Roll with it indeed. You could say McEvoy looked a bit chubby as well in some scenes, but whatever.
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - Grading+Discussion **SPOILERS!**
- Thread starter StarTrek1701
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From what I heard, McAvoy went in doing Stewart impression and Vaughn told him to not do that and do his own version of the character. That could possibly give credence to the
reboot theory.
I'm gonna go with soft reboot-prequel and hopefully not a standalone movie. I'd like to see this incarnation of the X-Men go on for another 2 movies. With the inclusion of young Scott, Jean and Ororo and a few other memorable X-men members of course.
Angel reminded me of Ultimate Wasp, especially when she was gobbing acid around.
I gave it a solid "A." It wasn't quite exceptional or A-plus-worthy, but I thought it was by far the best in the series, followed by X-Men United.
The movie had a strong plot, great cinematography, and some really talented lead actors. James McAvoy's young Charles Xavier was portrayed as a flirtatious young man who grew up in luxury and never really had to suffer as much as his counterpart Erik Lensherr, who had a traumatic childhood and thus was filled with rage and a thirst for revenge for the people who wronged him. In the comics, Xavier didn't exactly have a perfect childhood as he was abused by his stepbrother, Cain Marko (Juggernaut), and stepfather. Seeing as Juggernaut wasn't really linked to Charles Xavier in X-Men 3, I can understand why Xavier's upbringing was quite different in the movies.
Michael Fassbender had such a magnetic effect on me.
He played a tormented soul, Erik Lensherr, scarred for life by his painful childhood. Although he was a powerful and strong mutant, there was a sense of vulnerability about him. Maybe it's just the actor's good looks and charisma. *Sigh*
The movie had a strong plot, great cinematography, and some really talented lead actors. James McAvoy's young Charles Xavier was portrayed as a flirtatious young man who grew up in luxury and never really had to suffer as much as his counterpart Erik Lensherr, who had a traumatic childhood and thus was filled with rage and a thirst for revenge for the people who wronged him. In the comics, Xavier didn't exactly have a perfect childhood as he was abused by his stepbrother, Cain Marko (Juggernaut), and stepfather. Seeing as Juggernaut wasn't really linked to Charles Xavier in X-Men 3, I can understand why Xavier's upbringing was quite different in the movies.
Michael Fassbender had such a magnetic effect on me.
He played a tormented soul, Erik Lensherr, scarred for life by his painful childhood. Although he was a powerful and strong mutant, there was a sense of vulnerability about him. Maybe it's just the actor's good looks and charisma. *Sigh*I'd have to go with - great plot, uneven characterization.
Loved the tone, and it was definitely *clever*.
Missing a few key elements for me -
Angel's defection - didn't care.
Raven's defection - didn't work. Not invested enough. The Beast/Magneto/Raven triangle didn't have enough of a hook. Her hurt when Hank decides to take the "cure" nearly played out, but not quite. I never really bought her throwing herself at Eric.
Magneto's arc was nearly just right, but something bothered me. Eric's whole point, the reason you can cheer for him is, he's been persecuted by *humans* his whole life. If now he's just after the mutant who killed his mother... well, doesn't it undercut the character? When Eric tells Sebastian "I agree with everything you've said..." I realized why I wasn't buying this.
Sebastian's death, linked to Charles, was brilliantly done. Erik's speech just after was abrupt and odd.
I thought Charles/Erik needed more push and pull. More moments of respect for each other, more moments of realizing this was not going to work. The tone was there, but not the meat. I wanted a few more moments where they each saw the right in what the other was doing.
Worth seeing, but a little frustrating in what was missing.
Loved the tone, and it was definitely *clever*.
Missing a few key elements for me -
Angel's defection - didn't care.
Raven's defection - didn't work. Not invested enough. The Beast/Magneto/Raven triangle didn't have enough of a hook. Her hurt when Hank decides to take the "cure" nearly played out, but not quite. I never really bought her throwing herself at Eric.
Magneto's arc was nearly just right, but something bothered me. Eric's whole point, the reason you can cheer for him is, he's been persecuted by *humans* his whole life. If now he's just after the mutant who killed his mother... well, doesn't it undercut the character? When Eric tells Sebastian "I agree with everything you've said..." I realized why I wasn't buying this.
