Dark Phoenix "I'd rather be in Guardians" The Jennifer Lawrence/Mystique Thread

[psylockolussus]

I think given what happened to Mystique in the film, Jlaw could have at least compromised with the crew, and said "This might be the last time, put me in blue make up, I'm gonna be wearing clothes anyway". It would be just her face, neck and hand unlike in the previous films. Its really hard to warm up to Jlaw when all things considered about her role in the franchise. Didn't want to stay in the franchise, ate too much screentime/importance to the X-Men and couldn't bother to suck it up by appearing in blue paint as if foX wasn't paying her a good amount of money.

 

[TheVileOne]

I think given what happened to Mystique in the film, Jlaw could have at least compromised with the crew, and said "This might be the last time, put me in blue make up, I'm gonna be wearing clothes anyway". It would be just head, face, neck and hand unlike in the previous films.

Rebecca Romijn's look for the first X-Men movie was kind of iconic I get that. But I never thought they had to make her basically completely naked and just wearing blue paint and some scale prosthetics. I mean respect to Romijn for putting up with all that, but it just seemed a bit overboard.

 

[psylockolussus]

I think the original trilogy look made Mystique look more "cinematic", same thing with Nightcrawler's scars. So I have no complaints about it.

 

[EnDz0n3]

Any reason why Mystique was even needed to go with them to space? She pretty much just sat there the entire time barking orders. Something she could've done from the comfort of the X-mansion.

Well I get it, it was so she can tell Xavier later on "I don't even remember the last time you went out on a mission with us." Also she's obviously so indispensable she was the only competent X-men member--out of Beast, Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver--to read the situation and know what mutant power pairs up perfectly with which space mission chore.

(If Kinberg knew what he was doing he could've found a way to mould the script so a shape-shifting scene with Mystique was necessary in completing the mission.)

 

[TheVileOne]

Any reason why Mystique was even needed to go with them to space? She pretty much just sat there the entire time barking orders. Something she could've done from the comfort of the X-mansion.

Well I get it, it was so she can tell Xavier later on "I don't even remember the last time you went out on a mission with us." Also she's obviously so indispensable she was the only competent X-men member--out of Beast, Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver--to read the situation and know what mutant power pairs up perfectly with which space mission chore.

(If Kinberg knew what he was doing he could've found a way to mould the script so a shape-shifting scene with Mystique was necessary in completing the mission.)

I still don't even get why Mystique is the leader.

 

[EnDz0n3]

In a way, I get it. She's way older than Scott and Jean and Storm.

But so is Beast. And he's been at Xavier's longer. And he didn't abandon Xavier on the Cuban beach paralyzed. Reminds me of this exchange from the Beast solo script:

The X-men are in a Danger Room simulation that didn't go as planned. After some heated back-and-forth between Mystique and Beast:

Raven (to Beast): When the Beast takes over, you're reckless.
Beast: Maybe you should run the simulation since you're such a team player.
Raven: You got something to say, come out and say it.
Beast: Say what? That you're a reformed traitor who thinks she's better than everyone?

Edit: the dialogue is kinda clunky but he's not wrong.

 

[psylockolussus]

I still don't even get why Mystique is the leader.

Jennifer Lawrence.

The pointis Simon Kinberg loves the actors so he was gonna shoehorn them in the movie no matter what and gave them a major role. When in Dofp, they couldhave ended their arc there, ending it in a high note in a good movie. or in Apocalypse with Magneto saying his final piece to Xavier while Apocalypse killing Mystique wouldn't have led to Mystique's cringey scene at the end of Apocalypse and barking orders to the real X-Men.

And the thingif people only saw the X-Men movies, aside from the Wolverine, people would have thought Mystique is part of the X-Men's trinity and she's not even a top 3 X-Men villain. So its just absurd that she got so much importance.

 

[jolldan]

Rebecca Romijn's look for the first X-Men movie was kind of iconic I get that. But I never thought they had to make her basically completely naked and just wearing blue paint and some scale prosthetics. I mean respect to Romijn for putting up with all that, but it just seemed a bit overboard.

See I didn't know that was the lengths she went to but I always thought it helped makes her look authentic. I mean I bought that Romijn was Mystique her whole body moved much like you'd imagine it would if that was her natural form. Where as J-Law always felt like she was wearing a body suit of some kind.

I still don't even get why Mystique is the leader.

This is what I thought was always the biggest issue with the character this time around is for me anyway she shouldn't have been elevated to the same sort of level as Xavier & Magneto.

Personally I think the character works better as the femme fatale who can be anyone.

 

[TheVileOne]

See I didn't know that was the lengths she went to but I always thought it helped makes her look authentic. I mean I bought that Romijn was Mystique her whole body moved much like you'd imagine it would if that was her natural form. Where as J-Law always felt like she was wearing a body suit of some kind.

I mean I agree she sold the character in terms of the body language when Mystique was basically silent and had no lines. At the same time, I think they could've found some sort of middle ground.

I didn't hate the movie look for Mystique, but I still think it could've been toned down and not basically have her be naked with the naughty bits covered by her scales.

 

[The Original Bamfer]

I didn’t care for Mystique in this film, but I didn’t really care for most characters in this film. My disappointment in this film comes down to the writing and the editing (which could arguably lead into the directing.) But I don’t think Lawrence was as bad as people are saying. She seemed more engaged than she did in Apocalypse, but her material here was unfortunately just as stilted and contrived.

