The New Mutants Is A Superhero Movie At War With Itself

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My biggest issue with The New Mutants is how the movie has two conflicting genres fighting for dominance.

At the very beginning, The New Mutants starts out as a Horror Movie and sets up some interesting plot points. But then, at certain points of its story, the film suddenly remembers it’s a Disney Movie and then scales back certain aspects that should have been more graphic.

And at the end of the day, the result of this inner conflict is a Disneyfied horror film, where love and friendship saves the day.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me explain.

The New Mutants is the last movie from the Fox X-Men Universe, and the film follows five young Mutants trapped in a secret facility against their will. But in other to survive, these Mutants will need to face their past sins and work together to save themselves.

First off, let’s give credit where credit is due. When it comes to visual effects and character design, The New Mutants is at its best. Each Mutant’s powers felt unique and awesome in their own way, and most of the movie’s fight scenes were decent.

However, I can’t say the same about the movie’s story.

It’s not like the movie’s plot was terrible. I mean, aside from the opening scene, I actually enjoyed the first half of The New Mutants. It does a good job of introducing the movie’s characters to the audience. And I thought it was clever of the film to use the nightmare sequences to build up tension while also exploring each mutant’s tragic backstory.

However, the second half is where the clash in tone and genre becomes more pronounced (especially towards the movie’s ending). The final fight felt like a constant back and forth between Horror, Action, and a Kid’s Movie. And somehow, the film found a way to do none of them justice.

In fact, while watching the last fight, it got to a point where everything just felt too cheesy and unrealistic. And I felt terrible for the movie’s cast because they were obviously trying their best.

Had Disney just picked one genre and ran with it from the beginning till the end, The New Mutants would have been much better movie.

But considering that the film’s story centers on confronting fears and past failures, I feel The New Mutants should have always been an R-Rated Horror Movie. And it’s a shame that after three years of waiting, we’ll never get to see what it could have been.

Verdict