X-Men III.... my rant
May. 26th, 2006 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
browncoat2x2This post contains SPOILERS for X-Men III - The Last Stand. If you do not wish to know about it, do not proceed!
***SPOILERS***
*Sigh*
I was disappointed. After waiting so long, and being so excited about the previews, I suppose it was almost inevitable that I would be. But I have very valid reasons.
Characterization. Way off in so many places. Magneto would have NEVER NEVER NEVER said "What have I done?" NEVER!!!!! He would have yelled at Jean to destroy them all! They just took away his powers! Made him human!!! He'd rather see everything destroyed. And besides that, YOU CAN'T MAKE A CHARACTER SAY THAT!! OMG CHEESY!!
And, I don't think Magneto would be so quick to dump Mirage after she'd been 'cured'... hell, there's no proof that the cure is permanent, and he ows her SO MUCH... there is SOME humane qualities to the man... (regardless of what I said abover *g*)
Wolverine would NOT break down and cry at Xavier's death... Storm would have, and Logan would have comforted her perhaps, but not the other way around. They weren't *that* close.
I didn't like the little 'inside joke' of having the X-Men fighting a Sentinal in the danger room... they don't even exist yet in this universe, how can they (and why would they) train against one?
Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge (or whichever bridge that is) was visually impressive enough, but so totally un-necessary! Oh, and he just happened to know that Mirage would betray him, and exactly when, so that Multiple guy could be there as a decoy?? Huwhat?
In the last stand at the end, why didn't we get to see Colossus fight??? He was there, but ... oh, dear, we ran out of money, so... no big metal guy (this is true, btw, not just my snarkiness)
AND.... why did Wolverine have to kill Jean? THEY HAVE A KID WHO NULLIFIES MUTANT POWERS BY HIS PROXIMITY! I mean, it was all there, totally set up, just waiting to happen... Granted it was a nice angsty moment, and you all know how I loves me some angst, (they were always better together then her and Scott!!) but...c'mon!
The whole look and feel of the movie was different, no doubt because the whole crew and director from the first two movies left to do Superman Returns, and the guy who was doing Superman Returns, left it to do X-Men... hrmmmm... weird....
They messed with some of the characters, combining two into one, giving them powers they didn't have, tried to cram as many mutants into the movie as possible, whether they were needed or not and... arrrgggg...
I really, REALLY wanted to like this movie. I was so excited. And now just all the more disappointed.
*sigh*
My advice, go buy Joss's Amazing X-Men (on which elements of the movie are based) It's infintely better and well worth the money.
***SPOILERS***
*Sigh*
I was disappointed. After waiting so long, and being so excited about the previews, I suppose it was almost inevitable that I would be. But I have very valid reasons.
Characterization. Way off in so many places. Magneto would have NEVER NEVER NEVER said "What have I done?" NEVER!!!!! He would have yelled at Jean to destroy them all! They just took away his powers! Made him human!!! He'd rather see everything destroyed. And besides that, YOU CAN'T MAKE A CHARACTER SAY THAT!! OMG CHEESY!!
And, I don't think Magneto would be so quick to dump Mirage after she'd been 'cured'... hell, there's no proof that the cure is permanent, and he ows her SO MUCH... there is SOME humane qualities to the man... (regardless of what I said abover *g*)
Wolverine would NOT break down and cry at Xavier's death... Storm would have, and Logan would have comforted her perhaps, but not the other way around. They weren't *that* close.
I didn't like the little 'inside joke' of having the X-Men fighting a Sentinal in the danger room... they don't even exist yet in this universe, how can they (and why would they) train against one?
Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge (or whichever bridge that is) was visually impressive enough, but so totally un-necessary! Oh, and he just happened to know that Mirage would betray him, and exactly when, so that Multiple guy could be there as a decoy?? Huwhat?
In the last stand at the end, why didn't we get to see Colossus fight??? He was there, but ... oh, dear, we ran out of money, so... no big metal guy (this is true, btw, not just my snarkiness)
AND.... why did Wolverine have to kill Jean? THEY HAVE A KID WHO NULLIFIES MUTANT POWERS BY HIS PROXIMITY! I mean, it was all there, totally set up, just waiting to happen... Granted it was a nice angsty moment, and you all know how I loves me some angst, (they were always better together then her and Scott!!) but...c'mon!
The whole look and feel of the movie was different, no doubt because the whole crew and director from the first two movies left to do Superman Returns, and the guy who was doing Superman Returns, left it to do X-Men... hrmmmm... weird....
