My first reaction to the movie was how few people there were in the opening night audience. I thought it would be packed. I certainly had been looking forward to it being released (I loved the franchise from its first film in 2002). Afterwards I discovered that audiences may have been deterred by early reviews. But, the people leaving the show seemed to be less than impressed, as well. You already know I talk to people as they leave a show about their impressions of it. This time, I thought I'd share a few of the random comments from departing patrons:
* "My kids always like the movies I take them to - all three of my teenagers hated this movie."
* "Disney made them tame this movie down, I'm curious if it HAD been a better movie before the changes."
* "With such heavy weight talent and multiple awards won by three of the cast, the disparity of performances by the rest was more pronounced."
* "Such a lack luster end to a franchise that never met it's potential"
* "Who is Vuk? Is there any basis in the original sources for Jessica Chastain's character, or her alien race of D'Abari*? Who are they?"
* "What were they thinking giving this final chapter to the guy who gave us the mess that was LAST STAND?"
* "I was looking forward to see them recreate, in CGI, the flaming Phoenix of the comic books and then we get a few seconds of it - at.the.end!"
Personally, I was bothered by how this completely destroys any credible chronology in the 12 films. They had hinted at a darker past for Jean Grey, but this past rewrites a future for the Patrick Stewart generation. (Was this a different multi-verse?) I found the acting was very uneven. The Beast and Cyclops were miscast and the characters were poorly drawn, neither of them would have merited their love interests' attention. Despite a poorly written script with horribly written characters, Sophie Turner performance lacked nothing. Even her fellow cast mate, Michael Fassbender, lauded her for her craft: her preparedness and technical proficiency**. The soundtrack was powerful. I didn't hate it, but the inconsistencies flattened the experience of the movie. I was hoping for an 8 (great) or 9 (superb) end to this incarnation of X-Men, but I give this film a 6 (fair) out of 10. [Superhero Action Adventure]

Notes and Footnotes:
*It seems there is source material for the D'Abari. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Bari
Note: Rachel Paige does try to chart the chronology of X-Men in her article you will find here: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/06/234590/dark-phoenix-x-men-movies-chronological-order
**https://entertainment.inquirer.net/332585/michael-fassbender-says-dark-phoenix-is-game-of-thrones-stars-movie