X-Men: Days of Future Past (Singer)

[Morris Schæffer]

http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014224/rs_634x939-140324091106-634.jennifer-lawrence-x-men.ls.32414.jpg

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/

[Morris Schæffer]

I liked it a lot, especially the fairly clever story. The FX are great, but action scenes don't pack the punch that for example Captain America 2 did. True, the X universe has always been more outlandish, but missing here is a sense of danger, that shit can go belly-up. Maybe I shouldn't expect that, but there's a lot of doom and gloom in this one and a sense of relative restraint and real-world ideas thanks to its 70's Washington DC setting. Thankfully, there are moments of levity, one set during the Pentagon sequence that had the auditorium combust in spontaneous, but appreciative laughter and that is sure to be one of the definitive blockbuster scenes of 2014.

And yes, stick around during the credits.

[Watashi]

This makes up for the shitastic First Class.

[TGM]

Probably the best one yet.

[Wryan]

High marks. Great balance of character and action, though the breadth obviously gives some people precious little to do. I like Jennifer Lawrence. Really. She was great in Winter's Bone, been fine in Bow and Arrow 1 and 2 and she seems all bubbly and goofy and shit in real life. But she's just not a very good Mystique; granted, it'd be hard to simply walk around, let alone convince, under Romijn's shadow, but I can't get past her. Good stuff from most others, though Dinklage was a little dry, I thought. Also, since fucking when can Kitty do this time shift shit? What? Great effects work all around. Superfun cameos at the end; wonder if they'll run with that...angle...in future movies.

EDIT: And Quicksilver's totally fine. In fact, Peters sells the hell out of it and has some of the best moments.

[TGM]

Also, since fucking when can Kitty do this time shift shit? What? .

Ellen Page just bringing what she learned from Inception. :P

[Wryan]

One more item: Holy Jesus, Jackman. Relax on the workouts. I don't think your muscles are supposed to look like that at rest.

[eternity]

This makes up for the shitastic First Class.

That's good to hear. That movie really is spectacularly awful.

[Ezee E]

Highly enjoyed this.

The thing with X-Men is the motivations of the "heroes" allows for a great amount of conflict and chaos. Far better then the obviousness of the other Marvel movies. The action seems to have a point rather then just explosions occurring out of nowhere, and endless punching.

The future scenes definitely don't compare to how well McAvoy, Fassbender, and Jackman work off each other.

[Ezee E]

The only thing I guess I didn't completely back was the ending.

Shouldn't Wolverine's mind basically be "restarted" after waking up from Weapon X? I suppose that would be a rather DIM moment to end on, but why in the X-Mansion?

[Rowland]

About on par, if not just a bit superior to the underrated First Class as my favorite entry in this series, which I've never been a huge fan of besides these films.

[Wryan]

I liked First Class too. It gave us awesome McAvoy/Fassbender interrelationship, cool '70s styling and Kevin Bacon as a mutant. I found it fun.

[slqrick]

Not quite the greatest superhero movie in all of the land, like some critics have been saying, but this was definitely a fun movie. If nothing else, it wipes away X3 and Origins, while adequately adapting a classic X-Men story. It felt like this film took the best parts of First Class (Fassbender/McAvoy) and excised the crap (Angel, Emma, etc.), and focusing on the Xavier/Magneto/Mystique dynamic made the story feel personal besides the "world is ending" stakes that are in every one of these movies. I'd say it's on par with X2 as the best X-Men flick yet, but this still isn't anywhere near the euphoric experience of The Avengers for the first time.

[slqrick]

Also yeah, those promo pics of Quicksilver were atrocious, but he has one of the best cameos in any superhero movie.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, he probably has the highlight scene of the movie, but I wonder why he didn't continue with everybody?

[megladon8]

Going to see this on Wednesday, but count me among those who think First Class is unfairly maligned in these here parts.

The fire-spitting Angel was embarrassing for sure, but the flick as a whole was a fun, colourful superhero romp. Neither the best or worst the genre has to offer. Fassbender alone elevates the material.

