The Guard
Avenger
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
- Messages
- 34,021
- Reaction score
- 1,365
- Points
- 103
I see a lot of people comparing X3 to X-MEN, and X2. And that's going to happen, and it's inevitable. What I don't see is a lot of fair comparison. Either X-MEN and X2 get put on a pedestal, or they get trashed, and X3 ends up having to fall into some category because of it.
It's no secret that I am looking forward to this movie. I have my reasons: I find the concept wonderful, the themes fascinating, and the film is full of actors who have given solid to fantastic performances since X-MEN, and new actors who will only up the ante with their performances. And let's face it, the effects and action doesn't look bad at all.
But let's be honest with ourselves. While it might well rock, X3 is not likely to be a perfect film. Neither were X-MEN and X2. If we're honest with ourselves, X-MEN and X2, for all their good points, had a lot of flaws. Every movie does.
For every inconsistency X3 has, X-MEN and X2 set such inconsistencies up (inconsistencies in character, story, etc). There are a few major complaints, many of which stem from people who are apparently completely unwilling to compromise (despite the fact that someone ELSE paid millions of dollars to make this film, someone else wrote it, someone else directed it, and someone else decided YEARS ago where this film franchise would go). So many fans seem to think they have the RIGHT to certain aspects, or believe that it's possible to deliver ALL they want in a two hour movie. People, we are not going to see Colossus, Rogue, Iceman, Angel, and Beast get their "due". It's simply not possible. Even if Wolverine was abset from the film, it would not be possible. What we are likely to see is fantastic interpretations that fit right into the themes and approach of this franchise. So, addressing some of the major complaints:
Screentime, specifically Angel and Rogue: Not every character will get their "share" of screentime. In a cast this big, with what I would consider more important characters to find resolution for (Xavier, Jean, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm), it's simply not to be expected from characters like Rogue, Iceman, Colossus, etc. But that should hardly be news. Think about this: Nightcrawler had about 12 minutes of screentime in X2, and that's counting all those mini-blips of him looking around during the X-Jet falling and similar moments. What he had though, was quality screentime. Screentime with a purpose, both visually and thematically. Ditto Mystique over the course of this franchise, Stryker in X2 and Kelly in X-MEN. What you can expect from Rogue and Iceman then, would be similar: Quality, well-acted screentime from both of them, with relevance to the storyline and plot.
Wolverine: This franchise has been told from Wolverine's point of view since X-MEN. They continued his story into X2. If you bought into it then, and enjoyed it then, then X3 is not the time to go "I'm sick of Wolverine". He's been well-written, he's been well-acted, and we've seen a number of moments that are just CLASSIC Wolverine.
Cyclops: Cyclops has not gotten the character development or moments we all wanted to see. Neither has Iceman. Or Rogue. Or Colossus. Neither, in my mind, has Xavier, nor will Beast, Angel, etc. Not enough to "satisfy" (well, maybe from Beast). Many situations converged to create the Cyclops Situation, and I doubt anyone will be truly "satisfied" with his part in this franchise, but I don't think it's a stretch to appreciate what Marsden does with his role.
Rogue: Rogue might take the cure. I understand how it makes her look, but consider her character as she's been written. She's not been a fighter. She's been a character in conflict, and that conflict revolves around her powers and what they do to her. Realistically, she has every right to consider the cure in my mind. Being an X-Man doesn't mean you have to suffer. There's no obligation to live a miserable life just so you can drain other people of their powers in the occassional battle. Her reaction to the cure is very human, I think.
Phoenix: This is clearly not the Dark Phoenix saga. This is the element of Phoenix as it fits into the movieverse. I don't see it so much as a watered down version of the character, because while her scale has been lessened, her emotional weight has been amped up about tenfold. So while she won't eat planets, she will have emotional scenes to rival (surpass?) what is found in the comics.
Character development: Again, if you bought into these films, which have character moments, but not a whole lot of development in X-MEN and X2, now is not the time to ***** when the SAME THING HAPPENS.
Runtime: Yeah, it's a shorter movie than X2. It's going to move faster, and it probably will need to, given the plot. Things are going to escalate, and escalate quickly, not slowly, as they did in X2. But I've gone back and watched X-MEN and X2, and discovered something. They are composed (especially their intros) of mostly smaller character moments that form a whole, and padded with longer action sequences. I expect something very similar from X3. So when people whine about "minute long scenes" to kick off the movie, go look at X-MEN. Most of the scenes clock in between a minute and two minutes.
