X-Men (2000): still a darned good flick

[Skywalker]

Somebody with really, really tiny feet.

 

[Trekker4747]

The pouch budget would be through the roof!

 

[JediKnightButler]

I enjoyed all of the X-Men movies in general, including the Wolverine standalone, and the recent First Class was really good IMHO.
My biggest complaint about the original X-Men trilogy was how Xavier was barely a part in them as he was incapacitated during a significant chunk of the first movie, captured and held hostage in the second movie, and then just casually killed off in the final movie. I don't know a lot about the X-Men in general but, for being the leader of the X-Men, he was barely involved in anything much during the movies.
It seemed to me that Wolverine was the *bigger* character in all three of the original movies. I like Hugh Jackman and thought he did a good job in the movies but I felt like his storyline crowded out all of the other characters in most of the movies except for possibly X2, which, although his storyline did feature rather prominently, was much more of an ensemble piece. I'm kind of glad he didn't play such a large part in X-Men:First Class and that it focused a lot on the Xavier/Erik dynamics.

 

[Christopher]

I adore the soulful Rogue-Wolverine theme that's heard during her "death" scene in the torch and again in the end titles.

This may be because it's virtually identical to Kamen's Highlander theme.

Uhh, no, that's definitely not the reason I like it, because I don't even like Highlander and I have no memory of its music. I don't understand why you would suggest that my liking for a piece of music had anything to do with its similarity to something from a different movie. I like it because it's a beautiful piece of music.

If the only reason Singer didn't go bigger in X1 was the budget, then I wish they'd keep a lid on the budgets of a lot more movies. I could have lived without the giant explosions and CGI scars in the Dark Knight for example. Silly when you consider how they avoided spectacular effects in the first movie and how minimalist the Joker was.

You mean the effects representing Harvey/Two-Face's scarred face? I don't have a problem with that. It was a remarkably authentic interpretation of the comics' Two-Face design into realistic terms. And it wasn't the kind of effect that stood out as a visual effect.

And Batman Begins had plenty of gratuitous spectacle. The League of Shadows' temple blowing up, the rooftop Batmobile chase, the silly action climax with the erupting manhole covers and the crashing train... heck, the worst thing about BB is the way the gratuitous, stupid blockbuster action scenes get tacked onto what's otherwise a very smart, character-driven film. The Dark Knight manages to integrate its action more organically and intelligently for the most part.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

You mean the effects representing Harvey/Two-Face's scarred face? I don't have a problem with that. It was a remarkably authentic interpretation of the comics' Two-Face design into realistic terms. And it wasn't the kind of effect that stood out as a visual effect.

You can say that again. The Two-Face effect was one of the brilliant things about the film.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I was not a big fan of it. I'm glad Dent died at the end.. I doubt that humans can live long with no skin there

 

[RoJoHen]

You don't seem to be a fan of a lot of things.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I liked the Dark Knight a lot, but it is not a flawless movie.

 

[RoJoHen]

No, it's not flawless. I actually find it quite boring. I haven't been able to watch it in one sitting since the first time I saw it in the theater.

I just feel like you pick weird things to dislike. Two-Face's scarred face? I mean, that's kind of the point of the character!

 

[Broccoli]

Of course, there's another inconsistency between The Last Stand and First Class -- different interpretations of Moira McTaggert's job, age, and nationality. That one's pretty hard to reconcile.

It is, of course, if you assume it is the same Moira McTaggert, and not a younger relative who is a namesake.

Mental gymnastics, I know, but not necessarily difficult to reconcile if they cared enough to (which they probably don't).

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Erik and Charles split up earlier in FC than X1 and certainly 3 indicate, Beast invented Cerebro in FC, whilst Charles notes in X1 that Erik helped build it. there's also something of a suggestion that Magneto's dorky helmet was created to block Xavier's telepathy, whilst FC shows it to be Shaw's anti-telepathy helmet that Erik first stole, then copied.

mutants are also clearly a new phenomenon in X1 (witness the discussion of mutants being on the agenda for the UN summit) compared to them having been around for years in FC in 1962!

I think most of that could be rationalized... The helmet is tricky, though. Maybe at some point Shaw's helmet is destroyed and it's not until the time of X-Men that Magneto manages to recreate it?

Then there are the discrepancies that are easy to resolve, like between the different versions of Emma Frost in XMO:W and XM:FC. The XMO:W "Emma" is never named onscreen and never given a last name in the credits; she's only identified as Kayla Silverfox's sister. And her version of diamond transformation is very different than FC's Emma (and much sillier) -- just her skin being covered in what appear to be cut diamonds, rather than her whole body changing into a single living diamond. So it's easy to assume they're just two different women.

The helmet the Russians designed for Shaw was made to counteract the mental influence of the only telepath they had exposure to at the time: Emma Frost. While it initially worked against Xavier too, perhaps over time he developed his own mental abilities further and found a way around the helmet's block on his powers, thus prompting Magneto to develop a new helmet designed as a specific countermeasure to Charles.

