Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The New Mutants 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 20, 2020

The New Mutants purports to be the (supposed) last film in the now multitudinous X-Men franchise. In that regard, and given the fact that in at least one of the graphic novel forebears to this film the so-called “new mutants” were part of the Xavier Institute, and further given the fact that Professor X himself was memorably portrayed by Sir Patrick Stewart, it might be argued that this outing could just have easily been titled X-Men: The Next Generation. That hopefully obvious joking aside, however, The New Mutants is arguably lacking any actor of Stewart’s gravitas, and it is undeniably lacking Stewart himself. The allusion to Star Trek: The Next Generation is perhaps doubly inapt in that the Roddenberry "sequel" was deemed by many to be at least as good if not better than the original Star Trek, while The New Mutants is probably not going to be seen as a high watermark in the X-Men franchise by very many, if any at all. This is a kind of sad way for the venerable series to peter out, and, yes, I'm sure there are some fans of the franchise asking, "Wasn't X-Men: Dark Phoenix 4K sad enough?". But the fact that this film sat on the shelf for years and was reportedly pretty drastically retooled along the way might suggest that even the powers that be at 20th Century (which was probably still 20th Century Fox when the film was in production) knew they had a less than riveting outing on their hands.

There are some kind of interesting parallels between X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, including alumnae from Game of Thrones (Sophie Tucker in terms of X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Maisie Williams in terms of this film), as well as a female-centric plot that might seem to subvert an assumed target demographic of males. As several of the creative staff get into in some of the supplements included on the 1080 disc included in this package, there was a conscious attempt to not just forge a story focused on women, but to blend a more tradition X-Men ambience with a kind of proto-horror aspect, in this case a "worst fear dream" element that seems willfully ripped (slashed?) from the screenplay pages of A Nightmare on Elm Street .

The story begins with an Cheyenne tribe member named Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt), who is awakened by her panicked father because something is attacking their reservation. Suffice it to say that disaster ensues, which is followed by a completely unexplained segue that finds Dani handcuffed to a hospital bed in a facility being run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga). There's absolutely no reason given as to why Dani should be so shackled (there's at least an implication that Reyes wants to keep her from harming herself, but it's not very well developed), especially since Reyes almost immediately removes the handcuffs, lets Dani knows she's the only survivor of a "tornado" (right), and, just for good measure, that Dani is a mutant who will be staying at the hospital until Reyes can make sure Dani is in control of her powers, which are still in a nascent stage.

It turns out that Dani is only one of a quintet of young mutants being held at the facility. Also there is Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), a shapeshifter whose ability to morph into a wolf is not so subtly linked to her lesbianism, in that both are elements that make Rahne feel like an outcast and morally bankrupt; Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), a kid who can accelerate himself to supersonic speeds, but who has a hard time "landing" afterwards, leading to him suffering all sorts of supposedly comic injuries; Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga), a kind of quasi-Human Torch who is the very model of a modern Latin Lover; and Ilyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), a Russian (wasn't her name a giveaway?) whose arm can transform into a sword and who carries around a kind of dragon like hand puppet named Lockheed.

Suffice it to say that among the not very surprising developments are the fact that the facility is not a hospital in the traditional sense, and that Reyes' motives are far from pure. Also playing into the story is a burgeoning romantic relationship between Rahne and Dani, which may be the most provocative element for some, despite how discursively it's generally handled. The timeworn trope of seeming nemeses learning to work together as a team to overcome a common enemy is of course a central part of the tale, with the entire film seeming to be a set up for yet another sequel. The fact that this entry is more or less limited to one location and only has a few smatterings of special effects wonderment may make this seem like the low rent cousin to more fully funded X-Men films. But even given that ambience, there is a recurrent level of underdeveloped ideas and lack of logic that undermines the X-Men aspect and probably completely defeats any horror aspect.

The New Mutants 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 Blu-ray.

The New Mutants is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista and 20th Century with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb lists the Panavision Millennium DXL as the camera of choice, with the DI being finished at 4K. While this film doesn't offer some of the consistent special effects blandishments of other X-Men outings, the imagery here is typically very sharp and well defined, and there are some nice upticks in fine detail across the board from the 1080 version. These include everything from the crosshatched patterns on the tan blanket Dani pulls over herself in what amounts to her cell, to some of the pill on Rahne's purple-blue sweater. The film's closing credit roll includes Dolby Vision, but my player did not detect that on this release (and I don't see any logo on the cover, though I've missed that before), but HDR does add some really nice new highlights throughout the presentation. While shadow detail isn't hugely improved, something that can still lead to a bit of murk in scenes like the opening tornado scene, a lot of the interior footage in the hospital breathes a bit more in the corners of the frame. There are some kind of interesting changes in the palette in this version, with one notable example being a brief moment with Illyana right before the climax which has a deeper green hue in this presentation that almost makes Illyana's hair look fluorescent. Some of the CGI can still look a little iffy, with the Demon Bear in particular not ever registering with much precision (part of which is due to the fact that it's seemingly made out of smoke).

The New Mutants 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1080 presentation in this set contains a great sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, but the 4K UHD disc ups the ante with a nicely rendered Dolby Atmos track. There's clear overhead action here, if intermittently, beginning with Dani's narration but then quite clearly in the big tornado scene, especially in moments like an explosion that sends the flaming carcass of a car careening overhead and then crashing down. Things calm down, Atmos channel wise, in some of the hospital material, but even here, there is still the same fantastic surround activity as in the 7.1 presentation, especially noticeable in discrete placement of effects like sounds emanating from cells or the clang of doors being shut and locked. This is another film that offers downward swooping string cues which meld into LFE, but the low end here is often nice and rumbly. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.

The New Mutants 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc contains no supplements, and the score above reflects that deficit. The 1080 disc also included in this package includes all of the supplements detailed in our The New Mutants Blu-ray review. An insert contains a digital code.

The New Mutants 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In his review of the film, my colleague Brian Orndorf likened this outing to a television pilot, and there is a kind of rote, formulaic quality to this enterprise that is very small screen like. The emphasis on female characters may appeal to some, but there is so much left unexplained and so much else that never really makes great sense that the film never really amounts to anything other than a kind of doleful coda to a once mighty franchise. Technical merits are solid for those who are considering a purchase.