Yes, as the title obliquely suggests, I saw the 3rd X-Men movie today, along with my fiancee.
We were both very disappointed.
I’ll say I’ve never read the comics, but I have enjoyed the movies as films in their own right- the first one was very good, the second one wasn’t bad, but this… this seemed to be squarely aimed at an entirely different market.
I got the distinct impression this film was aimed squarely at angsty teenagers, with (heavy-handed and obvious) messages about being true to yourself, not conforming just to impress members of the opposite sex, and adolescent power fantasies (If I could throw fire, I wouldn’t have to listen to my parents!).
Sure, I know comic book movies aren’t supposed to be taken seriously, but this was just… crap. Very disappointing. I mean, The Da Vinci Code is out this week (and it’s nice to see Ian McKellan on-screen!) and that’s nothing special either, but at least that had the Louvre in it.
And was anyone else creeped out by the guy (Iceman?) taking the 15 year old girl (Kitty?) ice-skating? He looked to be in his early 20s at the least (even though the actress playing the girl is 19 in real life, it was still a but creepy IMO).
Anyway, a very disappointing 3rd film, with some appalling plot and logic holes…
Anyone else out there got any thoughts on the film? Loved it? Hated it? Didn’t care?
I didn’t care for it all. The big battle got me thinking about Quidditch matches - where a lot of players are zipping around in the infield, but they don’t matter because the game is decided almost entirely by a single player. The brawl between the X-Men and the brotherhood didn’t matter in the least because at any second, Phoenix could casually overwhelm them and render the whole thing moot.
And what was the deal with her and her tinted hair and Goth outfit, anyway? The Phoenix personality was supposedly dedicated to pleasure and power and such, but aside from one shot at nailing Wolverine, she spends the rest of the movie as a zombie with an occasionally bad complexion.
Rerouting the Golden Gate bridge was kinda cool, but if Magneto has that kind of power, why doesn’t he just drop a chunk of the bridge (or hundreds of cars) on Alcatraz and skip the battle entirely? His goal is just to kill the Leech kid, isn’t it? Surely he could just pulverize the whole facility from a distance and be done with it. All the bridge stunt does is totally ruin any element of surprise and make me roll my eyes at the President who whines “There’s nothing we can do!”. At this point, I’d be calling NORAD and arranging for a tactical nuke or two. An enemy that can casually destroy a billion-ton structure calls for nothing less.
I enjoyed the first two. And the Spider-Man movies, and the recent Batman movie, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming Superman and eventual Wonder Woman films.
I was rather less impressed by the Fantastic Four and Daredevil movies.
I enjoyed the first two X-Men films very much (I’m 24), but I haven’t seen Fantastic Four.
Daredevil, however, is probably the number one “Meh” movie of all time. After watching it, all I thought was “Hey, is that the time? I wonder if there’s anywhere to eat still open?”
I’ve got a question. It may sound snide, but I am just curious. Do you really doubt that *anybody *over the age of 14 enjoys these movies, or are you intending to imply that anyone who enjoys them is immature?
I’m 40. I’ve read superhero comic books for most of my life (since I discovered them in 7th or 8th grade, around the same time I discovered RPGs). I enjoy “these movies” as you so disparagingly refer to them. I’m also a parent and hold a real professional job. So, yes, people over the age of 14 enjoy “these movies.”
Got to see it last night due to some “connections”. Wasn’t expecting much going in, so I wasn’t insanely excited.
I loved it. It was better than the first two. It was sad that they gave Angel and Cyclops personality in a few minutes, whereas poor James Marsden had nothing for the first 2, excepting a tiny sliver. Now he’s been transported to another Singer movie, poor chap. I knew his death was coming, the trailers made it obvious. However, the death of the Professor was a huge shock, but it worked from a storytelling POV. Everyone in this movie stepped up and did a really good job, including Halle Berry. This was by far the most “comic-booky” of the series, and that’s what it needed: no more deep philosophical debates or blatant metaphors, just some good action. If you’re unhappy because it wasn’t anything like the books, tough. This is a seperate yet equal universe, with its own version of characters, just like the Ultimate line.
So, in summation: Was Angel useless? Except for a disturbing part at the beginning, yes. But he has a useless power, and Nightcrawler in the second was the same way, with a badass intro but nothing else.
Was the plot excellent? Yes, better than the first. No slowdown, many great moments, and not too much talky.
Did I roll my eyes? Once that I remember. Same as the others.
You disagree? Fine. But go see it, then decide.
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I could have written the exact same post, almost word-for-word (I got into comic books even earlier).
I’ll also add that quite a number of people at the Investment Bank I’m consulting for plan to see the movie this weekend, which is good as there will be no new Sopranos / 24 conversation Tuesday.