I suppose the point of this is: By and large, we know what you're getting from X3. What do you honestly expect?
It's no secret that I am looking forward to this movie. I have my reasons: I find the concept wonderful, the themes fascinating, and the film is full of actors who have given solid to fantastic performances since X-MEN, and new actors who will only up the ante with their performances. And let's face it, the effects and action doesn't look bad at all.
But let's be honest with ourselves. While it might well rock, X3 is not likely to be a perfect film. Neither were X-MEN and X2. If we're honest with ourselves, X-MEN and X2, for all their good points, had a lot of flaws. Every movie does.
For every inconsistency X3 has, X-MEN and X2 set such inconsistencies up (inconsistencies in character, story, etc). There are a few major complaints, many of which stem from people who are apparently completely unwilling to compromise (despite the fact that someone ELSE paid millions of dollars to make this film, someone else wrote it, someone else directed it, and someone else decided YEARS ago where this film franchise would go). So many fans seem to think they have the RIGHT to certain aspects, or believe that it's possible to deliver ALL they want in a two hour movie. People, we are not going to see Colossus, Rogue, Iceman, Angel, and Beast get their "due". It's simply not possible. Even if Wolverine was abset from the film, it would not be possible. What we are likely to see is fantastic interpretations that fit right into the themes and approach of this franchise. So, addressing some of the major complaints:
Screentime, specifically Angel and Rogue: Not every character will get their "share" of screentime. In a cast this big, with what I would consider more important characters to find resolution for (Xavier, Jean, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm), it's simply not to be expected from characters like Rogue, Iceman, Colossus, etc. But that should hardly be news. Think about this: Nightcrawler had about 12 minutes of screentime in X2, and that's counting all those mini-blips of him looking around during the X-Jet falling and similar moments. What he had though, was quality screentime. Screentime with a purpose, both visually and thematically. Ditto Mystique over the course of this franchise, Stryker in X2 and Kelly in X-MEN. What you can expect from Rogue and Iceman then, would be similar: Quality, well-acted screentime from both of them, with relevance to the storyline and plot.
Wolverine: This franchise has been told from Wolverine's point of view since X-MEN. They continued his story into X2. If you bought into it then, and enjoyed it then, then X3 is not the time to go "I'm sick of Wolverine". He's been well-written, he's been well-acted, and we've seen a number of moments that are just CLASSIC Wolverine.
Cyclops: Cyclops has not gotten the character development or moments we all wanted to see. Neither has Iceman. Or Rogue. Or Colossus. Neither, in my mind, has Xavier, nor will Beast, Angel, etc. Not enough to "satisfy" (well, maybe from Beast). Many situations converged to create the Cyclops Situation, and I doubt anyone will be truly "satisfied" with his part in this franchise, but I don't think it's a stretch to appreciate what Marsden does with his role.
Rogue: Rogue might take the cure. I understand how it makes her look, but consider her character as she's been written. She's not been a fighter. She's been a character in conflict, and that conflict revolves around her powers and what they do to her. Realistically, she has every right to consider the cure in my mind. Being an X-Man doesn't mean you have to suffer. There's no obligation to live a miserable life just so you can drain other people of their powers in the occassional battle. Her reaction to the cure is very human, I think.
Phoenix: This is clearly not the Dark Phoenix saga. This is the element of Phoenix as it fits into the movieverse. I don't see it so much as a watered down version of the character, because while her scale has been lessened, her emotional weight has been amped up about tenfold. So while she won't eat planets, she will have emotional scenes to rival (surpass?) what is found in the comics.
Character development: Again, if you bought into these films, which have character moments, but not a whole lot of development in X-MEN and X2, now is not the time to ***** when the SAME THING HAPPENS.
Runtime: Yeah, it's a shorter movie than X2. It's going to move faster, and it probably will need to, given the plot. Things are going to escalate, and escalate quickly, not slowly, as they did in X2. But I've gone back and watched X-MEN and X2, and discovered something. They are composed (especially their intros) of mostly smaller character moments that form a whole, and padded with longer action sequences. I expect something very similar from X3. So when people whine about "minute long scenes" to kick off the movie, go look at X-MEN. Most of the scenes clock in between a minute and two minutes.
I suppose the point of this is: By and large, we know what you're getting from X3. What do you honestly expect?
