Marvel’s “The New Mutants” has arrived. Through the grit, darkness and despair — both with the plot and movie studios — the movie is now shining dimly on the silver screen. “The New Mutants” didn’t exactly evoke anticipation from movie-goers, but rather a sigh of relief, uttering “it’s finally here. I am glad I can see this movie without any more delays.”
For about four years, 20th Century Fox promised “The New Mutants,” claiming that it would be in cinemas in 2018. However, this date was changed due to the different reshoots and script changes, pushing it back to February 2019, and again to August 2019. Then when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it felt as if this movie was going to be kept in the vault indefinitely — which caused frustration, especially amongst the cast members. In 2019, actress Maisie Williams who plays Rahne Sinclair, a mutant who has the ability to turn into a wolf, vented her exasperations with Rolling Stone magazine because neither she, nor her costar Charlie Heaton — who plays mutant Samuel Guthrie — knew when the movie was expected to come out. Nevertheless, the movie finally hit theaters Monday, Aug. 28.
The movie is a departure from the other Marvel movies. Though in recent years, the studio has shown a more daring look with the “X-Men” series and a raunchier side with “Deadpool,” “The New Mutants” is lurking on the outside of convention. This coming-of-age story deals with fear, despair, anxiety, not knowing how to thoroughly control oneself against boiling rage and coping with being a misfit in society with strange powers. When seeing the characters deal with their pain in “The New Mutants,” there is a noticeable edge that director Josh Boone plays up: the frustrations of growing up and out without a clue. A highlight line in the film is “this place takes your greatest fears and makes you live through it, until it kills you.” Despite this dark line, it comes across like a smirk: they find their strength individually and as a group as they fight to make it out alive.
Sure, audiences are used to seeing superheroes on screen and in comic books, familiarizing themselves with them, even going as far as to say they remind them of a person they know. However, with “The New Mutants,” you can really, truly see yourself or even a friend in these characters through how they handle themselves with the adversities they face.
Each one is a loner swarming with existential questions, wondering what happens next for them. Though divided in distress and hopelessness at first, they quickly come together, realizing they are stronger united — and being different is not necessarily a bad thing. Once the movie unfolds and each one realizes they are trapped in the facility, you root for your favorites, sympathize with each of them and loath those with bad intentions. As an audience member — whether you choose to see it in theaters or wait until you can stream it later — you’ll be glad you saw it and maybe even sigh with relief that the movie is finally, finally out for our enjoyment.
