[Maquisard]

Spoiler:

Interesting how this franchise has the same major villain in all the movies. I guess it's kinda like Superman's Lex Luthor. BTW, how did Magneto escape incarceration at the end of the movie? Does viewing mutancy as an illness mean that once you're cured you're no longer responsible for your actions? Kinda like, "It was the sickness killing people, not you."?

[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Spoiler:

It never showed him being incarcerated...

[Panthera]

GAAH, to many spoilers! *poof*

[Maquisard]

Originally Posted by [toj.cc]Phantom

Spoiler:

It never showed him being incarcerated...

Spoiler:

That's what I mean. He should've been.

[Phantom]

I think X-Men 3 was the best of the 3, but I love the entire series. Ratner proved to be a more than capable successor to Singer. Don't listen to all the whiners in this thread, go see this rollercoaster!

[Jeysie]

I'm going to agree with Mares and Claire... it's a decent flick, but nowhere as good as the first two. It lacks the great character moments and focused plot of the first two movies, and is disturbingly darker and more violent.

Anyway. Being a character junkie, I'm going to take a character-centric approach to my thoughts. My thoughts on the characters I thought came off pretty well, first...

Iceman:

Spoiler:

Bobby's been my favorite character since the first movie.

I think that out of all the characters, even the adults, he's the X-Man who most takes the Professor's philosophy of control and "using your powers for good" to heart. He's level-headed, compassionate, and seems comfortable with his abilities.

He seems to be the "poster child" for mutants just trying to have "normal" lives. Most of his scenes consist of having his attempts to have family, friendship and romance stymied in one way or another by powers (Rogue) and/or allegances (Pyro, his brother). Most of the time when he uses his powers it's either for utility reasons (like romancing ladies with ice roses and impromptu skating rinks or instantly chilling sodas) or defensively (like putting out fires or making giant ice walls).

This makes him pretty easy to overlook... but it's also why I like the character. Shawn Ashmore does a good job of playing the moral good guy, the one you wish life would be more fair to for a change. Which makes the spot in the third movie where he "ices up" and finally teaches Pyro the problems with his arrogance all the more satisfying.

Wolverine:

Spoiler:

I have to be honest and say that while I do think the character is neat, I've never understood why the character is *so* popular. Then again, admittedly I tend to prefer the totally good guy to the good bad boy.

Still, Hugh Jackman has done a great job with the role. And Wolverine got a lot of good stuff in this movie.

There's always been good chemistry between him and Famke Janssen (sadly, much more than between her and James Marsden), and that pays off in this movie, albeit in a depressing way (and what was with the way, way overdone medical table makeout scene?).

He also gets to turn the tables against Magneto. The bit where Magneto is contemptuous that Wolverine would try to stop him alone, only to have Wolverine say he's come for Jean is a nice turnaround for the "You think it's all about you" moments in the last two movies.

And the scene where he's thrown at Magneto by Colossus, only to be brought up short by Magneto, who contempuously says, "Don't you ever learn?" before getting tackled by Beast is also a nice turnaround to similar scenes in the previous movies.

Hugh Jackman's dialogue coach needs a kick in the pants, though... there were a few moments in the movie where Jackman's normal accent was decidedly noticeable.

Finally, Shadowcat:

Spoiler:

So, we get our third actress for the role... and she inexplicably shows up in the "inner X-Kid" circle out of the blue.

Still, she kicks major butt... her moments of phasing people in and out of danger are cool, as is the way she cleverly outsmarts Juggernaut during the end fight (and the "dickhead" line...)

However, Ellen Page's chemistry with Ashmore is lacking compared to Anna Paquin... but then, her and Bobby didn't strike me as having more than a friendly brother/sister thing anyway. Unfortunately it makes Rogue's attitude look all the more silly (though, admittedly, Rogue might well want to "cure" her powers even if she thought Bobby was totally devoted to her).

Then the people who didn't come off so well... a couple thoughts I have off the top of my head, and then I might make another post later...

Cyclops:

Spoiler:

You know, it's no wonder James Marsden bailed for the Superman movies.

For one, Cyclops isn't the most likeable character to begin with.
For two, he barely gets written into any scenes.
For three, when he does getting written into a scene it's either not in a leader role or he's getting upstaged by Wolverine.
For four, having to act without using your eyes is *hard*.
For five he gets killed off without even a good death scene.
For six, he only gets one really cool action scene in the whole movie series.
At the point in the movie where he got killed off, I found myself thinking I'd miss Mystique more than I'd miss him...

