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The New Mutants Blu-ray Review

“The New Mutants” finally comes to home video.

Based on the comics by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, 2020’s “The New Mutants” is an adaptation of the Demon Bear saga from Claremont and renowned artist Bill Sienkiewicz. The story takes place at a hospital run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes who shrouds the place with a force field. The hospital has 5 patients who are young mutants that have all experienced great tragedies. The patients include Dani Moonstar/Mirage, Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane, Illyana Rasputin/Magik, Sam Guthrie/Cannonball, and Bobby/Sunspot. During their stay, the mutants attempt to understand and control their powers, but matters begin to escalate when they experience traumatic visions and learn that not everything is as it seems with Reyes.

After numerous delays, “The New Mutants” was dumped into few theaters to little fanfare due to the pandemic and mass closure of theaters. Now, on home video, the Marvel film has a chance to find new life via physical media, digital and streaming platforms. For those that might not be aware, “The New Mutants” is an X-Men spin-off that was originally positioned to be a potential franchise. After the Fox sale and Disney’s plans to incorporate the X-Men into the MCU, however, it seems this film will likely mark the end of an X-Men era. It’s a shame because the potential is here for something special. Not only is there a lot of room to explore these 5 characters, but the ending in particular is ripe with possibilities. 

In terms of the film itself, it’s short but very watchable comic book fare. Director and co-writer Josh Boone (along with writer Knate lee) inject a horror esque tone and atmosphere that feels like a refreshing change of pace from the normal X-Men stories (even though it could have used a bit of a darker edge to it). Where the story comes up short is with certain characters (namely Cannonball) getting short changed. Also, the teen/YA angle really doesn’t feel all that different from what we have seen before. Both “X-Men: First Class” and “X-Men: Apocalypse” already dealt with young mutants so this feels ordinary in that sense.

The two stand-outs here are Anya Taylor-Joy (currently seen in the fantastic “The Queen’s Gambit” Netflix series) as the scene stealing Illyana/Magik and Maisie Williams (Rahne/Wolfsbane) who truly is the heart of the movie. The other actors (Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga) also turn in fine work, but are overshadowed by Williams and Taylor-Joy.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? Expect a nice crisp hi-def transfer. Note: This title is also available on 4K.

Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? This 7.1 track is dynamite (especially during action heavy moments).

Extras:
* Digital copy
* 7 deleted scenes
* Teaser and official trailer
* “Meet The New Mutants”- Interviews with the cast and Boone mixed with film clips and behind-the-scenes footage.
* “Origins And Influences”- A look at the comics that inspired the film.
* An audio commentary with Josh Boone interviewing Bill Sienkiewicz. A nice change of pace from the usual commentary that also focuses on comics (which is nice to hear).

November 15, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Anya Taylor-Joy, Comic Book Movie, Maisie Williams, Marvel, The New Mutants, The New Mutants Blu-ray Review