Sebastian's death, linked to Charles, was brilliantly done. Erik's speech just after was abrupt and odd.
I thought Charles/Erik needed more push and pull. More moments of respect for each other, more moments of realizing this was not going to work. The tone was there, but not the meat. I wanted a few more moments where they each saw the right in what the other was doing.
Worth seeing, but a little frustrating in what was missing.
Ravens defection did seem a little forced, however I thought Erik's was not, I thought it was fairly clear the direction it went. I am sorry there won't be more adventures with Charles and Erik, I wish we could have had one more move with them working together, especially with Charles walking.
But it seems like one of the goals of this movie was setting up Magneto with Mystique opposite to Charles and the Xmen and it worked for me.
But it seems like one of the goals of this movie was setting up Magneto with Mystique opposite to Charles and the Xmen and it worked for me.
Raven/Mystique's defection made sense to me. Her life-long friend seemed to encourage her to maintain the human form and even acted a bit visible repulsed by it at one point (the other time it was more her nudity than the form, but when she comes out of the shower in a robe in the Mystique form his reaction is hardly kind.)
So her life-long friend, and a man whom she seemed to have more the platonic interest in, wanted her to remain hidden and she even got a hint of jealousy as he was helping the others hone their abilities rather than her.
Then she falls in love with a man who understands what she goes through in having to hide who he really is -though simply wearing shoes strikes me as easier than having to use your concentration to maintain a human appearance- is very repulsed by her natural appearance.
Then we've got this other guy, Erik. Who actually encourages her to maintain her natural form, shows her that keeping a human form is tying her hands in her abilities.
Mystique's defection made sense to the only person between Charles, Hank, and Erik who was helping her realize her "true self" and wasn't bothered by her real appearance was was Erik. So of course she'd choose to follow him.
So her life-long friend, and a man whom she seemed to have more the platonic interest in, wanted her to remain hidden and she even got a hint of jealousy as he was helping the others hone their abilities rather than her.
Then she falls in love with a man who understands what she goes through in having to hide who he really is -though simply wearing shoes strikes me as easier than having to use your concentration to maintain a human appearance- is very repulsed by her natural appearance.
Then we've got this other guy, Erik. Who actually encourages her to maintain her natural form, shows her that keeping a human form is tying her hands in her abilities.
Mystique's defection made sense to the only person between Charles, Hank, and Erik who was helping her realize her "true self" and wasn't bothered by her real appearance was was Erik. So of course she'd choose to follow him.
I think Mystique here is a good metaphor for how Jean Grey normally is.
Agreed.
Plus, after reading Erik's mind and knowing how dangerous he was. I just couldn't see Charles telling her to go with him. I didn't see a strong enough bond between Erik & Raven yet. Maybe if the romantic interest was between the two of them instead of McCoy, I could but as it played out I don't. Plus there is no indication in X-Men 1-3 that Charles & Raven have/had ANY type of relationship at all. Chales is all "My Friend, My Friend" to Magneto but acts like Mystique doesn't exist at all.
They didn't have one.
X-Men: Charles was unconscious when Mystique showed up.
X2: She was standing at the door as Magneto was getting him to kill the humans and when they got him out Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro had already left.
The Last Stand: Turned into a human.
X-Men: Charles was unconscious when Mystique showed up.
X2: She was standing at the door as Magneto was getting him to kill the humans and when they got him out Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro had already left.
The Last Stand: Turned into a human.
I have to catch up with everything here.
I do also agree that Angel was one of the main problems with the film. Really actually an unnecessary point. Too 21st Century and poorly handled. That, Darwin's misuse, and actually Havoc. I'm glad more time was spent on the bigger players, but some of the lesser mutants weren't even needed. Heck, the recruitment and training montages could have been longer and it could have been assumed there were more kids at the mansion in training for as much thought was given to Angel.
And all those people who thought I was erroneously Fassbender obsessed or insane for wanting him as Bond. Ha!
Man, I wish there was merchandise for this movie!
I do also agree that Angel was one of the main problems with the film. Really actually an unnecessary point. Too 21st Century and poorly handled. That, Darwin's misuse, and actually Havoc. I'm glad more time was spent on the bigger players, but some of the lesser mutants weren't even needed. Heck, the recruitment and training montages could have been longer and it could have been assumed there were more kids at the mansion in training for as much thought was given to Angel.
