Light spoilers ahead for MaXXXine.
MaXXXine is the climactic — or should I say anticlimactic — finale to Ti West's trilogy. Rather than a crescendo with a peak, it struggles to even compete alongside the previous two. Gore and violence are sparse with a plot that lacks focus. It's more of a “choose your own adventure” movie. With Maxine Minx in Hollywood trying to make the transition from porn star to movie star, her past rears its head and puts an unnecessary twist on her plans. Although the audience won't walk away hating it MaXXXineit's a lackluster film that fades from the mind after viewing.
Directed and written by Ti West, MaXXXine marks the last chapter of the trilogy. Maxine, played by Mia Goth (I would sigh, Infinity pool), is this close to breaking into Hollywood from the porn industry. But with a gossipy PI John Labat (Beverly Hills Police: Axel F, Leave the world behind) in the mix, the dead piling up around him and the cops sniffing at his heels, his career might be dead on arrival. However, Maxine is not someone anyone should cross. It still possesses its self-preservation advantage. With all the promise built from the other films starring Mia Goth, it's a wonder this final film falters so much.
MaXXXine It takes the audience from saying something to saying nothing
X it was surprising in its gore and how it subverts traditional horror. Instead of the stereotypical final “pure” girl, they have a woman who is literally shooting a porn movie to survive. Religion and the restrictions women face are played out underneath. There's a lot to glean from re-watching X.
The second film, Bywas one prequel focused on gender limitations through a deformed wizard of oz story There's also the nature versus nurture question of whether Pearl was always prone to violent outbursts or whether her mother's restrictive upbringing led her down that path. For its climax, Dorothy never leaves Kansas. She remains trapped, building up her bitterness and resentment for a life never lived.
Then there is MaXXXinea less refined version of the two. MaXXXine lack of cohesion. Too much happens and too few parts come together. There are ideas that the film wanted to explore such as gender and religion, the entertainment industry and the fine line between entertainment and reality. However, he fails to nail any of them.
Useless parts a MaXXXine Painting the whole picture
A familiar refrain will haunt viewers, and it's a word; “Because.” Unfortunately, too much of it feels unnecessary or designed for laughs. In-universe film director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki) feels trapped without purpose. Maxine has brief mental struggles with what happened at the farmhouse, but never comes to anything. Both hinder the film, as does the inclusion of the real-life 1980s serial killer Nightstalker.
At first, it seems as if the infamous killer is stalking the streets and explicitly targeting those close to Maxine. But it takes little effort to realize who can resent Maxine and her “life of sin.” The film tries to tease out the threat, only showing the individual's gloved hands, but it doesn't even take three guesses to identify their enemy. So, as he tries to follow the mystery route, he fails miserably. MaXXXinethe uncertainty of what it wants to be. Is it a call to industry? Or maybe the movie is a mystery, giallo horror, etc.? It is not clear.
Mia Goth still stars as Maxine, but there's too much camp
In MaXXXine, The religious fanatic and moments of bright and violent girl power run through her narrative. Mia still delivers a powerful and deadly performance. From the nutcracker to the face keys, whenever Maxine unleashes her violence on the men around her, it's always hilarious and deserved. Still, due to the breadth of what the film takes on, even Mia Goth feels underused in the final film. Too much attention is paid to flat jokes and exaggerated religious zeal. You almost forget that Maxine is trying to make a movie.
Detective Williams (Michelle Monaghan) and Detective Torres (Bobby Cannavale) are excess baggage in an already bogged down movie. His whole problem is that Torres is a nasty man, he talks to Maxine, then Williams steps in and Maxine leaves. Rinse and repeat. Many attempts at comedic moments with these two fall flat. It's more unpleasant and will probably leave the audience confused. They aren't even essential to the final fight.
That death was definitely an option
Another strike for MaXXXine, binding with blood, is how a death is handled. A black person has one of the only gruesome deaths to occur on screen. Of course, it's set in the 80s, and few black characters from predominantly white films survived. However, if we were to go by the checklist of the time, Maxine herself would not have made it X intact
One can argue that the most gruesome deaths are the men, even though only one is his friend. But not enough was done to consolidate this aspect. It's in with rawness. (If you're a Cardi B fan, you can insert her “What was the reason” GIF here.) Because choosing one of the most gruesome deaths to be a black person is a jarring disappointment.
MaXXXine it had all the promise and goodwill engendered by the previous two films. Unfortunately, it doesn't gain much beyond a shrug and “That's all?” It would be fine if it wasn't part of a trilogy that goes beyond gore and violence while still offering both. But the final act is “Yikes” in movie form. MaXXXine it loses everything and becomes a messy puddle of obscurity, where any themes viewers say the film explores are more wishful thinking than reality. The further you walk away from the theater, the less you will like or want to remember this movie.
The film hits theaters on July 5.
