Yes, back in the day, I was something of a comic-book dork. I'll own up to that.
So naturally, when a movie like X-Men 3: The Last Stand comes out, I generally line up with the FanBoi's and see it on the opening weekend. So I did. My expectations were actually pretty high - the end tease of X2 left me so fired up, as it seemed like a nod to the true fans. However, I don't really think X3 quite measures up - at the very least, I'm not satisfied.
As far as big-budget action movies go, it was certainly passable - there's all kinds of coolness possible within the X-Men universe, and they exploit a good deal of it. HOWEVER, the problem lies in that very richness of the back-story. I may not have intellectually understood it at the time, but at their best, the comics of my youth were well-illustrated morality tales. To a degree, this carries over into films, as the best adaptations (the first two Batman films, as well as Batman begins; whichever Superman involved him giving up his powers; Spiderman II as well as the X-Men franchise) tend to grapple, to a degree, with the "great power = great responsibility" theme.
And one of more involving storylines specifically implicating this theme was the whole Phoenix saga. While X3 does a good job of making Jean Grey's Phoenix incarnation suitably badass and unstable, it ignores the far more interesting and explicitly Faustian aspects of the original. I suppose it is unfair of me to evaluate the film in this light, but those stories (at least as I remember them) were so rich and textured that it's a shame to lose that.
Of course, as long as they keep making 'em, I'll keep seeing them.
6 comments:
[raising hand] "I'm a comic geek too."
I actually just watched X2 for the first time in March, and I thought it was great. I followed the teasers and trailers for X3 closely and found them tantalizing to say the least, but I was worried they were trying to do too many movies at one time.
Clarification: I have not seen the film yet, and all judgements are based solely on previews...
"Dark Phoenix Saga" AND "Days of Future Past" PLUS Magneto with a side of "God Loves, Man Kills" in one movie? Color me skeptical...
Kelsey Grammar as The Beast? Hank was never my favorite character, and being played by Frazier/Sideshow Bob is not likely to improve his standing.
Hugh Jackman is such a perfect Wolverine it's crazy. I'm a believer in casting relative unknowns in these kinds of roles roles, and Jackman's Logan in the first two films is Exhibit A. Can Brandon Routh (Superman) follow?
Interestingly, as the teaser (with the dramatic heartbeat and jump cuts) progressed to the trailer to what I now see on television, the movie has looked worse and worse. At least in the way they are packaging it...
The scenes where Wolverine is telling Jean to "Stay with me..." and she replies "Kill me." is powerful stuff. Even my wife who has less than zero interest in the films and displays what borders on contempt for my fanboyishness remarked something along the lines of "Wow. That looks pretty serious."
Oh, the four course script meal above also comes with a helping of Sentinels...
Putting the "fastball special" on film has to be considered a good thing.
Confession: I have allowed myself to become completely whipped by my wife when it comes to movies. That's why it took me two years to see X2, and I have yet to see either Spider-Man...
"Kill me..."
Well, I liked the new one, and I'm about as hardcore an X-Men geek as possible.
Sure, there were some plot lines that were given *really* short shrift -- I won't spoil it here for Mr. F -- but there were some damn cool bits. I thought the fastball special and Sentinels were great, while it was just nice to see Juggernaut, Kitty Pryde and company. I was never a Beast fan either, but Grammar actually pulls it off.
To be sure, it's more of an action flick than it is a faithful representation of mythology, but that's to be expected with a major studio franchise.
Yeah, Grammar does pull of Beast pretty well...
Part of the problem I have (and I don't think I'm alone) is the placement of Storm front and center - she's just not the best character. I mean if one were going to talk about the 'best' characters in the mythology, in no particular order it would be
1. Wolverine
2. Jean Grey/Phoenix (and the first two rope Cyclops in, to a degree)
3. Angel/Archangel
4. Rogue (who they didn't seem to know what to do with after the first film)
Yes, I am a huge nerd...
Yes, I am a huge nerd...
Hee hee.
Agreed on the Storm thing. Contract negotiations with Halle Berry shouldn't affect the plot.
I was pretty stunned with how little time they spent on Cyclops, Angel and Rogue. And yeah, they have no clue what to do with her. I really thought this plot would put her front and center, but it just turned into a lame-ass I-want-to-smooch-my-Tiger-Beat-boyfriend thing. Eh.
I heard a piece on NPR about the film today, and apparently Berry was really bitching about the lack of Storm in the first two films...
IF her superhero character isn't getting enough lines, perhaps she should don the catsuit again and leave the X-Men story lines alone.
FWIW, I did hear about a Wolverine solo movie...
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