And all those people who thought I was erroneously Fassbender obsessed or insane for wanting him as Bond. Ha!
Man, I wish there was merchandise for this movie!
It's definately an enjoyable movie. Mind you, it doesn't really fit in with the continuity of the previous X-Men movies. Certain things like:
-Xavier's injurry during the final battle being what requires him to go in the wheelchair, despite the fact that we saw him walking in the flashback in X3 and his cameo in Wolverine.
-Xavier and Magneto split at the end and Magneto turns villain, despite the X3 flashback shows them working together as recently as 20 years prior.
-Xavier and Mystique is one of those things that doesn't really contradict anything, but also just doesn't fit. They were so close growing up, and indeed there didn't really seem to be any bad blood between them when she chose to join Magneto, so why does she so willingly poison him in the first movie?
Still, these issues aside it's a pretty entertaining movie and it is kind of cool seeing an alternate take of the Cuban missile crisis.
-Xavier's injurry during the final battle being what requires him to go in the wheelchair, despite the fact that we saw him walking in the flashback in X3 and his cameo in Wolverine.
-Xavier and Magneto split at the end and Magneto turns villain, despite the X3 flashback shows them working together as recently as 20 years prior.
-Xavier and Mystique is one of those things that doesn't really contradict anything, but also just doesn't fit. They were so close growing up, and indeed there didn't really seem to be any bad blood between them when she chose to join Magneto, so why does she so willingly poison him in the first movie?
Still, these issues aside it's a pretty entertaining movie and it is kind of cool seeing an alternate take of the Cuban missile crisis.
Now that we've seen the movie, anybody know which scene was reshot due to it originally being too similar to Inception's antigravity fight scene involving JGL?
I saw the film last night and absolutely loved it. Working on writing my review and will probably post it later in the week if things are too hectic. I'm seeing this again next weekend. The score was brilliant, McAvoy and Fassbender are the heart and soul of this movie and you get why Singer is so fascinated with their character's dynamic. These two were perfectly cast. I loved Kevin Bacon's Shaw. The cinematography and direction were incredibly. I thought Vaughn executed Singer's vision perfectly while still being able to retain his own directorial style. The score is incredibly addictive This film makes me incredibly sad that we were never able to see Singer or Vaughn's version of The Last Stand because I feel like either of them would have been able to make an incredible movie. This is my favorite film of the year so far. Oh and I loved the Logan cameo. I thought it fit perfectly and didn't feel forced at all.
This film makes me incredibly sad that we were never able to see Singer or Vaughn's version of The Last Stand because I feel like either of them would have been able to make an incredible movie. This is my favorite film of the year so far. Oh and I loved the Logan cameo. I thought it fit perfectly and didn't feel forced at all.
I guess this is a case of simply choosing to ignore X3.
These two can easily be chalked up to the notion that "a lot of things can happen in 40+ years."
It made sense to me, but I didn't feel it. We all knew where she was going to end up, and the film explained why, but didn't really take me on the journey - it just showed me the map.
I really wondered why she was there at all... until the dogfight at the end, which was pretty awesome. They paired off Banshee & Angel, Beast and Azazael quite nicely in the final sequence.
Darwin was clearly just there to die. His powers are lame, he raises the stakes... I'm fine with it. (I have no prior knowledge or attachment to the character - and he had a fairly heroic and cool death scene!)
Angel's only piece of characterization was "I don't like how those men are looking at me" - agreed. She needed more - not tons more, just a little. Like in X1, Magneto's 5 min intro gives him all the motivation he needs. Maybe a few minutes of her being degraded at the strip joint, or ... something that tells us where her head is during all this.
I can't believe I'm typing it, but the training montage was awesome.
Let me ask this again -
If Erik has spent his life tracking the mutants who killed his family, doesn't it undercut the idea that he's reacting to persecution from humans? That he spends his life believing he's defending mutants from humans?
I definitely agree with this post. Grammer was a great Beast and a perfect piece of casting. The action was very good and the team they had (Wolverine, Storm, Shadowcat, Colussus, Beast, and Iceman was a good one.
I think this film gives us hints of what a Bryan Singer or Matthew Vaughn directed X3 would have been like.
