I was looking forward to this one and suffice it to say it's bizarre how poorly this one shaped out given how they've made two good movies before this. The realisation didn't come to me immediately but wow by the credits it hit hard how it missed the mark.
To give credit where credits due the movie seems like it's having fun with itself, it's premise and taking it's subject matter in a (mostly) serious direction. The actors all do a great job with greats such as Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon on board with this one. With Kevin Bacon particularly playing his character up to be as slimy as possible. He is always having oh so much fun and it's almost contagious. I'll just say Mia Goth is pretty reliable in all these movies and is a driving forces behind the creation of theses movies and her dedication and skill is invaluable to their success.
The 80s is strong with this one and I won't talk too much about the details of the homage to the decade as they discuss that themselves but I'll just say comment it is something that distinguishes the movie from the predecessor. But I don't need to remind you of the previous movie as the movie does that for me, a lot, almost to the point to where you can argue that the movie cannot stand on its own two legs without the existence of X. The prequel to X, Pearl (which is not necessary viewing) is completely independent from X and actually adds more impact and pathos to the events of X with this only uses pre-existing elements to elevate its own mediocre story.
One of the things that rub me the wrong way was the movie thinking it's smarter than it is. Dialogue is too on the nose, references are blunt and the topics of interest have been done before and are done with little nuance. I won't protest what they're trying to achieve here it's just not tactful or subtle.
It was a house of cards and the shape of what they were building was nice and pretty but by the end the house itself just fell apart. I think I'm being a little harsh as it was fun, the effects are good and it's truly trying but it just couldn't entertain my enjoyment of it.