They messed with some of the characters, combining two into one, giving them powers they didn't have, tried to cram as many mutants into the movie as possible, whether they were needed or not and... arrrgggg...
I really, REALLY wanted to like this movie. I was so excited. And now just all the more disappointed.
*sigh*
My advice, go buy Joss's Amazing X-Men (on which elements of the movie are based) It's infintely better and well worth the money.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 03:24 am (UTC)But I have a quick question for ya.
My knowledge of X-Men comes from glimpses I got from the cartoon series (back in the day), listening to my bro and sis talk about it, and the two movies -- which I just barely viewed a few weeks ago. I like Wolverine, but the idea of him w/ Evil!Jean Gray squicks me out.
Do you think someone without extensive knowledge of the comic X-Men series' would enjoy this one? Or will I be too bugged by the Wolverine/Evil!(Alien)Jean Grey thing?
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 03:28 am (UTC)But it's different from the other two, shot and directed by entirely different people... but, some people have really liked it, mostly one's who haven't read the comics, so... you're likely to have a better experience than I :o)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 03:36 am (UTC)I love the idea of the X-Men, and I don't know why I hadn't seen the movies before. I enjoyed them immensely. Which has me excited about seeing 3.
I'll drop you a comment tomorrow, after I see it -- let you know what I thought.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-28 08:00 pm (UTC)I really tried to hate it for all those people who have so much time and love invested in the X-Men mythology. I know enough myself to know how really screwed up X3 really is, and I was totally feelin' the hits for all the X-Men purists out there.
In fact, my sis and I sat during the credits and slammed it for doing what it did. (Then gave it a five% jump in the likeability scale when the credits ended -- cuz that suprised us.)
Then, on the way home, we discovered we actually liked it. Even my sis, who is much more well-versed in the mythology than I am. We came home and watched the first two, and, other than the obvious change in directing style, X3 didn't seem out of place in the trilogy.
So, we enjoyed the movie, but, we also kept telling ourselves -- THE MOVIES AREN'T CANON. And they haven't been since the very beginning, (Hello? Rogue as a teenager? And where the freak is Gambit?) So, for someone who's knowledge of the X-Men comes strictly from the movies, they should adore this movie, despite those two or three moments.
Speaking of those moments...WTF? The way they made a big deal about Angel, I was really expecting more screen time. And Rogue?! He's just a stoopid boy! (Well, maybe she was thinking ahead -- maybe she's just getting ready for a future man, who would be worth it. Your own ideas as to who that man may be goes here *coughgambitcough*).
Getting rid of One Eye that early was a bit shocking, and Magneto ALMOST wins the prize for smelliest cheese.
(My theory on that stoopid line: He wasn't so much lamenting on his choice to make war, he was thinking about his belief that he could control the Phoenix, when it looked like she was about to destroy the world -- mutant and human alike.)
So, who does win the Smelliest Cheese award?
"I'm the Juggernaut, you bitch!"
Oh. My. We were laughing all the way to the end of the movie over that one. And some more on the way home.
So, to recap the unwieldly comment: I, the casual fan, enjoyed it. But for the purist, maybe the best advice would be to just stay away, and pick up Joss' X-Men offerings, instead. I feel for you guys, and I'm sorry X3 wasn't all it should have been.
Something I've been wondering about: I read a rumor somewhere, quite awhile ago, that Joss did some tweaking to the X3 script -- anyone know if that's true?
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 03:30 am (UTC)My boyfriend was also disappointed by the lack of Colossus. But then, he also wanted Gambit. :-)
And I think having the kid stop Jean would have felt like a deus ex machina. Picture it: Wolverine, stumbling toward Jean, trying to get her to stop any way he can. It'd kill him to kill her, though, and he gives her an agonized look ... And then the claws retract, the destruction stops, and Leech looks at her in that Hayley Joel Osment kind of way (NB: I love the kid; he was amazing in Thank You For Smoking) and it's a Moment. Jean collapses, though, still dies, and Wolverine is just angry. I like the way they did it in the movie; it makes for a stronger development for Wolverine.
See, I'm hearing bad things about Superman Returns (not that I care much, never having seen the originals and always being a Batman girl anyway), which begs the question: would you rather have one amazing movie and one crappy one, or two decent-ish ones?