[Wryan]

Yeah, he probably has the highlight scene of the movie, but I wonder why he didn't continue with everybody?

Screenplay. He would have made everything pretty trivially easy. :P

[Ezee E]

Screenplay. He would have made everything pretty trivially easy. :P

I'd have liked a Sentinel to show how it could've adapted easily to any mutant and stop him in his tracks. Even if it was his first attempt, or be completely at odds with who to side with.

[Skitch]

I like First Class but some of those scenes of the youngins hanging out and talking are painful.

[slqrick]

The more I think about the movie, the more I appreciate some of the action sequences. The portrayal of Blink's powers was really thrilling and gave me Portal 2 flashbacks.

[Henry Gale]

Been a while since I've seen X2 (I meant to re-watch it before this), but in my mind Days Of Future Past feels every bit as good. Maybe even as solid as any Marvel-branded movie since the back-to-back years that last of Singer's work, Ang Lee's Hulk and Spider-Man 2 came out. (The Marvel Studios works are a bit harder to compare since they interweave and rely on each other considerably more than other studio's standalone efforts, but my favourites there are Branagh's Thor, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3.)

These are movies that started when I was just a kid, which meant I then had to watch them deteriorate in my teen years, later slightly redeemed by First Class (though sadly not enough of The Wolverine), so seeing everything come together the ways it does here, with certain majorly beautiful scenes Mainly the two Xaviers and pretty much everything from the resolution of the future at the end. that were so deeply emotionally striking for me in ways I hadn't thought it'd have the capacity to going in. Factor in the added realization that Singer was more or less cleaning up the drudgey and disheartening paths the films took since his departure, even coming as close to resolving certain serious issues I had with them, and I was pretty much as blissful as I'd ever been with any X-Men on screen. The way it even retroactively brings together so much of Logan's journey in The Wolverine (in terms of how it harped on just how much he was haunted by his killing of Jean), was kind of stunning in a weird way. As much as that was a story move I was heavily against in The Last Stand (where she wasn't sacrificing herself for anything beyond her own life), eventually having him be able to unexpectedly resolve that through his efforts in DoFP really hit me because I somehow hadn't considered it. Same with seeing so many of the others in Xavier's school at the end, particularly Rogue (who I realize was cut out of earlier scenes of this) and Scott.

It's still not the great Phoenix story I was excited for next time around when I left the theatre with X2 in '03, but a decade and year later (with the help of a new cast and even some less stellar building blocks along the way), it somehow comes together and feels like every bit that satisfaction that's been missing with these characters ever since. It's a big, thrilling and deserved two-hour sigh of relief.

***½ / 8.2

[Morris Schæffer]

The more I think about the movie, the more I appreciate some of the action sequences. The portrayal of Blink's powers was really thrilling and gave me Portal 2 flashbacks.

Far more breathtaking than any of the huuuge scenes towards the end.

[Skitch]

Been a while since I've seen X2 (I meant to re-watch it before this), but in my mind Days Of Future Past feels every bit as good.

I always like X2 better than X1, until I revisited them after a long period of time...since then I think I like X1 better. It always bugs me that Cyclops never seems like the leader, and Wolverine is too nice. He needs to be more of an a-hole. On the other hand, its been quite a while since I've seen em, and the fam has been bugging me to rewatch so my opinion is subject to change...

[Dukefrukem]

Aw man you didn't set the votes as public.

11 - 0 right now is shocking me.

[Henry Gale]

I always like X2 better than X1, until I revisited them after a long period of time...since then I think I like X1 better. It always bugs me that Cyclops never seems like the leader, and Wolverine is too nice. He needs to be more of an a-hole. On the other hand, its been quite a while since I've seen em, and the fam has been bugging me to rewatch so my opinion is subject to change...

X1 is almost miraculous by today's standards in how simply and clearly developed its world, characters and eventual conflict are, and it all wraps up within around 100 minutes. (Even First Class exceeds 2 hours, 10 mins!) It almost gave me whiplash from blockbusters today (in a good way), but my undeniable gut reaction was still that it almost felt too slight. It's well made and a solid introduction to everything we now take for granted, but it's not the ultimate installment.

