After multiple delays, “The New Mutants” has finally been released, as theaters slowly reopen.

The film was originally set to open in 2018 but was pushed back in order to film scarier reshoots after the success of “It.” Reestablished release dates for 2019 and early 2020 were also pushed back due to Disney’s purchase of Fox and the coronavirus pandemic.

The film stars Masie Williams, Anya-Taylor Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga.

The New Mutants focuses on a group of young mutants in a hospital who are being taught to control their powers. However, they discover that their doctor might not have their best interest, as she claimed.

Compared to the superhero films that have come before, this film is more of a character study than an action movie, also throwing in horror vibes. The story is set almost entirely in a hospital. The only characters you spend any real time with are the six mutants and their doctor. 

I found myself mostly entertained, although this movie has a lot of issues.

There are a lot of action packed scenes, along with good performances to back them up.

This film has fascinating tie-ins to the larger X-Men universe and reminds me that we will not get any sort of sequel, due to the Disney/Fox merger.

The setting of this movie is great, as it stands apart from other films in the genre, while also building a relationship between the audience and characters.

The casting was good. I was not in love with every character, but it is hard to deny the talent cast members brought to each role. Every character had a moment to shine. In additon to this action in this film, there is some intentional and not so intentional humor.

There are some interesting production choices throughout, including corny dialogue, a disappointing finale to an otherwise good final act and the decision to make Joy’s character a racist– I’m not kidding, I don’t know who thought that was a good idea.

Some lines are intended to be serious or romantic but come off as funny. There were times it was hard for me to believe that the creators watched these scenes and said, “Yep, that looks good.”

Unfortunately, a lot of these scenes feature Dani, played by Blu Hunt, the central character of the film. The filmmakers set Dani up for the audience to empathize with her character most, however it did not come across as so.

She gives a decent performance with the given materials, however, the character of Dani lacks a standout moment, even though she was given the opportunity in the final act.

So, was this film worth the wait? For me, the answer is yes. Despite the many flaws, I still enjoyed The New Mutants.

The film featured a nice mix of good moments and some not so good moments, with nods to action, comedy, horror, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer references. The New Mutants is worth the watch!