And to end this on a friendly note, I had my first Internet fanfic writer moment during the Iceman/Pyro fight, when I thought "OMG slash!" And then I kicked myself a little, and decided that balanced out when he was comforting both Rogue and Kitty at the funeral and I thought "It's hard out here for a pimp." (Speaking of which, WTF at Rogue?)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 03:43 am (UTC)Hmmmmm maybe... even allowing for that, I still think it's one of the cheesiest lines ever, one that should be completely stricken from language *G*
My boyfriend was also disappointed by the lack of Colossus. But then, he also wanted Gambit. :-)
Gambit would've been sweet. I love Gambit. Apparently they asked what's his name, who plays Sawyer on LOST to do him, but he thought the characters were too similar and didn't want to get typecast (Huwhat?) SO, they scrapped the character entirely for the movie.
And I think having the kid stop Jean would have felt like a deus ex machina.[...] I like the way they did it in the movie; it makes for a stronger development for Wolverine.
Oh, don't get me wrong... I didn't WANT them to use the kid, it's just that every element was there for that to be the way it went down... 'sides which, Jean dies a whole ton of times, so it's okay... just surprised me more than anything.
See, I'm hearing bad things about Superman Returns (not that I care much, never having seen the originals and always being a Batman girl anyway), which begs the question: would you rather have one amazing movie and one crappy one, or two decent-ish ones?
I've never been much of a Superman Super-fan (and, OMG is there a story behind that nickname I had) he's okay, but I too was always a Batman girl... Squee! I have several hundred comics in my basement...heheh... doing nothing...
As to the question, I'd definately rather have one amazing movie, and one bad one I could skip, or forget about, over two mediocre films....
And to end this on a friendly note, I had my first Internet fanfic writer moment during the Iceman/Pyro fight, when I thought "OMG slash!" And then I kicked myself a little, and decided that balanced out when he was comforting both Rogue and Kitty at the funeral and I thought "It's hard out here for a pimp." (Speaking of which, WTF at Rogue?)
Bwahaaahahahaa! That's so funny! I liked the little fire vs ice scene... as stereo typical as those kind of battles are, it's still neat to see... And, Oh yeah, WTF did we need Kitty Pride in this movie for? Just to run through walls... that actress sucked, IMHO *G* That scene when they were all on the jet, looking pensive and contemplative, and she just looked DUMB.... 'duh, look at the pretty clouds!' sheesh...
As to Rogue, I didn't mind it so much, as she really does have issues about never being able to touch anyone, and having made her a teen, the angst would certainly be there, and kids do stupid, reckless things without thinking of the consequences, so I didn't mind that too much (even though it was Beast in the comic who was going through the real dilemma of whether or not to take the cure)
Speaking of Beast, I really should say that he was AMAZING.... I love the fact that Kelsey Grammer played him, as he voiced him in the cartoon... and his FIGHTING was perfect... Best thing in the whole movie! OH, and his X-men coat... just like from the cartoon... awesome! heee!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 04:00 am (UTC)See, the story I heard was that he was just crazy busy with Lost and all. But yours makes sense also.
... 'sides which, Jean dies a whole ton of times, so it's okay... just surprised me more than anything.
I never read the comic books, I just watched the TV show off and on. Jean always annoyed me, because it just seemed like she was always like "I could help! ... But my POWERS. They're OUT OF CONTROL. I could HURT someone ... so I'll just sit by helplessly and angst for Wolverine without Scott getting jealous." Stupid Scott.
I've never been much of a Superman Super-fan (and, OMG is there a story behind that nickname I had)
Story! Story! :-)
And, Oh yeah, WTF did we need Kitty Pride in this movie for?
Personally, I think she was there so we could have the line "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" (Speaking of awesome portrayals.) She just bugged me because I wanted to see a catfight between her and Rogue, which would have consisted of Rogue wiping the floor with him.
Rogue getting the cure made sense, but it really still felt to me like she just did it because Iceman was being an idiot (btw, is he stupid or what?). It felt like she was angsting rather than getting fed up with life in general.