The third act was definitely awesome at the time, but the retroactive rote-ness of a final battle that's mainly just one on one mutant fights in the way of a big device that's going to endanger some civilians doesn't quite have the snap it used to. Though, setting it all in the Statue of Liberty does still has a nice visual snazz to it.

My main complaint with the series at this point, even at its best and with these last two prequel-slanted stories, might be that I feel like we still haven't really seen a story that drives home the initial strength of Charles and Erik's relationship to justify the pathos and weight they seem to feel its subsequent crumbling should have on screen.

I realized rewatching First Class how few actual conversations they have, and all of them feel oddly shortened by editing (script or otherwise).


Aw man you didn't set the votes as public.

11 - 0 right now is shocking me.
Well hopefully everyone can just give it a rating to eventually give a sense of where they fall over time, especially once some nays roll in.

EVERYONE: Yeah... Do that. ^ (Rate it.)

But it is very good, as good as these movies have been, so I can't imagine too many non-fans rushing to it too soon, even if it's probably their best shot of enjoying any X-Men movie (especially since it helps salvage so much of the shittiness in past entries).

[EvilShoe]

This was fun!

But was it explained how Xavier survived X3? Last I remember his mind was alive in a different body. Did I miss something in this?

[TGM]

This was fun!

But was it explained how Xavier survived X3? Last I remember his mind was alive in a different body. Did I miss something in this?

Nope, that's as far as the explanations got, and it's not the only mystery that'll apparently remain unsolved. But eh, oh well. :P

[Henry Gale]

Best thing to do with this movie is to only use the previous Singer movies and First Class as canon, with whoever is and isn't alive in the future segments, make up your own in between for how they might've died or came back to life.

With Xavier, the post-credits scene of The Last Stand had him communicating through a patient at Moira's hospital. Since they never really continued that, I've seen some people have their own theory that he's become so powerful that he's simply able to use other people as vessels to mentally project himself to appear physically present to everyone in his form of death (not sure if that's ever been an idea in the comics). But otherwise, just remember the strongest of what's come before and allow Days of Future Past to massage the rest out of relevance.

[slqrick]

When it comes to X-Men and continuity, it's gonna be a shit show regardless, and for whatever reason I find that aspect weirdly charming about the comics, especially after going back and reading the Claremont run.

[megladon8]

Holy crap this was good.

Loved how '80s the future segments were. In fact, there were images and whole shots lifted right out of the first two Terminator films. I half expected that "zap zap" sound and pink lasers.

Action was handled deftly, and the film was bleak while also keeping a light touch present and some great humor. Even little winks like Wolverine walking through a metal detector and waiting for it to go off - these went a long way in keeping it all from being too humorless.

LOVED the handling of Blink's powers. I want more of her in future installments.

I was also very surprised by how brutally they handled the eradication of the X-Men in the future segments. Decapitations and limb removal were commonplace.

[dreamdead]

Reread the comics (which I haven't read since I was a teenager), and am just struck by how more adventurous Claremont and Byrne are in positioning Kitty Pryde as the protagonist of all of the action. By placing a girl not yet in the prime of her powers at the foreground, the comic purposefully endangers our sense of fear over whether or not she'll succeed, which is pretty much antithetical to Logan's comparative invincibility. While a film would be remiss to waylay that much character appeal in Logan as just a supplemental character, the comic's decision to go in this vein is part of what makes it so fascinating and culturally significant. (Also, the Marvel style of narration in the '80s really overburdens text boxes with unnecessary information.)

Otherwise, I thought a lot of the film's representation of Blink's powers were really interesting, and some of the core Magneto/Mystique bond was good--Lawrence and MacAvoy were less consistent together in the need for one another.

[Skitch]

I'm about halfway through the TPB...so far no time travel, but Dantes inferno, dancing, and Canada. Not what I expected, but still really enjoying it.

[Melville]

And yes, stick around during the credits.
I waited through the main credits but got nothing. I didn't think I'd have to wait past that. What did I miss?

