My review is finally here for one of 2020’s most anticipated movies of the year. New Mutants directed by Josh Boone finally released! This movie has been in a production nightmare for several years. From reshoots, delays and even almost being scraped entirely, we finally got the chance to see this movie. As we are in the mist of the pandemic at this time, I refused to see this movie in the theater and waited for this to be available for VOD. I’ve been dying to see this movie for a long time, mainly because it has been delayed so many times and that I heard it was not worth the watch. This movie is about a bunch of teens that have abilities in a treatment center. They are literally new mutants discovering what their power is and how to control it. The team behind this movie also advertised this movie as super hero movie with many horror elements. The movie stars Maisie Williams (game of thrones), Anya Taylor Joy (Split), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Alice Hunt (I am Legend), Blu Hunt (The Originals) and a few others. The film itself has had five different release dates until it was finally released this year in August 28th 2020.
Let’s start talking about the filmmaking! This movie starts off with a pretty decent opening scene where we learn about our main character. Blu Hunt plays Dani who just experienced a traumatic experience and wakes up in the treatment center. No spoilers in this review, I promise. Right away there is something that feels really off about the scenes in this movie. There are some use of quick cuts and movements away from the action which doesn’t allow the viewer to see what is really happening or what’s really going on. Granted the movie doesn’t want to reveal too much at this point so they can reveal what was chasing them at the very end. Still the editing and camera movements are often more distracting than telling a cohesive story. One thing I really have to give credit is the set design. Although a hospital like setting isn’t original, it still provided an unsettling feeling of danger for the characters. The use of lightning is also very well crafted in some of the scenes where it really shines upon the horror elements. Overall the craftsmanship of the movie felt undone and unpolished. The reshoots may have played a part in this. The pacing of the movie seems very off and there are a lot of moments where there is a feeling of awkwardness. There are several scenes in this movie didn’t even have to be in there. The scenes sped through and often moved too fast to gain any real effect or emotion. There is a scene that happens in a pool which I was really impressed with, but that was the only scene that really stood out to me. There also some great practical fx, but when there was cgi, it look terrible!
This movie suffers from its storytelling and character development. I’ve never seen a movie this year where I did not like the majority of the characters. There is a scene where all the kids are just having fun which actually felt really nice and refreshing. Sadly there was only that one scene. Throughout the movie we learn a little bit of each character but we don’t go deeper then the surface level with them. They all seem broken and dysfunctional because of something they did in their past, but we never get that emotional impact. More often then not they are all just pretty mean to each other and it that takes away their likability. Although there is some connections between them, we never really see those relationships develop. It often seems forced and those relations become not to feel very organic. Towards the end of the movie we get to see more action as we get closer to our climax. At this moment it felt like the movie was getting back on track. Unfortunately it was a little too late. Also the CGI used for the final scenes just made it look unbearable! I hope for who have seen this movie reading this, like the pun I just used in my last sentence.
Here are my final thoughts! I don’t think this movie was a waste of time. I’m really happy that I was able to see this movie. The sad part is, the movie had a lot of potential but unfortunately dropped the ball. I think the concept of a horror super hero movie is needed! New Mutants should have been released for a streaming service and is absolutely not worth the price of renting. That being said, this movie is still entertaining and very manageable. There are some enjoyable scenes mixed in and could be a fun movie to watch with your friends. We waited for such a long time for this movie and sadly it was just not worth the wait.