And yeah, Beast pretty much kicked ass all over the place. 'Cause he's awesome like that. Although being a politics dork, the scene with him getting named UN ambassador made me want to see that scene.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 04:12 am (UTC)hahahaha... yeah, pretty much... she had a roll to play :o) Personally, I always liked Wolverine better than Cyclops, because, well, he's Canadian for one, and just all around cooler *G* So... I didn't mind too much that Scott was so stupid *G*
I've never been much of a Superman Super-fan (and, OMG is there a story behind that nickname I had)
Story! Story! :-)
Ahhh geee... Okay. So, the story is, I was on my way home from college one day, and decided to stop in at my comic shop. It just HAPPENED to be the day that the Death of Superman comic was released, so I figured, meh, why not, might be worth something someday... And I just HAPPENED to get there at the right time to be the first in line. So I got my Collector's edition in the sealed plastic bag, and my newstand edition, ... and the Gorram paper guy was there and took my picture for the paper... So, I'm like, okay, no biggie, some little community column in the local paper....
FRONT PAGE FULL COLOUR PHOTO
Caption: Superman Superfan first in line to get her copy of The Death of Superman.
AAACK!!
Annnnnnd, it wouldnt have been so bad except that EVERYONE friggen recognized me EVERYWHERE I went... seriously... It haunted me, for like, a YEAR.... and I wasn't even a Superman fan! I just bought them for the MONEY!!! AAAAAHH!HH!
So, yeah, that's the superman superfan story.... my mother still has multiple copies of the article *facepalms* Celebrity might be great if it's for something you want to be known for... but it sucks when it's for being a superman superfan *wry grin*
As to the rest of your post, yeah, generally I thought a lot of the characterization was weak, and so people were dumb for plot convenience's sake... oh well
And, yes, Beast kicked ass... you political dork you! ;o>
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 06:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-28 02:55 pm (UTC)I've been warning folks, I'll probably end up in the minority on this... I'm a pretty harsh critic... lost of people, maybe even most people, are going to enjoy it ... and the lower the expectation you go in with, the more you'll enjoy it, so...
it's up to you, but don't take my word as gospel!!! hehehe... it's worth seeing at the theatre for all the action...
no subject
Date: 2006-05-28 10:59 am (UTC)I mean, yeah. It wasn't PERFECT, and there were definitely things that pissed me off about it (SCOTT! NOOOOO! HOW COULD THEY KILL OF SCOTT LIKE THAT?) but I was sort of expecting to be completely disappointed by it, and I wasn't. It wasn't too bad.
And I guess that's not a good thing, really. Saying "Yeah, it wasn't too bad!" because it would've been nice if I was straight up blown away by it; but you know. I'll take what I can get!
And I have many Logan/Marie fic ideas after watching it, so that makes me happy. *grins*
no subject
Date: 2006-05-28 02:45 pm (UTC)Nah, don't hide... trust me, I'm probably going to be in the minority on this one...
I mean, yeah. It wasn't PERFECT, and there were definitely things that pissed me off about it (SCOTT! NOOOOO! HOW COULD THEY KILL OF SCOTT LIKE THAT?)
THAT I have a theory on, and it goes something like this:
Halle Berry wasn't going to reprise her role as Storm because she felt there wasn't enough development of her character. So, she made all kinds of demands to get her more in the story, a bigger, more important part, and I think that the quickest, easiest way to do that was to make Scott.... go away *g*... Storm was the leader of the X-Men at one point, after Cyclops... so... they needed to get him out of the way in order to put Storm in that authoritative role... But, that's just a theory *G*
I was sort of expecting to be completely disappointed by it, and I wasn't. It wasn't too bad.
See, that's the difference... I went in after seeing the previews, and after loving the second one even more than the first one, expecting to have my socks blown off, so... from that perspective, maybe I couldn't help but be disappointed.. I'll still probably get it on DVD, and watch it again, and it may grow on me... but I'll always mourn the potential I saw in it, that it didn't live up to :o/
And I guess that's not a good thing, really. Saying "Yeah, it wasn't too bad!" because it would've been nice if I was straight up blown away by it; but you know. I'll take what I can get!
Yeah, well... I've become a whole lot less forgiving of movies in the last few years... there have been some phenominal films made, and at the same time, they're still pumping out crap for the lowest common denominator that does nothing but peretrate sterotypes, recycle tired, old scenarios, and sell themselves solely on some big name star that's only become a big name star by doing half a dozen of the same type of films.. not that people wont see those movies, but... I just can't take the money machine *G*
And I have many Logan/Marie fic ideas after watching it, so that makes me happy. *grins*
hehehe ahhhhh! that wouldn't squick me so much if I wasn't thinking of the characters from the movie, cuz in the comic Rogue ain't no kid... but... *slight shudder* heheheheh sorry! ;o> But have fun with that! *G*