I'd put this a notch below First Class and on par with X2. Most of the plot was built on bizarre contrivances, but McAvoy and Fassbender carried it off (with help from Jackman). And that Quicksilver scene was awesome.

[megladon8]

I waited through the main credits but got nothing. I didn't think I'd have to wait past that. What did I miss?

I'd put this a notch below First Class and on par with X2. Most of the plot was built on bizarre contrivances, but McAvoy and Fassbender carried it off (with help from Jackman). And that Quicksilver scene was awesome.


Honestly, you didn't miss much. Typical of most post-credits sequences in these movies, you don't get much out of it unless you're an uber-nerd about the material.

It's a tease of the villain for the next movie: Apocalypse. Shows him building the pyramids in ancient Egypt (using MIND POWERS!!!)

[Melville]

Honestly, you didn't miss much. Typical of most post-credits sequences in these movies, you don't get much out of it unless you're an uber-nerd about the material.

It's a tease of the villain for the next movie: Apocalypse. Shows him building the pyramids in ancient Egypt (using MIND POWERS!!!)
Ah. I thought maybe it would explain more about how the timeline had been changed (i.e., how many of the previous movies had been erased).

[TGM]

Ah. I thought maybe it would explain more about how the timeline had been changed (i.e., how many of the previous movies had been erased).

I'm pretty sure First Class is the only movie that still happened by the end of this one.

[Ezee E]

I'm pretty sure First Class is the only movie that still happened by the end of this one.

Basically. I'd consider First Class just a reboot, and it happens to have some of the same actors.

I wonder if the X-Men would ever take on the Morlocks and the Mutant Massacre in a movie.

[megladon8]

I wonder if Wolverine still has adamantium in his skeleton. Did the Weapon X program still happen?

And if so, I wonder if they'll ever tackle the storyline in which Magneto tears the adamantium out of him.

I also wonder if they'll ever feature Omega Red.

[Skitch]

I want Omega Red so bad. That would kick ass. Maybe after Apocalypse they can do a smaller Xmen movie where Wolverine, Colossus, and a couple others go to Russia.

[Watashi]

I want the Starjammers, Arcade, or Mojo.

There's so many insane stories out there.

[Ezee E]

I wonder if Wolverine still has adamantium in his skeleton. Did the Weapon X program still happen?

And if so, I wonder if they'll ever tackle the storyline in which Magneto tears the adamantium out of him.

I also wonder if they'll ever feature Omega Red.

Pretty sure that Stryker used Wolverine for Weapon X when he pulled him out of the bay.

Mister Sinist

[Melville]

Pretty sure that Stryker used Wolverine for Weapon X when he pulled him out of the bay.
But that was Mystique disguised as Stryker. Why would she want to torture Wolverine? On the other hand, I can't imagine Fox leaving Wolverine without his adamantium for long. Maybe Apocalypse will give it to him in the next movie.

[number8]

Did anyone else hate the way the movie looked? I thought it was awful. Flat lighting, all medium to tight close ups for most of the movie, and that awful 48fps movements. Yuck, I've seen better shot network TV shows.

Quicksilver was fun. A fun choice that his impatience makes him more annoying than grumpy. Peters really sold it. I think why the initial reaction to him was so awful is that we assumed he'd be played on the same drab level as the stakes. I like the ambiguity about him and Magneto's relationship too.

[slqrick]

Did anyone else hate the way the movie looked? I thought it was awful. Flat lighting, all medium to tight close ups for most of the movie, and that awful 48fps movements. Yuck, I've seen better shot network TV shows.

I think this was the problem with the future scenes the most, even though I ended up immensely enjoying the way the action scenes played out there.

[Henry Gale]

Yeah I know what you're saying, 8, but I thought it was a much more sparse thing than I had worried going in (since I could already see it in some promo clips). But it's still there much more than I wanted, and though I find it a prevalent problem with digital in mainstream movies in general (that cinematographers have thankfully gotten better at avoiding over time), I've noticed it seems to be a particularly prevalent when the Arri Alexa does 3D (also see: Life of Pi, a handful of shots in Hugo).

