share their experience?
They released it in theatres because they were contractually obligated to in order to speed it over to the home video/streaming market. Also, given the state of Fox movies now that Disney owns them, there wasn't really anyone to champion this film as far as marketing and advertising. Everyone has pretty much moved on to other projects. This movie, however good it is or isn't, never had much chance.
Sporkey
Sr Member
I saw it at the drive-in shortly after it came out, and it was...okay. The first two acts were decent build up but the third act was rushed and then the movie was over. None of the characters really had a satisfying arc and some of the reveals made it clear that it was made to tie into other X-Men movies that never got made rather than being made to stand on it's own. Just really average and kind of a sad way for the Fox-Men Universe to end.
gedmac66
Sr Member
Watched the film today , purchasing the Blu-ray . It wasn’t in the cinemas here.
I was so looking forward to seeing this ,... an adaptation to screen of characters I fell in love with growing up as a teenager...
I’ve a mixed bag of feelings after watching this twice now...
The story started off promising... but then felt really rushed in the ‘ third/final ‘ act !?... It was and wasn’t what I expected... it could’ve/should’ve been so much more.
The New Mutants still Rock !!! ... if only in my mind , and in the re-reading of my comics.
I was so looking forward to seeing this ,... an adaptation to screen of characters I fell in love with growing up as a teenager...
I’ve a mixed bag of feelings after watching this twice now...
The story started off promising... but then felt really rushed in the ‘ third/final ‘ act !?... It was and wasn’t what I expected... it could’ve/should’ve been so much more.
The New Mutants still Rock !!! ... if only in my mind , and in the re-reading of my comics.
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Bloop
Sr Member
I saw the film last week, rented it on blu-ray, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I should mention that I read a lot of the original comics back when they first came out, though not from the 1st issue. It's been a while since I've revisited them, but I do remember the basics of the characters, and especially Bill Sienkiewicz's artwork, so I'm glad that the movie stayed pretty true to what I remember. In fact, I was surprised how much they kept of the original character's background, look, and powers.
I'm not a horror fan, so when I heard that the movie was going to be presented as such, I lost some interest, and didn't read much about it before seeing it. The fact that it was PG-13 rated led me to believe it wouldn't be too intense, and that certainly was the case. I do understand the decision to make it more horror, since Sienkiewicz's artwork and some of the storylines I remembered were very dark and intense. I mean, Ilyana's origin is a good example of that, as were the stories about David Haller (Legion). I also liked that they included Sienkiewicz's artwork in the end credits and in some of the movie posters.
I'll agree that the story could've been stronger, or at least maybe the pace of the story could've been improved. It felt to me like it might've been good as an introduction to the characters if it were a TV series, with this story taking place over the first two or three episodes. I think a streaming series might have been the better way to go with the characters, but I suppose that's more to do with the rights being owned by 20th Century Fox during it's production.
Ultimately, I feel like I got more out of this that an average movie-goer would, since I knew the characters from the comics, so that was the biggest positive for me. I legit got excited seeing Illyana's eldritch armor and the soul sword onscreen. IDK if we're doing spoilers, but I think (in catching up on this thread) that was in the trailers. Someone asked about Lockheed being with Illyana earlier in the thread, too, and no one answered. So I'll just say that, while Lockheed was always Kitty Pride's companion, he was also somewhat bonded with Illyana too (Kitty and Illyana were roommates at Xavier's school in the comics) and appeared with her in The New Mutants from time to time. So, yes, it is in keeping with the character, though they took some creative liberties with how he was implemented in the movie.
I've rambled on for a bit, so I'll wrap up by saying I liked the movie. It wasn't much like an "X-Men" movie or any of the other Marvel big screen efforts, if that's what people were expecting, but that's okay. The performances of the cast also helped make thie jump to screen successful in my eyes. I wonder if the recent success of Netflix's The Queen's Gambit will help boost the popularity of this film (Anya Taylor-Joy starred in that and played Illyana). Anyway, I hope to see more of The New Mutants onscreen in the future.
I'm not a horror fan, so when I heard that the movie was going to be presented as such, I lost some interest, and didn't read much about it before seeing it. The fact that it was PG-13 rated led me to believe it wouldn't be too intense, and that certainly was the case. I do understand the decision to make it more horror, since Sienkiewicz's artwork and some of the storylines I remembered were very dark and intense. I mean, Ilyana's origin is a good example of that, as were the stories about David Haller (Legion). I also liked that they included Sienkiewicz's artwork in the end credits and in some of the movie posters.
