The New Mutants, the cursed Marvel movie has finally hit the screens. After many postponements, the film has finally found its way to cinemas. Directed by Josh Boone, the film brings together a young cast including Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga and Blu Hunt. Directed by Josh Boone, New Mutants has a special status compared to other films in the franchise. This is the very last Marvel movie stamped 20th Century Fox. Indeed, you are not unaware that the studio was bought by Disney some time ago. Thus, the characters from the X-Men universe now belong to the studio with big ears. The New Mutants is the latest X-Men movie in the form we know. It is the very last film in the franchise initiated in 2000 by the first X-Men. So it' s a page that turns with this film. A twenty-year adventure that ends with the work of Josh Boone.
The New Mutants: The Cursed Movie
New Mutants encountered many problems during its production. Initially, the film was supposed to be released in 2018. But 20th Century Fox sent the film back to shooting because it was considered too creepy for a wide audience. Thus, Josh Boone returned to production. Then, after corrections, the film was later considered too wise. So Fox sent him back to filming again. Subsequently, the production had to deal with the acquisition of Fox by Disney, which disrupted the smooth running of the film. And while the film was finally going to be released in theaters, it was confronted with Covid-19 and the closure of cinemas. In all, the feature film was postponed five times, and for a while, its theatrical release was even compromised. But Fox fought for The New Mutants to be shown in theaters. 
But this chaotic production is largely felt on screen. Because the main flaw of the film is clearly its cramped editing. It is now quite obvious that the film has undergone a random, drastic and quite degrading editing. On a format of 1h30, the cutting is obviously very rushed. It is therefore logical to see some passages cut, reduced, or even completely deleted. The result is a film that does not take enough time, and does not have a clear enough cut to give the necessary thickness to a story full of potential. This gives off an unpleasant feeling of haste and superficiality from the work.
A last film too messy
The rendering is thus quite messy. Because of this editing modified by the countless production problems, it emerges from The New Mutants an unpleasant impression of being in front of the draft of a much better film. Everything is barely touched upon. And the full potential of the work is never reached. Josh Boone doesn't seem to have completely finished his movie. Because of this sometimes quite random editing, it emanates from big rhythm defects. The dosage is very poorly adjusted. On 1h30, Josh Boone spends the first 45 minutes of his story to offer a slow and quite boring exposure, where the universe of the X-Men remains barely suggested. A terribly academic first part where boredom quickly points the tip of his nose. And this first part, which takes (too) time to introduce the stakes, the setting and the characters, creates a real gap compared to the second part.
A conclusion where things then accelerate too quickly. A shift that leads to a disturbing break in tone between two diametrically opposed parts. As if there were two episodes of series in a row. All of a sudden, Josh Boone is staging action. But because of the dissonance with the first part, everything seems rushed, everything seems too touched, too quickly addressed. And before the viewer understands that he is in the final climax, it is already over. The New Mutants thus offers a sloppy conclusion and too quickly dispatched.
A certain idea of disappointment…
And this rather random editing also leads to other problems. The characters, even if they remain quite interesting, are not totally highlighted. Their traumas are not fully utilized, and remain simply scripted elements rather than actual dramatic issues. Fortunately, the cast manages to bring the minimum depth necessary to believe in the tribulations of these protagonists. But the editing above all creates a problem of staging. As soon as the pace accelerates everything is extremely rushed.
The New Mutants are sorely lacking in heroic breath. The action sequences are quite flat and without much interest. The fault is a big lack of staging and artistic vision. The whole thing is filmed with a lot of laziness, without any real soul or visual contribution. It's aesthetically very poor, sometimes even quite ugly, and some special effects are very borderline. It is even quite unreadable, often due to too dark calibration and a lack of fluidity in choreographies and computer graphics.
Finally, the much-promised horrific approach is barely overlooked. The problem comes in particular from the PG-13 ranking in the USA. Fox preferred to lower its ambitions and settle for a film banned at least 13 years old rather than attempt the R rating. A ban that would have perfectly suited The New Mutants. Apart from a few disturbing visual elements, the film never falls into the long-awaited horror approach. Thus, The New Mutants is a film that is not finished. He is only a shadow of what he should have been. A rather crude sketch, which does not pay tribute to the X-Men franchise. Hard to end an adventure on that…
The New Mutants is therefore at the bottom of the basket of the X-Men franchise. The fault is a too hasty editing, a cruel lack of heroic breath, a lack of action and a horrific atmosphere barely flown over. Too bad, there was a huge potential with this work.
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