Rogue:

Spoiler:

We finally see her putting her power to some flashy combat use... and then she spends the rest of the movie being jealous over the most unconvincing love triangle ever (seriously, the way Bobby is portrayed/acted it's impossible to believe he'd ditch/cheat on Rogue because she couldn't touch him, and Kitty is too innocent-seeming to come off as more than a sister-type)... and then she finally loses her power altogether.

Granted, it makes good dramatic counterpoint to see one of the X-Men wanting to be cured, and even without the love triangle thing it makes sense she'd choose the option, but it's still disappointing.

OK, that's it from me for now...

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Spiwak]

Yea my problem with the movie was mostly that it should have been longer. Meaning there were characters in this that weren't developed at all--basically everybody except Wolverine, Jean, Xavier, Magneto, Iceman, Beast, maybe Mystique. Archangel didn't do anything in the movie except that he was the son of the guy that created the cure. Juggernaut and Callisto and crew were simply found and just as simply joined up with Magneto and that was that for them. Shadowcat I thought was adorable and after the movie I'd give her newcomer actor/character of movie, shared with Kelsey Gramer as Beast. The best part of the movie was the race she had with Juggernaut for the boy, especially when she reached him and the subsequent "Who's hiding, dickhead?!" line. While I generally disagree with the insertion of cheesy one-liners but that one was surprisingly good and felt in place.

I feel sorry for Cyclops. Despite being the leader of the X-Men in the comics he went absolutely nowhere in the movies, culminating in an incredible cop-out death 10 minutes in.

So in the end:
Pros - Shadowcat, Jean-Wolverine chemistry and story was actually fairly well-done, Iceman

Cons - the obligatory ending that hints at a sequel, underdeveloped characters, underdeveloped plot as a whole

[Brandon]

spiwak, holy crap, use the spoiler tag!

Spoiler:

"does this imply hypothetically that the cure is only temporary then, and that everyone i.e. Rogue/Mystique will revert to being mutants?"

no, it implies that magneto is such a powerful mutant that 4 doses of the cure weren't enough to completely get rid of his powers. if they had stuck 5 doses into him, then it would have been all good lol.

and, read my non-spoiler blog with my thoughts about the movie:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ogID=126341854

i agree, this film just didn't do it for me the way that the first two did. it had ENOURMOUS potential, but didn't live up to it.

cyclops got nothing.

i didn't think the actress was the right choice for kitty pryde.

and, well, blah, too much other stuff to mention.

[phankiejankie]

The movie is decent but it is obvious that Ratner cannot make X-Men “sing” the way Singer can

Apart from that, is it just me or the major actors seem to have been bored to death with the series? Dunno if it’s the director’s fault but the leadliners seemed to be in a lets get over this crap movie mood, we have work to do at home.

[pinkgothic]

Because everyone is replying to it without saying what my nose was bumped onto in the Recent Movies Seen thread:

Originally Posted by Claire

Thanks,

Spoiler:

does this imply hypothetically that the cure is only temporary then, and that everyone i.e. Rogue/Mystique will revert to being mutants?

Spoiler:

Given that the mutant who is the source of 'the cure' could temporarily revert mutants to humans, it only makes sense that, indeed, 'the cure' was only temporary. I was going to get my knickers in a twist about Magneto not losing his powers until this was kindly pointed out to me by Lucien21.

Apart from that, is it just me or the major actors seem to have been bored to death with the series?

It's not just you. Interestingly, I had the same impression with LotR. Maybe three parts in short succession aren't that good an idea in general? *ponder*

[Lucien21]

Halle Berry always looks bored.

[MoriartyL]

I thought it was excellent. If I were more of a fan, I'd be furious at how much of a mess they've made with the place expecting the next guys to clean it up. But I'm not, so I'm not. The plot isn't terribly coherent, and it's filled with plot holes, and nothing actually gets resolved in the end, but it is still really really good. The only thing that I felt was lacking from the epic battle scene was Pheonix rising up surrounded in fire. (It could have used the pay-off.) Otherwise, it was consistently gripping.

Would I put it up there with the first two? Of course not. I see those as classics, which are provocative sci-fi movies more than superhero action movies. This movie aimed lower, and it's only fair to judge a movie on its own terms. For an action movie, what you need is excitement and escalating intensity. This absolutely nailed that.