Oddly though, I thought it was most noticeable in bright scenes, which is weird since the sort of hazy motion-blur we're talking about always seems to be a crutch of other digital movie's dark scenes, considering the shutter speeds and other factors usually necessary to achieve them.

The DoFP scenes that most come to mind in terms of gross, smeary look to it bugging me most were Mystique's fights in the military tent and in Paris, and everything after Logan pushes past and then punches Beast in this clip:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFbP4MdJjiw

The 3D itself was pretty damn good, it's just a shame that it has to look like that^ underneath it in 2D for every time anyone will likely see it presented in the future.

[Melville]

Did anyone else hate the way the movie looked? I thought it was awful. Flat lighting, all medium to tight close ups for most of the movie, and that awful 48fps movements. Yuck, I've seen better shot network TV shows.
The future scenes looked extremely cheap and characterless, I thought, especially in the costumes and makeup. The 1970s scenes looked all right: flat, but not exceptionally so. I definitely preferred First Class's campy visual flair.

Was the movie shot in 48fps? The internet tells me no.

[megladon8]

Really? I LOVED the future sequences.

Like I said in my initial comments, I thought it was totally '80s. Bright neon colours against total blackness. Images lifted right out of Terminator.

[Mr. McGibblets]

They really like to tell the same Magneto-story in every film.

For a brief moment, I thought he would get to be the hero. Having the sentinels attack the government would have been a good enough ending where he solves the problem on his own and outsmarts Charles and Logan. In the end, the program was aborted because of his actions anyway, but he still ends up trying to murder people, failing and losing to Charles - just like always.

[slqrick]

They really like to tell the same Magneto-story in every film.

For a brief moment, I thought he would get to be the hero. Having the sentinels attack the government would have been a good enough ending where he solves the problem on his own and outsmarts Charles and Logan. In the end, the program was aborted because of his actions anyway, but he still ends up trying to murder people, failing and losing to Charles - just like always.

It's kind of on par with how Mags has always been portrayed overall. I have to admit when things unfolded the way they did, I wanted to shout, "That's soo Magneto!"

[Dead & Messed Up]

It's kind of on par with how Mags has always been portrayed overall. I have to admit when things unfolded the way they did, I wanted to shout, "That's soo Magneto!"

That's My Magneto, CBS Tuesdays this fall.

[MadMan]

Loved it. Review coming whenever I feel like it. Quicksliver is my new hero. And there was Bishop, even if he wasn't featured that much. Still cool though. And I'm that guy who likes X-Men First Class and Days of Future Past better than the first two X-Men movies. I haven't viewed X3 and the first Wolverine movie all the way though because based on what I saw both looked awful. I imagine I'll enjoy The Wolverine though.

[Bosco B Thug]

Okay, the story for this is more than a little basic, but that's also what makes it good: the future lies on the backs of a trio of people who want to "die" (via walking and giving up all his powers, via fundamentalist terrorism) and on single points of decision-making. A unabashedly simple personal responsibility parable. A comic book film that finally feels like a comic book rather than a serial drama.

[DavidSeven]

This was entertaining. I like that it jumped right into things without drawn out origin stories for its heroes or villains. The best comic book movies (i.e. The Dark Knight, The Avengers) seem to follow the same approach. The way in which the powers were portrayed was fun. Quicksilver was particularly well-done.

I guess I'll just have to be resigned to the fact that, more often than not, anything with a Marvel label is going to a largely artless enterprise. Even Bryan Singer, who has historically been pretty successful at blending independent vision and commercialism, can't overcome the creatively limiting use of otherwise limitless technology. I like Singer's sense of the story and characters, but it's hard to get too excited about something that looks and feels so flat, so unimaginative, so boringly "Marvel." That being said, I still enjoyed just about every minute of it. It's upper-end summer entertainment; unfortunately, its utter devotion to big studio sensibilities keeps it from being anything more.

[number8]

I like that it jumped right into things without drawn out origin stories for its heroes or villains.

Well, to be fair, they don't have one. They're all born that way.

[DavidSeven]

Well, to be fair, they don't have one. They're all born that way.