I’m bailing out of work early today so we can see it before all the kids get out of school. I’m 51 and I love these movies. Hate to break it to you, Geoff, but Bogey has been dead for quite a while now.
A trusted friend saw a midnight showing and was furious (and he went in with low expectations) at the ending. He said there was potential with the film, but the direction was “cowardly.” I don’t know if I even want to see the blasted thing (naturally I will, but…); X2 is one of my favorite films in this genre, so my expectations are high, even though I know they shouldn’t be.
In other depressing news, said friend said that the accompanying Superman trailer looked pretty terrible (I have not been impressed by what I’ve seen so far either). The fact that Team Singer left X-Men to work on that franchise makes me so sad.
Oh, and to pile-on, I’ll just add that me and my circle of friends (we’re all between 25-35) love these types of movies. You should hear us go on about Batman Begins…
I’m 35 and loved the first two, liked the first Spiderman better than the second and happily chose to stay in and re-watch Batman Begins last night on HBO rather than go out.
I’m taking my 13 year old to see it in a few hours, and while the lackluster reviews haven’t dampened my enthusiasm, the casting choice of Kelsey as Beast has me scared. I managed to get over Halle as Storm, as horrific of a choice as that was, but Beast is my fave X character.
Well, just got back and i have to say i really liked it.
Admittedly, a certain suspension of disbelief is required—beyond the normal for such a movie—in order to accept the final battle. As Brian Ekers says, Magneto could have just dropped the bridge on the facility and ended it all there and then.
But the Beast (Kelsey Grammer) was great, and i also get a chuckle out of Vinnie Jones, so i liked Juggernaut.
This one might have been subtitled “The Last Stand,” but it certainly left plenty of scope for another episode.
[spoiler]It was a very short scene, only about 1015 seconds.
We see a nurse enter a room with a hospital bed, and we then hear Xavier’s voice (can’t remember exactly what he says), and the nruse says somthing like, “Charles, you’re awake.”
I wasn’t quite sure exactly what the deal was, but do you remember the Ethics class Xavier was giving early in the movie, where he talked about the ethics of giving a personality to a man with a perfectly good body but no mind? My suspicion was that Xavier has somehow gotten inside this guy.
I could be wrong though. If anyone wants to correct me or offer a different interpretation, i’m all ears.[/spoiler]
I went to work this morning and had a question for the vice president of my division. Went into his office and the first thing he asks me is “Do you wanna go see Xmen 3 at 11:30 today?” My coworker asked “What about my team presentation?” He answered “Cancel it.” So he took my entire team to see the movie.
Overall, I thought it was okay. I thought the first two were entertaining, but I haven’t seen either in years so I don’t remember much. Never read the comics. There were problems and all that, but there was a decent amount of action, good special effects, so it was worth the $0 I spent to see it and the two hours I didn’t have to be in the office
Ok, my memory is hazy, even though I saw it twenty minutes ago, but anywho, did Magneto cause the chess piece to move? I could have sworn he did, but then my friend said he didn’t, so now I’m second guessing myself.
And I’m so glad the girl who played Kitty is really 19, 'cuz I thought she was hot.
I liked the movie. I didn’t like it as much as I did the first, and not nearly as much as I did the second, but I went in there with very low expectations.
I’ve always liked Pryo better than Iceman, and was sad when he lost, although I knew it was coming.
One of the things I liked about this one was seeing all the other types of mutants.
I saw X3 last night at a midnight showing. I enjoyed seeing all the mutants cutting loose with their powers in the last fight, but overall, the movie just pissed me off.
Remember the Phoenix aura we saw hints of in X2? It’s gone. It never makes an appearance. Why the heck couldn’t they have put that in? That would’ve gone a long way towards making her Dark Phoenix, instead of Jean Grey on 'roid rage.
Killing off Cyclops, Xavier, and (probably) Juggernaut? Kee-rist.
Having Rogue take the cure was, I thought, incredibly lame. A better resolution for her would be to almost take it, but then change her mind. Yeah, it sucks that she can’t touch anyone… but being a mutant is a huge part of her life. It’s defined her, and her new “family”. I just can’t see her throwing that away.
Having the cure apparently not be permanent? Way to invalidate most of the movie, guys.
Colossus, like in the previous movie, looked way too shiny. He didn’t look like he was made out of metal, he just looked CG.
As for Kitty Pryde… I’m glad we’ve finally gotten to see her in a major role. She actually used her powers in an intelligent way, I thought. The actress, on the other hand… I’m not sure how I felt about her. She was just kind of “blah”. Occasionally cute, but she spent way too much of the movie with her mouth hanging open.
