‘The New Mutants’ Review

The story behind The New Mutants has certainly been an interesting one to follow. Ever since it was delayed from its April 2018 release date, there was a cloud of confusion and uncertainty on whether the movie would ever be released. 

Oddly enough, the film was released in 2020, a year that created a stir of confusion surrounding the release of every upcoming movie. The New Mutants isn’t the train wreck many were expecting after the numerous delays, but it also isn’t worth all of the attention.

Plot

Five teenage mutants find themselves at a facility with Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga), who claims to want to help the teens discover their powers and learn how to control them. When a mysterious power begins to take over the facility, each mutant is forced to experience their worst nightmare and they begin to question why they’re being held and the secrets of the facility.

It feels like a pilot for a TV show

This movie is an unbalanced experience. The first thirty minutes and the climax are strong. I thought the setup was good, with the intrigue of the facility being introduced and the mystery behind each character. It has a suspenseful vibe and feels like something out of Stranger Things.

Each character is set up well, however, they are all typical cliches seen in teen coming of age movies. There’s the overconfident, smooth guy, the beautiful, but rude girl, the kind girl, the shy girl, and the reserved, quiet guy. Some of the dialogue isn’t great either, with a lot of humor that misses and a lack of subtlety.

The second act of The New Mutants is where it falters as it starts to become a CW TV show. There are scenes with the five mutants dancing, playing around, and giving cheesy dialogue. The film has an identity crisis as it switches between being a superhero horror movie or an X-Men coming of age movie. 

The plot itself doesn’t feel like much is at stake. It’s more of an excuse to set up each character and see the team come together so we can have more adventures, which is what the movie wants to set up. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything unique or outstanding from this film to get me to crave more. 

The cast of characters is good

The characters’ relationships are strong as all have good chemistry with one another. The scenes where they lay out their past experiences build character well, even if some of their powers are not fully explained. 

The relationship I was invested in most was between Rahne (Maisie Williams) and Dani (Blu Hunt). They had great chemistry and it was refreshing to see a same-sex relationship in a superhero movie that felt very natural. Iliyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy) easily had the coolest power but there are lots of unanswered questions about her powers.

The action is light and doesn’t appear until the third act. However, it is visually interesting with CGI that for the most part looks pretty good. The CGI on Rahne’s powers were questionable at times. There are also these white, demonic creatures with no eyes that looked pretty fake. 

For X-Men fans, it does tie into the other movies slightly, in a way that I wasn’t actually expecting. It does benefit the film that it mostly is a standalone adventure with no random Wolverine cameos.

Final verdict

Overall, The New Mutants is perfectly fine. It’s forgettable, but it is far from being one of the worst X-Men movies. I enjoyed all of the characters and would be open in seeing a sequel, which is highly unlikely, especially with Disney’s acquisition of Fox. 

I’d like to see these characters in more stuff, even if they aren’t the same actors. It’s also very short, clocking in at around 90 minutes. If you’re a fan of superhero movies, then you’ll get some enjoyment from this.

Final score: 5/10