I'll agree that the story could've been stronger, or at least maybe the pace of the story could've been improved. It felt to me like it might've been good as an introduction to the characters if it were a TV series, with this story taking place over the first two or three episodes. I think a streaming series might have been the better way to go with the characters, but I suppose that's more to do with the rights being owned by 20th Century Fox during it's production.
Ultimately, I feel like I got more out of this that an average movie-goer would, since I knew the characters from the comics, so that was the biggest positive for me. I legit got excited seeing Illyana's eldritch armor and the soul sword onscreen. IDK if we're doing spoilers, but I think (in catching up on this thread) that was in the trailers. Someone asked about Lockheed being with Illyana earlier in the thread, too, and no one answered. So I'll just say that, while Lockheed was always Kitty Pride's companion, he was also somewhat bonded with Illyana too (Kitty and Illyana were roommates at Xavier's school in the comics) and appeared with her in The New Mutants from time to time. So, yes, it is in keeping with the character, though they took some creative liberties with how he was implemented in the movie.
I've rambled on for a bit, so I'll wrap up by saying I liked the movie. It wasn't much like an "X-Men" movie or any of the other Marvel big screen efforts, if that's what people were expecting, but that's okay. The performances of the cast also helped make thie jump to screen successful in my eyes. I wonder if the recent success of Netflix's The Queen's Gambit will help boost the popularity of this film (Anya Taylor-Joy starred in that and played Illyana). Anyway, I hope to see more of The New Mutants onscreen in the future.
Laspector
Master Member
I watched this on HBOmax yesterday. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it certainly wasn't great. What it felt like was just a two-episode version of a tv show. This could've very easily just been a couple of episodes of The Gifted or Runaways or something like that.
As far as visual effects, about CW level. That smokey bear, I'm sure cost all of ten dollars.
I don't get how this was sold as a horror movie. There is literally nothing in the movie that is the least bit scary.
But again, I didn't not enjoy it, just felt like a tv show.
As far as visual effects, about CW level. That smokey bear, I'm sure cost all of ten dollars.
I don't get how this was sold as a horror movie. There is literally nothing in the movie that is the least bit scary.
But again, I didn't not enjoy it, just felt like a tv show.
firesprite
Master Member
I found it enjoyable enough, but I had major issues with Illyana's characterization (that is NOT how she was in the comics) and the bastardization of an actual native proverb to fit their narrative which I didn't really think was a cool thing to do. It wasn't needed and was, frankly, too on the nose for my liking.
Also... Adam Beach was absolutely wasted.
Bottom line, 4/10 for me. I don't regret watching it, but I don't regret not getting more either.
Also... Adam Beach was absolutely wasted.
Bottom line, 4/10 for me. I don't regret watching it, but I don't regret not getting more either.
I will. I will say it was bad.
I also read New Mutants from issue #1, but it's not just that. They missed many wide-open chances to link this to the larger X-Men lore, that were interwoven in the comics, and almost completely failed. In the comics, the "demon bear" was an appearance/ploy by a long-running... well... Adversary, who bedeviled the X-Men and New Mutants repeatedly over the years, to the point that he could only be defeated by the X-Men sacrificing themselves (but Roma, the guardian of reality, brought them back in Australia).
All of the characters were depressingly one-dimensional versions of their comic selves, too. Which was meta-depressing given how so much more characterization there has been in the other X-verse films than not.
And they utterly wasted Lockheed, one of my favorite elements from the comics. I will never forgive that.
Is it, though? The oldest attribution I can find is in Christian Evangelical circles starting in the mid-'60s, being attributed to something purportedly said to a missionary by a Native convert. There's a lot to it that smacks of "something white people say that they think sounds like indigenous wisdom" from the same period of cultural appropriation that brought us Yoga and Neopaganism. The Cherokee cultural site makes mention of it, but with no historic attribution or origin, and quotes verbatim the variants of the stories in Evangelical accounts, so I am sus.
All in all, I am glad Disney owns Fox now and the X-verse will be getting some sort of reboot down the road, just so I can take comfort this film will be nullified. I had high hopes and I don't like saying that. I'd actually like to see most of the actors come back to reprise their roles in a fresh take (but know that would be confusing). I definitely don't blame them. It was a well-cast, well-acted travesty.
