The New Mutants

It seems like I have been waiting forever to see The New Mutants because, well, I have!  There have been so many delays since its original April 2018 release date because of reshoots, Disney's acquisition of Fox, and a little thing called Covid-19 but it is finally in theaters and I had a chance to see it yesterday.  At one point I was really excited about this movie so was it worth the wait?  Not really because, while there are some aspects that are entertaining, I found it to be pretty forgettable.  Danielle "Dani" Moonstar (Blu Hunt), a Native American teenager, wakes up feeling disoriented in an abandoned hospital run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga).  Dr. Reyes tells her that her entire reservation was destroyed by a tornado and that she is the sole survivor but she doesn't entirely believe this scenario because she has memories of being chased by an unknown being.  Dr. Reyes also tells her that she survived because she is a mutant and that she must stay at the facility until she learns to control her powers which are still unknown.  Dani meets four other mutants who are also being held at the facility for their own protection:  Illyana Rasputin/Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy) who is a sorceress, Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams) who can turn into a wolf, Sam Guthrie/Cannonball (Charlie Heaton) who can fly at jet speed, and Roberto da Costa/Sunspot (Henry Zaga) who can manipulate solar energy.  Not only are they all haunted by physical manifestations from their pasts, including Dani's mysterious pursuer, they also learn that they are being held for more nefarious reasons than just their safety.  They must help each other defeat their demons in order to escape from Dr. Reyes.  I really enjoyed the special effects, especially the rendering of Magik's superpowers, and I also liked all of the horror elements because they are quite frightening, particularly the Smiley Men.  The young cast does a great job with the material, although I found all three of the accents to be very inconsistent, and I especially loved the chemistry between Williams and Hunt.  My biggest problem was with the script and the pacing.  I am not at all familiar with the source material so I would have appreciated having more backstory for each character.  There is not a lot of exposition beyond brief flashbacks and the interactions meant for them to bond with each other seem rushed (the scene with the polygraph machine is ridiculous).  I also found the ending very anticlimactic because the references to Essex Corp go nowhere and their fate is unknown (in all fairness this was supposed to be the first film in a trilogy that will probably not happen now).  I actually think this would have been a better TV show with episodes devoted to each character but nobody asked me!  This is probably my least favorite in the X-Men franchise but I didn't hate it because the visuals are really cool.  I would, however, definitely recommend waiting until it is available to stream.