I know you're half kidding, but First Class spent most of its runtime on introducing the young mutants and Charles and Eric's "origins." Many Marvel entries spend a lot of time on the birth of their villains. I'd rather just jump in like starting a comic book at issue #250.

[Dukefrukem]

I wasn't planning on seeing this in theaters, but Matchies voting 18-1 might sway me differently.

[MadMan]

Who's the one nay? 18-1 is a surprising vote count to me, too.

[number8]

Whoever created the thread fucked up and didn't make the votes public.

[max314]

This film reminded me of the X-Men comics and cartoon shows I loved in the '90s – full of insane intersecting timelines and characters and alternate futures...

In that sense, it's the X-Men film I've been waiting for.

As a piece of entertainment cinema, however, it can't quite reach the standard of First Class, which also blew Singer's previous, bafflingly overrated efforts out of the water.

All in all, a rollicking great time at the movies.

[Ezee E]

While the idea of the Mutant Massacre is probably more movie-friendly, the idea of using Genosha or the Brood seem the most fun and unlikely.

Muir Island seems the most possible though...

[Qrazy]

So the future changes but the ugly ass future set design is destined to remain the same? That was my take away here.

Overall I liked the film though.

[Stay Puft]

In full agreement with Henry Gale. I was actually overwhelmed by the end. The payoff is incredible and unexpected. With all the wrong turns this franchise took, I had forgotten how much I sincerely enjoyed this stuff back in high school (goodness, has it been that long?). This is the most fun I've had watching a blockbuster in quite some time; in years, I'm sure, when it comes to superhero films.

I needed a lot more Blink. Her powers made for some impressive and memorable visual effects sequences.

As far as reservations go, I do have to agree a bit with number8. While he may be a competent filmmaker, I've never thought much of Singer as a stylist, and outside of some cool special effects stuff like the aforementioned Blink powers, and the Quicksilver sequence, a lot of what he shoots can look pretty damn dull, or just plain perfunctory. Quite a few day scenes looked pretty bad in digital, too, as others have already pointed out. (I saw the film in 3D, for the record, and honestly didn't think much of the 3D, either, but then I'm not big on that stuff.)

[Watashi]

Woah. 3 and a half stars from Pufty?

[Stay Puft]

I'm just as surprised as you are.

[Dukefrukem]

I guess this was good. I don't know. It's the best X-Men movie since X-Men.

I just find it hard to believe all of these mutants working together would be so outmatched by Sentinels. We've seen Magneto pick up a stadium, the golden gate bridge and take iron from the blood of a human and wreck havoc. We've seen Professor take control of everything in the room- Blink can friggin make portals and teleport people in and out of places. There's absolutely no reason why she should have died.


And why can they build fully automatic robots in the 70s again?

Oh and Bishop and Quicksilver, totally underused.

Love the Kelsey Grammer cameo.

[Grouchy]

Better than First Class, worse than X2... This is a superhero movie with lots of fun sequences, particularly the Quicksilver slow-motion moment, and a solid adaptation of the Days of Future Past storyline. If it seems too reiterative of all the X-Men movies it's because it is - Magneto/Xavier have the exact same character arc in all these flicks, so there's a strong feeling of "been there, done that" as the ending approaches. Oh, and Bryan Singer has turned into the most anonymous director ever. He was never Wes Anderson or anything, but before getting into superhero filmmaking he had a certain distinct voice.

[number8]

It's the only superhero franchise that has had the same villain in every installment. Loki is getting there, though.

[Dukefrukem]

It's the only superhero franchise that has had the same villain in every installment. Loki is getting there, though.

Is Loki still a villain?

[number8]

Did you not watch the second Thor?

[Dukefrukem]

Did you not watch the second Thor?

I didn't really see anything sinister there. I kinda figured he was just being mischievous. (unless it's implied that he killed Oden in which case I stand corrected)

[Irish]

I watched this again over the weekend ... and then ended up re-watching all of the films for the first time in many years. I'd like to report that the third one is still bad, but not as bad as I'd remembered. (It's also about par for some of the lesser Marvel movies, tbh).

