MZ's "X-Men" franchise review bonanza...

[MinionZombie]

Well, I recently saw the Wolverine movie, then I got the X-Men trilogy box set (I'd seen none of the X-Men movies until this past week) - and as such, here's what I thought of the whole lot (in chronological order, which was also the order in which I saw them):

X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men-origins-wolverine.html

X-Men:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men.html

X-Men 2:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men-2.html

X-Men 3:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men-3.html
For the most likely naff all people who've not seen X3 yet, this review/musing contains a bunch of spoilers.

:)

[EvilNed]

You write "sod all", "fuck all" and "bugger all" alot...

Anyway, haven't seen the origins flick. Have no interest in doing so.

[AcesandEights]

I have to agree with you on how weak X3 was. It was farcical and ultimately felt pointless, even for a comic book, superhero flick, while its predecessors in the series managed a decent sparkle of character and intensity.

[MinionZombie]

I have to agree with you on how weak X3 was. It was farcical and ultimately felt pointless, even for a comic book, superhero flick, while its predecessors in the series managed a decent sparkle of character and intensity.
Indeed.

It's a real shame with X3 - if only the Singer and the writers of X2 had been involved, it would have turned out far better.

As it stands, I don't know what the fuck they were thinking with X3 ... beyond well executed special effects and slam-bangery, it's just pish.

[EvilNed]

I actually thought X2 was the weakest of the bunch. It lacked momentum and tempo (kinda like Superman Returns!). I like the first one best.

[MinionZombie]

You thought X3 was better than X2?! :eek:

*faints*

I've heard other people say that, and I just cannot understand it whatsoever...it's as incomprehensible as ... as ... as the script to X3. :p

[blind2d]

But... Jugernaut! Ya gotta have the Jugernaut! Best part of the third film though, so that's that. My favorite still is and always will be the first one.

[MinionZombie]

But... Jugernaut! Ya gotta have the Jugernaut! Best part of the third film though, so that's that. My favorite still is and always will be the first one.
For me, I think a large portion of the problem was it being played by Vinnie Jones - everytime I see him I just think "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" - gangster stuff ... not in a rubber body suit looking like a giant throbbing cock. :p

[bassman]

Haven't seen the origins film, but X2 is the best, followed by the original, and I totally agree with you on X3.

Not being a big fan of the Xmen, I'm glad Singer ditched X3 for Superman. I love Superman Returns. Still hoping he makes Man of Steel....

[MinionZombie]

Haven't seen the origins film, but X2 is the best, followed by the original, and I totally agree with you on X3.

Not being a big fan of the Xmen, I'm glad Singer ditched X3 for Superman. I love Superman Returns. Still hoping he makes Man of Steel....
Interesting...

I thought Superman Returns was rubbish when I saw it ... plus I can't stand Kate Bosworth.

Valkyrie - despite the silly issue with the accents, and being 'a bit Hollywood' - is a lot better, and is well directed. It's a surprisingly tense movie. I blogged about it a couple of weeks ago.

Origins would definitely sit higher than X3, but below X1 and X2.

[bassman]

I thought Superman Returns was rubbish when I saw it ... plus I can't stand Kate Bosworth.


Yeah, SR seems to be 50/50. Either you like it or hate it. There is no grey area.

I thought it was a great way to bring the character back without having to do an origins film. But on the other hand, some people wanted an origin film with more action so they weren't too happy with a slower, character-driven film.

As I said, I liked it and would love to see Singer's follow up as he had promised that now with the origin or "return" story out of the way, he can get to the more original storyline that he had planned to turn into a trilogy. Sadly...we may never see it. I guess they can always go back to McG or Burton's idea for Superman:

:barf::annoyed:

]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x101/shadowrenderer/artists/66-supersuit01.jpg

[DjfunkmasterG]

Yeah, SR seems to be 50/50. Either you like it or hate it. There is no grey area.

I thought it was a great way to bring the character back without having to do an origins film. But on the other hand, some people wanted an origin film with more action so they weren't too happy with a slower, character-driven film.

As I said, I liked it and would love to see Singer's follow up as he had promised that now with the origin or "return" story out of the way, he can get to the more original storyline that he had planned to turn into a trilogy. Sadly...we may never see it. I guess they can always go back to McG or Burton's idea for Superman:

:barf::annoyed:

]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x101/shadowrenderer/artists/66-supersuit01.jpg



Yeah, the version where Superman fights a giant spider. :rolleyes:

[MoonSylver]

Interesting...

