Weirdly, I enjoyed Dark Phoenix more than Apocalypse. But that’s probably cause i had such high expectations for Apocalypse and such low expectations for Dark Phoenix.. either way, I’d never willingly rewatch either
This is so much better than Apocalypse. Like, that film is a mangled mess of ideas w/ an ugly aesthetic. This one’s shortcomings mostly come down to it feeling about two drafts short of a good movie, but I can actually see all the pieces that could’ve been great (& still weirdly work for me, in a way).
I remember liking Apocalypse more but didn't really like either much. Both try disappointing after how much I loved First Class and DOFP.
The action in Dark Phoenix in general is pretty dope, imo... except when it isn’t. There’s some ugly Phoenix energy choices towards the end, lol. But, the general aesthetic they’ve got going on is cool.
I just don't see how this is the worst X-Men movie when Apocalypse, Origins, and Last Stand are just so irredeemable. This one is a mess at points, yeah, but I feel like it's pretty clear that there's a good movie in here that's bogged down by a script that needed one or two more passes. It's visually and audibly gorgeous (Hans Zimmer's score is just unreal), and pretty much everything after Mystique dies is solid IMO.