I had forgotten how weirdly insular the entire series is. It's always mutants fighting mutants and a lot of easter eggs for comic book fans. This installment isn't any different and that was the second surprise: Almost all the films outside the third one have the exact same structures, with third act climaxes feel like completely separate beasts, unhinged from the rest of the film.

Very weird series.

Instead of going around the dance floor with Logan, Charles, or Eric yet again, I'd much rather have a Mystique movie. She's pretty much the only character in these things who always seems to be doing something interesting.

[Dukefrukem]

So is the first movie still the best?

[Irish]

So is the first movie still the best?

I dunno about best. It was a weird experience seeing it again. It's stylistically different from the other films, and a lot of it feels very dated (but not necessarily in a bad way).

The plot is messy. There aren't super-big non stop set pieces or eye catching trailer moments. The mano e mano fight scenes are, unfortunately, badly choreographed and shot. They look like everybody involved learned what wire-fu was about 10 minutes before the camera rolled. Like somebody made a mistake and set the shutter to slow-mo when it wasn't supposed to be.

It's weird because the whole movie is done in a style you just don't see anymore. I kinda liked that about it, but at the same time I kept waiting for something interesting to happen (to paraphrase Ebert), and it didn't.

Probably the weirdest part of the mass rewatch was realizing that the first three movies might have "X-Men" in the title, but all of em are really about Wolverine.

[Scar]

So is the first movie still the best?

I've never felt that the first one holds up. It was cool to see the Xmen in a movie, and then once #2 rolled around, the first became an afterthought.

[Ezee E]

I've never felt that the first one holds up. It was cool to see the Xmen in a movie, and then once #2 rolled around, the first became an afterthought.

Yup.

[Skitch]

I liked #2 best for years...I've since come to feel 1>2. Though I could see DoFP taking first position after a few rewatches.

[Dukefrukem]

I stand by that X2 is not a good movie. Neither is Last Stand. Or either of the Wolverines. Actually all but the first movie are not fun for me.

[Irish]

What aspects X1 appeal to you in ways X2 doesn't?

Both movies have similar A-plots:

(Magneto|Stryker) wants to use (Rogue|Professor X) to amplify a device that will kill large numbers of (humans|mutants).

Granted, X2 is denser and more polished on the whole.

[Dukefrukem]

I saw X1 four times in theaters. It was a perfect build of the universe, like you said, no giant set pieces, small set of characters, plenty of humor. I hated the mutant vs human element in X2. In fact, there really hasn't been a decent mutant vs mutant fight since the first movie (Wolverine vs Wolverine/mystique). Everything is always Mutant vs Human since. I hated how everyone scattered around in X2, they never fight as a whole/side by side, they always fight separately. The story felt thin. Action weak. Acting bad. Bleh.

[Skitch]

Wolverine acts so unlike Wolverine in X2. Hes supposed to be an asshole, hes not the leader, Scott is, and they have YET to do that. It may be a minor thing, but it irritates me. And its more blatant in X2 than X1. I agree part 2 is more polished, I just need more Slim.

[Irish]

In fact, there really hasn't been a decent mutant vs mutant fight since the first movie (Wolverine vs Wolverine/mystique).

I dunno. I thought Wolverine versus Lady Deathstryke was pretty good (although technically, I guess she isn't supposed to be a mutant).


I hated how everyone scattered around in X2, they never fight as a whole/side by side, they always fight separately.

It's interesting that you had the same beef about Return of the Jedi. Do you suffer from some type of cinematic separation anxiety, Duke? ;)

[Irish]

Wolverine acts so unlike Wolverine in X2. Hes supposed to It may be a minor thing, but it irritates me.

Dude, the way they treat Scott is bizarre, especially if you're coming from the comics. Both his role & Storm's role are minimized. Off hand guess is that neither of them appear in more than 6 scenes over three movies. They're barely given anything to do. Even their dialogue is most often purely functional (and unlike everybody else, neither of them is allowed a backstory or a subplot).