Maybe there was something wrong with the theater's print of the film, because I didn't see the chess piece move. He was just sitting there, trying and failing to move the piece, and suddenly it (very abruptly) cut to the credits. I suspect the Israeli print was accidentally messed up by the team sticking on the subtitles.

[MoriartyL]

On the hand which is nitpicking at the moment:

-The music was terrible.
-I never liked Storm, especially as Halle Berry plays her.
-Where did Nightcrawler disappear to?
-How the heck did he survive Pheonix?
-How does school go on when all the teachers are gone?

[Maquisard]

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

This movie aimed lower, and it's only fair to judge a movie on its own terms.

I disagree. A sequel should always be judged in comparison to the movies that came before it. Why? Because as a sequel meant to capitalize on the success of the previous movies, it counts on the expectations of the fans that it will rock just as much to attract them in droves. When it fails to rock just as much, fans are justly disappointed.

[MoriartyL]

I shouldn't have portrayed it as a matter of value; TLS has in its own purpose more value than the first two. It is only as a matter of personal taste that I consider action inferior to thoughts. But since I did portray it that way, you win.

Regarding the score: Every time the main theme played, I rolled my eyes thinking: "What a rip-off of The Incredibles!" In particular, think of the music from the teaser trailer after: "Mr. Incredible, we NEED your help!" and as the "Incredibles" logo appears. The TLS theme has faded somewhat from my memory, but I think it was practically taken note for note from there. I'm certain the composer wasn't aware of the plagiarism- he's just a terrible composer.

[Lucien21]

Dammit is that where the music was from.

Thank you I spent the whole movie thinking where have I heard that music before.

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

-I never liked Storm, especially as Halle Berry plays her.

As a fan of Storm in the comics, there was always something bugging me about Halle Berry's portrayal of her (more than other actors/X-Men). For the life of me, though, I can't put a finger on what's bugging me! Gah! I'd feel more happy to say her acting was shite if I could figure out where it went wrong. Until I figure that out, I'm just going to stand by the side and cast blank looks...

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by pinkgothic

As a fan of Storm in the comics, there was always something bugging me about Halle Berry's portrayal of her (more than other actors/X-Men). For the life of me, though, I can't put a finger on what's bugging me! Gah! I'd feel more happy to say her acting was shite if I could figure out where it went wrong. Until I figure that out, I'm just going to stand by the side and cast blank looks...

Oh, it's pretty simple- she's just not interesting to watch. She plays Storm as a completely lifeless character reciting lines. The acting's very competent, but empty, as if she doesn't really have a clue who Ororo Munroe is. I confess, I'd never read the comics before I saw the movies, so my personal bias to think of Storm as a completely worthless character was shaped by Berry's performance. And I agree- None of the other actors are as hard to watch as she is.

[RLacey]

Did they not use the theme tune from the previous two films (I haven't seen X3 yet)?

As for Halle Berry, isn't it well documented that she thinks her character should be a bigger part, and so doesn't really care about it?

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by RLacey

Did they not use the theme tune from the previous two films (I haven't seen X3 yet)?

Each movie had a different theme.

The first one was (in A minor for simplicity's sake, and starting from the E under A):
E A CB.. E B DC.. E C ED, eF...

X2's theme was:
A-A c eFe, A-A c eGf,
A-A c eFe.. f g A f C B A!

As for the new theme, it's only been a couple of hours since I've seen the movie and already it's completely faded from my mind. I no longer feel comfortable at all making comparisons to other movies, because I can't remember at all what it sounded like. I'd appreciate if someone could confirm or deny my gut feeling from the time of where it came from.

I hope that made some sense, and lament the lack of a way to write musical notation on a forum.

Looking on IMDB, I note two interesting things. First, apparently each movie was scored by a different composer, which explains why musical themes aren't retained and developed between movies. Second, the composer of TLS is the same guy who composed the lovely Shrek score, so apparently this was written on one of his bad days.

As for Halle Berry, isn't it well documented that she thinks her character should be a bigger part, and so doesn't really care about it?

I don't know, but it didn't feel at all like she was the star of the movie- that was obviously Magneto. She got a lot of lines, but the generic kind of line which just needed to be said for the purpose of the plot and could have been delivered by any of the nameless characters standing around.