As far as XMO:W's unnamed onscreen Emma Frost and Kayla Silverfox go, I rationalized that they were the daughters of the Emma Frost from XM:FC and some other mutant. That could explain why they each inherited a weakened half of their mother's much more formidable powers (diamond-covered skin but no telepathic block ((that we know of)) and mind control but only through tactile contact).

Of course, there's another inconsistency between The Last Stand and First Class -- different interpretations of Moira McTaggert's job, age, and nationality. That one's pretty hard to reconcile.

She was the only human in close proximity to the exposed core of a modified Russian nuclear submarine, so that probably had severe consequences a short time after XM:FC, possibly prompting Charles to place her in some sort of cryogenic (maybe something Hank was working on) or mutant-powered stasis until he could find a mutant capable of fully healing her. It just took much longer than he expected.

The healing came at a price though, erasing her memories of her previous life (or if you want to go the more sinister route, you could say Charles erased them to continue to protect the secret of the Xavier School from her former CIA colleagues, who would go after her for info if they knew who she was), so she eventually started over as a geneticist from Scotland with Xavier's help as a fellow leading scientist in the field. As the threat from the CIA/US government faded somewhat (since they no longer were looking for her, thinking she died or disappeared), Xavier brought her back in as a trusted confidant on mutant affairs and to assist at the school.

Though I do wonder why Sabretooth's appearance remained more or less constant for over 100 years, only to dramatically change during the comparatively short span of time between X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X1.

Stryker promised to give him the means to defeat Logan just as he had promised Logan the reverse, so maybe Victor grabbed one of Stryker's experimental compounds as he escaped Three Mile Island and later tested it on himself. Little did he know, though, that just as Stryker had betrayed Wade Wilson, the compound erased Victor's memories and turned him into a hulking beast full of rage, but one that was easily controlled by his master, who eventually (after some wandering and wanton destruction) turned out to be Magneto.

i rationalise the second item as: it's not Wade, it's a clone. the clone is called Deadpool, Wade isn't. Wade can later claim the name in the Deadpool movie.

Deadpool's been decapitated and healed before in the comics, so the same could apply to Wade from XMO:W. His body regenerated beneath the rubble of the cooling tower, which eliminated all the extra powers except his healing factor. While he overcame Stryker's mind control (and can speak again thanks to his mouth healing), it left his mind plagued by psychosis and dissociative identity disorder. If you want to explain the scars remaining, you could say the healing factor enhanced the preexisting cancerous tumors in his body like in the comics, or you could go with something darker like having him constantly cut himself whenever the Deadpool personality asserts itself. Since the scars always heal quickly, he decides to wear a costume that mimics the look of the scars instead.

 

[Christopher]

Aren't they making a Deadpool movie that completely ignores the events of XMO:W, and even mocks them?

And I wouldn't be surprised if upcoming First Class sequels (and I've just read that there is a sequel in the works) introduce even more blatant discrepancies with The Last Stand and Wolverine. At the moment, they can kinda sorta be reconciled, but I doubt that will last.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Aren't they making a Deadpool movie that completely ignores the events of XMO:W, and even mocks them?

That's what the producer said, though this article is from earlier this year, so I don't know if any changes have been made.

By all accounts, the Deadpool script by Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick is stellar, and works well with its risky and unique nature. While they don’t have a director yet, Donner did elaborate a little on what to expect from the film and how it relates to the X-Men franchise. Or should I say… how it does not relate:

“It’s a total reboot… We’re either going to pretend that didn’t happen – or mock it, which he could. It’s insane, it’s definitely comedy… But it’s an R script, it’s really irreverent and violent. Right away, we’re out of the X-Men world.”

http://screenrant.com/deadpool-movie-reboot-rob-108019/

I think that would be hilarious, BTW. Have him immediately come out with some fourth wall-breaking quip about the previous film, like his character from the comics or George Lazenby from OHMSS.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Of course, there's another inconsistency between The Last Stand and First Class -- different interpretations of Moira McTaggert's job, age, and nationality. That one's pretty hard to reconcile.

It is, of course, if you assume it is the same Moira McTaggert, and not a younger relative who is a namesake.

Mental gymnastics, I know, but not necessarily difficult to reconcile if they cared enough to (which they probably don't).

My take is that TLS' Moira is the daughter of the character in FC.

 

[Christopher]

My take is that TLS' Moira is the daughter of the character in FC.

Hmm... which could have some interesting implications depending on who the father is...

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Olivia Williams was born in 1968. Assuming that the character in TLS is the same age as the actress who plats her, the Moira of FC could well have had a daughter 6years after the events of that movie. That's my logic anyhow. I hadn't really thought about who the father might be.

 

[Christopher]

I was trying to imply that Charles could be the father.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I know but that doesn't suit my theory! lol

 

[Kegg]

I caught this movie on TV once. Didn't care to sit through more than thirty minutes of it, and fully understood why there were a fair few lacklustre reviews at the time. I'm sure it's quite good in the eyes of superhero fans, though.

 

[Set Harth]

Deadpool's been decapitated and healed before in the comics, so the same could apply to Wade from XMO:W.

We do know from the scene after the credits that Weapon XI survived...