MOVIE REVIEW: The New Mutants

I make no secret of my love for The New Mutants as a comic book series. The original nine New Mutants””Mirage, Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Magik, Karma, Cypher, Warlock, and Magma””are my favorite super-hero team. This group was, for me, much like Harry Potter and his friends for people in the early 2000“s”¦ that group of young heroes I grew up with and identified with at a young age. Much of this comes down to the great characters created by Chris Claremont, Bob McLeod, Bill Sienkewicz, and others. Where Superman was the character you aspired to be, and Spider-Man was the hero who could be you, the New Mutants were that group of cool friends you wish you had. Despite this movie’s early production woes, I wanted to see these characters adapted to the big screen, and hopefully given the justice it deserves.

The New Mutants almost did not make it to the big screen, and this movie had numerous problems plaguing it in the last few years. Â This movie had to deal with the threat of reshoots, significant script rewrites because of ideas that didn“t work initially, casting controversies (notably the case of Sunspot), delays, the Disney/Fox merger, delays, a global pandemic, and more delays. Even now, at the end, this is a film that attracts controversy, especially given recent statements made by director Josh Boone. It seemed almost like this movie would never get released, and with good reason. However, I can say as a fan of the series, that the movie is generally worth the long wait and its development troubles, though there are points that longtime fans may take issue with.

In terms of comics accuracy, the casting is generally quite good. The singular exception to this is Sunspot, who is Afro-Brazilian, and Boone“s stated reasoning for casting Henry Zaga in this role is flimsy at best and racially insensitive at worst. That having been said, there is no problem with Zaga“s actual performance, and aside from the character“s appearance, he“s well suited for the role. The other characters are far more accurately cast, and in two cases, cast so well that they come across as the character brought to life. Anya Taylor-Joy is flawlessly cast as Illyana Rasputin, and she gets everything perfectly, whether it“s the Russian accent, the inner struggle, or the “bad girl”“ swagger. Maisie Williams is also an excellent Rahne Sinclair, grasping the Scots religious fundamentalism, the self-doubt, and the joy and freedom of her werewolf self. Charlie Heaton is an actor I was unfamiliar with, but he embodies Sam Guthrie, grasping the Southern gentleman aspect of his character and imbuing it with an inner pain. I was less certain about Blu Hunt as Dani Moonstar””there were scenes where she felt like the character from the comics, and other times when she seemed less the strong, decisive leader that I remember. This Dani is more emotionally vulnerable, more “everygirl”, but she has her moments of strength, and Hunt’s performance grew on me by the end. By and large, though, this cast works quite well, and the scenes of the New Mutants being ordinary kids were the best part of this movie for me.

This movie does make notable changes from Chris Claremont“s canon, though, and purists may take issue with some of these decisions. Some of them work and some don“t work quite as well. Fans of Cecelia Reyes from the comics are likely not going to like the way she“s portrayed in this film; she“s practically an entirely new character wearing the same name. Moreover, once the twist is revealed, I can see Cecelia Reyes fans not being satisfied with her actions in this movie. At the same time, the twist itself is cleverly done and Alice Braga“s performance is perfectly good. The character of Reyes that they present here is well designed for her role in the film, and Braga does a good job of portraying her clinical detachment and mystery. Moreover, the film deftly makes a connection to a major X-Men villain that was nice to see; it“s honestly a shame we probably won“t see that connection explored, short of this movie making an unexpectedly high profit. The one problem with Reyes is the inconsistency of her powers and the kids“ imprisonment””her powers are containing the facility, even when Reyes is knocked out or asleep, which seems unlikely. Still, this is a small issue in the scheme of things.

Some of the relationships between the characters are also portrayed differently than in the comics, and that may work for some fans but not others. Dani and Rahne, for instance, take their relationship farther than was explored in the comics, but in fairness, Claremont often explored those kinds of themes throughout his work. Others are a little more out of left field, like Bobby“s dynamic with Illyana; in the comics, the two disliked each other and argued constantly because of Bobby“s religious views and the fact Illyana was a demon sorceress. That element is missing here. Other established relationships are changed altogether”¦ Rahne“s infatuation with Sam from the comics is dropped entirely. But there are additions that are improvements, like the idea that Rahne was branded by Reverend Craig as part of his abusive behavior towards her. Dani“s powers are changed as well, but this works for the plot of the movie, and it adds some real tension to the film. Most of the changes work for the film“s narrative, and many of the negatives are nitpicking of storytelling choices rather than real flaws in the film“s story. Casual fans should enjoy the film for what it is, as the film“s narrative is well-explained, and the script answers the questions that it needs to.

Finally, this movie succeeds in terms of working as a horror movie. While I was initially skeptical because New Mutants was never purely a horror/superhero comic””it was a book that crossed into virtually any genre it needed to””I was open to the idea. It is certainly an approach that works for this story, which draws elements from the Demon Bear Saga and some of the early issues of New Mutants. The film generally makes those aspects work, and while there aren“t any deeply effective scares, the film works tonally, and the tension is properly established. The early “shaky-cam”“ effects in the opening scenes don“t quite hit the right notes and are sometimes hard to sit through, but mercifully, the movie doesn“t rely too much on this technique. The film doesn“t shy away from its Joss Whedon influences, and if anything, openly advertises them, contrasting the action in the film with background episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This movie plays it darker than Buffy does, and thankfully without noticeable Whedonisms in the dialogue. Still, this movie openly embraces its influences and isn“t ashamed of what it wants to be, and I can respect that.

As an old-school New Mutants fan, I came away pleasantly surprised by this film. While it does take liberties with the source material, the story it tells is an enjoyable one, taken on its own merits. Moreover, this is a film that mostly succeeds in capturing the New Mutants that Claremont created. At its best, the movie brings to life the rich character dynamics from the comics, and at worst, it provides a few head-scratching moments and some odd changes from the books. The many delays, rewrites, and reshoots appear to have served the movie well, and the result is a good final sendoff from the Fox Studios era.

Score: 4/5

Director: Josh Boone

Cast: Blu Hunt, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga, Alice Braga

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Steve Sellers

Steve Sellers had been a fan of superheroes ever since Superman: The Movie. But it took the JSA, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, Twilight Zone, and Chris Claremont's legendary run on the X-Men to make him a writer and a longtime fan of comics, fantasy, and science fiction. Steve is the co-creator of WHITE DRUID & MICHAEL NERO and GUARDIANS OF ELAYIM for Omen Comics, and he is also the creator of BLITZ and SHOCKWAVE for Revelation Comics (an imprint of Omen Comics).