I thought Superman Returns was rubbish when I saw it ... plus I can't stand Kate Bosworth.

Yeah, X1 & 2 I liked in spite of myself & the changes made, but Superman Returns I wasn't impressed with either. 1 & 2 were good for their day, but trying to tap the same vibe today, just didn't work somehow. Hated the whole Lois/married/kid angle too...a lot...

IMO they should have taken direction from the comics where they de-powered him a BIT so that you can throw some credible challenges his way. Superman as the most powerful superhero on the planet? I can dig that. A god with no limits who can do anything...eh...too much (even the 1st one with too far in that respect IMO. The second? I think that's one reason a lot of people dig it, is he's up a against a challenge equal to himself x3)

Some version of the Doomsday storyline would have been interesting, IMO, though I don't know how it would have been for a "comeback" film...But then again the comeback film we got makes me wonder if there will ever be another...

[DawnGirl27]

Liked the X-Men movies, and was looking forward to Wolverine (which I enjoyed). He's my favorite mutant - seems to have more depth and vitality to him. Plus Hugh Jackman plays him awesomely.
Didn't want to see Superman Returns, so didn't.

[AcesandEights]

With regards to the Juggernaut, I'll just say this...ol' Juggs is a great comic book character, but he was horribly mishandled and looked utterly asinine the way they had him mocked up. I swear they just put him in there so he could throw out that silly "I'm the Juggernaut Bitch" trope :|

[Neil]

Well, I recently saw the Wolverine movie, then I got the X-Men trilogy box set (I'd seen none of the X-Men movies until this past week) - and as such, here's what I thought of the whole lot (in chronological order, which was also the order in which I saw them):

X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men-origins-wolverine.html

X-Men:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men.html

X-Men 2:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men-2.html

X-Men 3:
http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2009/05/x-men-3.html
For the most likely naff all people who've not seen X3 yet, this review/musing contains a bunch of spoilers.

:)
Aren't you missing one (now)?

AICN is raving about it! eg: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/49887

[Mitchified]

I know this is kind of an old post and whatnot, but since it's been revived from the dead, I wanted to comment on one part of the Wolverine review:


For someone, such as I, who hasn't seen anything X-Men before (but was aware of it), Origins fills in all the right blank spots at the same time as acting as good fodder for the fans.

The movie didn't act as good fodder for the fans. In fact, the vast majority of X-Men fans and Marvel fans in general have panned the movie because of what it did to a number of fan favorite characters. There's reinterpretting of the material, and then there's whatever the hell Wolverine was.

The biggest criticisms are aimed at the portrayal of two characters, Gambit and Deadpool. In the comics, Gambit is Cajun and that's a big part of his characterization, but in Wolverine he's got some sort of hillbilly accent and acts like a goof. You have to keep in mind that Gambit is in no way a minor character; for years the major argument between X-Men fans was who was the better character, Gambit or Wolverine. His relationship with Rogue has been one of the most important threads in the series for over twenty years now. Now you have this movie that basically portrays him as a throw away character that's there for comic relief.

While I'm not necessarily as disappointed in Gambit as some people were, I completely understand and agree with the heavy criticism leveled at how the movie portrays Deadpool. It actually starts out okay. Ryan Reynolds is a perfectly serviceable Wade Wilson. It's when they start adding in a bajillion superpowers and MAKE HIM MUTE that things start getting out of hand. Deadpool is basically known for one thing and one thing only: his mouth. He delivers more one-liners and insane comments per comics than any other character in the history of the industry. The Fourth Wall basically doesn't exist where Deadpool is concerned; he's constantly talking directly to the reader and interacting with things outside of the comic itself. So when they made him some serious villain that couldn't speak AT ALL, they completely pissed all over the character and his fans.

As for X-Men: First Class, it's the best X-Men movie by a long shot, and I'd go so far as to say that it's Marvel's version of the Dark Knight.

[MinionZombie]

Neil - I'll pimp my thoughts on First Class as-and-when, but I saw it yesterday and I rather enjoyed it. Loads better than Last Stand, and easily better than Wolverine. Fassbender was particularly impressive - and there's a couple of nice cameos (that I won't spoil). Full thoughts in due course. :)

Mitch - well considering I was reviewing Wolverine before I'd seen any of the X-Men movies, then that explains an awful lot doesn't it?

[Mitchified]

Mitch - well considering I was reviewing Wolverine before I'd seen any of the X-Men movies, then that explains an awful lot doesn't it?