 

[Xeno]

It's the roundabout way for Kinberg to say this is the Mystique from the comics. She's not an perfect. Far from it. She's a hypocrite.

Her boyfriend (?) Hank McAcoy doesn't find her hot when she parades around as the blue chick.

Hey I tried!

Were Hank and Mystique ever lovers? Kinberg tried to sell their relationship but I've always had the impression that she friendzoned Hank brutally. Her whole "Mutant and proud!" shtick from FC led to her rejecting Hank after he tried to "cure" himself. Or so I thought. Freaking hypocrite.

 

[EnDz0n3]

Re: their relationship, or lack thereof: Just like any number of threads from the previous films they just whip it out whenever they feel it's necessary. Besides they have those 10 year gaps to explain away what doesn't make sense.

Following your own continuity is hard. The irony is DOFP, Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix all share the same writer. That's how inept Kinberg is.

 

[henzINNIT]

Thanks to time jumps, Beast has 'loved' Mystique longer than either actor has been alive.

 

[jolldan]

Were Hank and Mystique ever lovers? Kinberg tried to sell their relationship but I've always had the impression that she friendzoned Hank brutally. Her whole "Mutant and proud!" shtick from FC led to her rejecting Hank after he tried to "cure" himself. Or so I thought. Freaking hypocrite.

Yeah unless im forgetting a couple scenes from Apocalypse where they expanded on their relationship it seemed as if she sort of eventually rejected Hank because he was ashamed of who he truly was in his beast form and rejected Magneto because he was too extreme.

That's why I thought the scene with Beast & Magneto discussing Raven's death didn't have the same weight it was meant to. Like I know at some point she loved Magneto through her actions alone. With Hank it seemed as if she said as sort of a request from the director lol "Let them know you two are in love now before I kill you off"

 

[TheVileOne]

Were Hank and Mystique ever lovers? Kinberg tried to sell their relationship but I've always had the impression that she friendzoned Hank brutally. Her whole "Mutant and proud!" shtick from FC led to her rejecting Hank after he tried to "cure" himself. Or so I thought. Freaking hypocrite.

It was very vague. I'm not sure. They seemed very close. Like more than just friends. Or maybe Beast still wanted them to be more but they weren't in a romantic relationship. Honestly, dunno. They hinted at it but never really addressed it.

 

[metaphysician]

Any reason why Mystique was even needed to go with them to space? She pretty much just sat there the entire time barking orders. Something she could've done from the comfort of the X-mansion.

Well I get it, it was so she can tell Xavier later on "I don't even remember the last time you went out on a mission with us." Also she's obviously so indispensable she was the only competent X-men member--out of Beast, Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver--to read the situation and know what mutant power pairs up perfectly with which space mission chore.

(If Kinberg knew what he was doing he could've found a way to mould the script so a shape-shifting scene with Mystique was necessary in completing the mission.)

I think it'd be more accurate to say that he wanted Mystique to be the team leader. Its not her powers that contribute, but her leadership. The problem being, he is terrible at writing leaders, so the idea that Mystique is supposed to be contributing this way comes off as laughable.

 

[EnDz0n3]

Did the revelation

Spoiler

to Magneto that Mystique died and him crying

make anyone else giggle a little?

 

[psylockolussus]

Magneto cried a lot in these films.

 

[Blade Hoarder]

I think the Hank and Raven "romance" is one of the worst in the genre.

Which is saying something. Given how poor this genre does with romance. I think even Batman and Rachel Dawes is better.

 

[henzINNIT]

It's impossible to maintain a romantic subplot between films when the characters tend to only see each-other every decade.

 

[EnDz0n3]

Thanks to time jumps, Beast has 'loved' Mystique longer than either actor has been alive.

That truly is ridiculous.

 

[DawnWarrior]

I had this thought recently, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong: have these prequel movies given any concrete indication that Mystique and Nightcrawler are related? Obviously comic readers know they're mother and son, and the movies leave room for it, but I suspect someone coming at these movies cold wouldn't be able to guess that.

They might guess that Azazel from FC was his dad since they have the same powers and the same tail, but they never explicitly state that he & Raven hooked up between films. Sure, Raven and Kurt are both blue, but Hank is also blue and he's definitely not related to Kurt, so the casual viewer is like, "Okay, some mutants are blue."

Raven rescues Kurt at the start of Apocalypse, but it comes off as one more in a long line of mutants she's sprung from captivity. If she knows Kurt is her son, she doesn't say. And finally here in DP,

Spoiler

she's killed off in the first act, and she has zero scenes interacting with Kurt.

Did I miss anything?

 

[psylockolussus]

They aren't obviously related.

 

[Mutant 77]

Did the revelation

Spoiler

to Magneto that Mystique died and him crying

make anyone else giggle a little?

It was a fantastic sequence, Fassbender was great.

 

[Catoti]

I'm butting in to say that Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique is downright awful, because it isn't Mystique.
It's gonna sound awful, but Mystique is just way too nice and friendly in the movies for me, but Lawrence's version just botches up for the whole character beyond recognition. Not her fault per say, mostly the writers', but still.

Sorry, I have a lot of feelings about this. Mystique's one of my favourite characters.