Given Scott's position on the team, it's weird. I guess the decided to focus on Wolverine above all else, and I doing that cut Scott out because otherwise you've got a superhero movie with two male leads.

[Dukefrukem]

I dunno. I thought Wolverine versus Lady Deathstryke was pretty good (although technically, I guess she isn't supposed to be a mutant).

It's interesting that you had the same beef about Return of the Jedi. Do you suffer from some type of cinematic separation anxiety, Duke? ;)

I bet there's definitely a reason why I feel this way because you're right.. it's the exact same feeling in RotJ.

[number8]

The Chosen One protagonist was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally popular in the late 90s and early 2000s.

The first movie had the exact same narrative as The Matrix.

[Irish]

Uh, what? How do you see Wolverine (I'm assuming you mean Wolverine) as a "chosen one"? And in that context, how is X1 similar to The Matrix?

[Skitch]

Dude, the way they treat Scott is bizarre, especially if you're coming from the comics. Both his role & Storm's role are minimized. Off hand guess is that neither of them appear in more than 6 scenes over three movies. They're barely given anything to do. Even their dialogue is most often purely functional (and unlike everybody else, neither of them is allowed a backstory or a subplot).

Given Scott's position on the team, it's weird. I guess the decided to focus on Wolverine above all else, and I doing that cut Scott out because otherwise you've got a superhero movie with two male leads.

Thats why I say we've had like 5 Wolverine movies (or maybe Wolverine and the X-Men) and 2 X-Mens.

[Skitch]

Hell, X2 and 3 have more in common with a What If? issue that explored what if Wolverine was the leader of the X-Men instead of Scott.

[number8]

Oh, that it's got a secret war between two factions that's been going on for years until an outsider joins up and becomes the one to tip the scale. It's a common hero arc, obviously, but they made the decision to use it in what is supposed to be a team of heroes. The movie should have been an ensemble but instead focuses on Wolverine because they present him as The Guy in the story, and they've had a hard time breaking away from it ever since. In every entry aside from First Class, they find a reason why Wolverine is the only one who can solve the big crisis because of his specific power, which is why they're all Wolverine and Assistants with Marginally Useful Powers movies.

[Irish]

Ah, okay. Disagree on the details (Logan isn't "chosen," for instance, the plot doesn't lean toward monomyth, and the war doesn't seem particularly secret), but I understand what you mean.

I dunno if they struggled with it so much as made a conscious, early decision to focus on a fan favorite to the exclusion of other characters. It only feels like it "should be" an ensemble because the comics are. It would have been cool, though, if they had taken a more round-robin approach: X1 is about Wolverine, X2 is about Storm, X3 is about Cyclops, etc etc. Similar to Marvel, but with everybody participating in every film.

I like the series on the whole, but yeah, still feels like there's untapped potential there.

[number8]

It's been a while, I think I misremembered the fact that it was Rogue that they were going after and he just happens to tag along.

Although they did bring him to the mansion against his will and then persuaded him to join up.

[Dukefrukem]

He never really agreed to join. He just kinda hung around because Prof X promised him answers.

[Ezee E]

Marsden is a pretty bad actor. It was a good decision to keep Scott out of it.

[MadMan]

The next one might feature Cyclops more. It is odd that Storm got pushed to the background.

[Dead & Messed Up]

This movie was fun. I haven't seen First Class, but I wasn't too lost. Wanted more Dinklage, wanted deeper Dinklage.

I guess that shit with the stadium changes a lot. Weren't mutants murmured about in the original film? Which takes place 20-odd years after this one? I dunno.

Appreciated them "correcting" The Last Stand without ignoring it altogether.

Agreed with those calling Singer's direction a little flat.

This film's Quicksilver scene is like some sort of rhyme to the Nightcrawler scene from X2.

For me, the fundamental issue with these films is that the actors playing Magneto and Professor X are so good in both timelines (seriously, that casting is superb) that I want a film that doesn't push them into superhero formula. Their scenes are always more interesting than the special effects fights - even when they really arent, they are, because of that chemistry and understated method of acting.

For me, X2 > DOFP > The Wolverine > X1 = X3