Well, um, not really in this case. I mean, it would if I was simply saying that it was the worst of the X-Men movies, but I'm not (well, it was, but that's not what my point in my post was). I was simply pointing out the heavy criticism that the movie has received from X-Men fans in response to your comment that the movie was "good fodder for the fans". It wasn't. It basically ignored the fans and source material to the point that some of the major characters were completely unrecognizable.

In short, crap is crap.

With that said, I did enjoy the reviews for the most part. I disagree with some points, such as when you state that the pacing in X2 was off, but they were still a good read.

[MinionZombie]

And what I was saying was that the "good fodder for the fans" comment was based on me seeing Wolverine prior to the actual X-Men movies (I wrote the review several days before getting around to posting it, by which time I had started watching the X-Men movies for the first time, but I wasn't arsed-enough to re-write my review based on watching the movies) - so the comment was coming from a position of seeing Wolverine purely on its own (and going on what friends of mine said about it at the time compared to the original movies, which they'd seen, but I hadn't).

Plus - look at the word I use - "fodder (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fodder)" ... which doesn't exactly scream "100% prime beef quality" - 'fodder' means bulk food for animals, or indeed buy-in-bulk cheap anything - and also "A consumable, often inferior item or resource that is in demand and usually abundant supply". Now there's crap fodder, but there's also good fodder. Wolverine is inferior to X1 and X2, but it's easily above X3, and even after watching it a second time I felt it was still good fodder, even if it wasn't particularly great.

Glad you liked the other reviews anyway, but of course these are more "musings" if you will ... more off-the-cuff generally, and first impressions have more of a sway perhaps. Also, I'm not mad-keen on X-Men personally. I liked the movies (X2 was definitely the best one, while X3 was definitely the worst by a country mile), but I never read any of the comics or watched any of the cartoons growing up.

[EvilNed]

I'm kinda amped about First Class, actually. I thought Wolverine was a serious setback for the series.

[clanglee]

First Class was just wonderful. From a fan's perspective. . yeah. . they changed some things. . but all the changes felt right and made sense. There was a little cheeze, but in total the movie felt like the most "adult" Comic/Movie since Dark Knight. I loved it.

[Neil]

First Class was just wonderful. From a fan's perspective. . yeah. . they changed some things. . but all the changes felt right and made sense. There was a little cheeze, but in total the movie felt like the most "adult" Comic/Movie since Dark Knight. I loved it.

I liked "First Class" but I prefered 1 & 2...

[MinionZombie]

I liked "First Class" but I prefered 1 & 2...

My full thoughts on the flick here:

http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2011/06/quadruple-bill-mini-and-cine-musings.html

X-Men: First Class:
The first two movies were good-and-great respectively, but the third (Last Stand) was cobbled together style over substance, and then Wolverine was decent fodder but it curiously lacked the depth of X1 and X2 ... and, odder still, it lacked the x-factor (if you'll excuse the pun). Now with this sort-of-reboot for the franchise, we're transported back to the era of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the birth of the X-Men themselves.

The script bounds along quite nicely, although at times it does feel a tad overloaded with characters - which results in the weaker side characters (Salvadore, Banshee, Darwin, Havok) falling into "don't care" territory as our primary focus (and that of the filmmakers) is the main cast of characters, at the heart of which are the young Professor X (Charles) and the young Magneto (Erik). The latter is played thoughtfully by Michael Fassbender, who is fast carving out a career as a quality mix between character actor and leading man. Indeed, it is the central duo (the other half charmingly played by James McAvoy) that provides the main thrust for the script with a growing schism between the two men and how the mutant/human relationship should be carried out.

The movie is most impressive when it is busy delving into the motivating experiences of the leads, and once again the best work in the movie in this respect comes from Fassbender, who really sinks his teeth into the seething want for vengeance possessed by his concentration camp survivor who, as we all know, goes on to become the revenge-fuelled Magneto. It's this superhero-version of the civil rights movement (or indeed any discrimination felt by many in our society) that makes the X-Men franchise stand out, and such deep concerns are key to this prequel.

I initially groaned at the idea of First Class, but down the line here (with smart direction from Matthew "Kick Ass" Vaughn), it makes a lot of sense. While X1 and X2 were probably just a bit better, First Class entirely blows Last Stand out of the stratosphere with ease, and easily beats the not-as-good-as-it-should-have-been Wolverine. In fact, you could go so far as to say it's up there with X1 - although X2 remains the pinnacle of the lot.

[Neil]

Seems we basically concur then :)