Buy or Cel?: The Dark Phoenix Saga- Animated vs. Film

 Are you a fan of Animation?  Are you a fan of Live-Action?
Do you find it hard to decide which is better?

Well, you're in luck, because I'll help you decide whether to...

For the first Segment, this one seems natural.  After all, Fox did it TWICE.

It is The Dark Phoenix Saga!

Like many people of a certain age, I was exposed to the version done on X-Men: The Animated Series first.

I just binged watched it tonight.  It is still great.

Later on, I was exposed to it again in X-Men: The Last Stand.

It was okay, but confusing.

Less than 15 years later, we got it AGAIN with Dark Phoenix (alternately X-Men: Dark Phoenix).

It was pretty bland and forgettable.  It's been just less than a year and I barely remember any of it.

In the (latest) Film, her transformation is carried over like in the Comics- the Shuttle, the Phoenix arriving and her losing control of her emotions.  So far so good.

The big problem: they cast Jessica Chastain as a Not-Skrull (rumors are that Disney squashed that idea).  Now she's just a bland Alien who say 'Embrace the dark side' and it just kind of works.

As a bonus, her 'Race' is the name of the same one killed infamously by Phoenix in the Comics.  Ouch.

In contrast, the Animated Series shows her growing turmoil, her fight for control and adjusting to new (for the Phoenix) emotions...and then she's manipulated by the Hellfire Club.

Yes, it's the Circle Club because Fox Kids.

Whatever you call it, it feels organic and makes her turn to 'f##k humans' feel believable.

So is Dark Phoenix a terrible Film?  No.
Is X-Men: The Last Stand a terrible Film? No, but less strongly-so.

They just pale in comparison to the Animated Series' adaptation, which is built up over a 4-Part Phoenix Saga AND a 4-Part Dark Phoenix Saga.  

If the Episodes average out to 22 minutes each, that's 176 minutes or just under 3 hours (not counting the Show's build up of characters).

They just put more time and care into it.

Plus it has the great level of Soap Opera-style emoting that comes from adapting Chris Claremont Stories and Dialog.  It is anchored by great performances by Norm Spencer (RIP) as Cyclops and Catherine Disher as Jean Grey.

In contrast, Sophie Turner shifts between over-and-under-acting all of her Scenes and Tye Sheridan's part is underwritten.

Final Call: If you want to enjoy the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix Saga, stick with Animated.  Don't buy- Cel!