Have you done the X-Movie marathon?

[Kevin Roegele]

I.e. watched all three films back to back?

I'm doing it right now. You can notice a lot of differences between the films this way. I'll use this thread to post my observations.

- X1 is very ominous and atmospheric, and feels more 'real' than the other two movies.

- Wolverine is far more dangerous in X1, by the time we get to XIII he's making action hero quips and one-liners. In XI, he just tries to take people down asap.

- Wolverine looks best in X1. Scruffy and feral, and the haircut is not over done.

- Magneto is a more powerful, commanding figure in X1. In the sequels, McKellen loosens up a bit and adds more humour.

- The fight scenes in X1 aren't completely convincing.

- Wolverine gets his ass kicked repeatedly in X1.

- The first time we see Jean in X1, she is wearing a red dress and Wolverine threatens to kill her. The last time we see her in XIII, she's wearing a red dress and Wolverine does kill her.

- X2 has the best theme tune.

- Best exchange in the series comes at the end of the first movie. Magneto: "The war is coming Charles, and I intend to fight it - by any means necesary." Prof X: "And I will always be there - old friend."

- Storm evolves from being quite a wuss in X1 to a real warrior in XIII.

- Mystique is quite menacing in X1, by X2 she's become almost one of the good guys.

- The relationship between Logan and Rogue is wonderful in X1, but just evaporates afterwards.

- The lack of attention to Rogue in the sequels is the biggest failing of the franchise. In X1, she is one of the two main characters. The audience sees the story thru Rogue's eyes. By XIII, she is virtually ignored and then her character is reset to little girl running away. Really poor.

- Colossus actually has more lines in X2 than XIII.

 

[flavio_lebeau]

Since I'll have two days without class this week, I might shove the movies onto a dvd and watch 'em.

 

[_BB_]

I've watched all three in a row. X1 and 2 feel like one continuous story, but x3 just feels like its from a totally different world, almost AU even.

 

[xii22_loop]

lol yeah i tried to do the marathon thing but it didn't work out. It's like totally like 3 different tones and watching all 3 kinda feels wierd and uneven.

Well the first movie is like a trailer/minute recap for X2 (which Bryan Singer said in an interview, that making X1 was like doing a trailer for a bigger movie), and well X2 has that established style (like the way Spiderman 2 is to the first Spiderman), and then the 3rd kinda doesn't take the stuff setup in the 2nd in the way you thought it would... the 3rd feeling the most out of place.
And it's kinda depressing, cause things seem like they are gunna get better at the end of X2, like Jean will come back and under the lake shes all good and she'll be back. But then in X3 she comes back and shes like evil right away and its sad, I guess it makes her and Scott dying alittle more emotional cause we are expecting they had more of a future?


kinda the whole marathon experience felt like k heres the situation
i feel kinda ill, and I sit down to watch the 3 movies. start with the first, and towards the end of the first i take some E and feel all happy throughout the 2nd. then by the time the 3rd starts the E is wearing off, but not gone yet, and by the time the 3rd is starting to finish I feel even worse then before i took the E.

k wierd way I've described that, since E (ecstasy) doesn't last for like 2 hours only, and I've never done it so I really don't know what it feels like. but I do know you take it and it brings you up high but when you come down it drops you down below your normal level. so uhh lol what was i saying again?

 

[Phoenix_Flare]

Back when the fall semester was over I did watch the X-Marathon...Although X1/X2 are the best X3 was in its own lil spin-off I have 2 say that they do work as whole because 1 can see the character dev. in all 3 i.e Storm from whimp to warrior, Jean 2 DP, and so on...My only regret is that they sorta lost the feel of human/mutants goin at it n at the end of X2 Jean was comin bak 2 them and we were going 2 see some new villians n possibly explore Rogues/N.Crawler/Mystique 's relationship

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Yea, I did the marathon when the films come out, and I think that the films flow together rather well.

The transition between X-Men and X2 is a little bit smoother, but really just because X2 takes place like, DIRECTLY after X-Men. It looks like it could be the next scene after the final scene in X-Men, whereas X-Men: The Last Stand takes place some time after the end of X2.

Despite the distance in time, I believe all 3 movies flow together rather well. At the end of X-Men, we have Logan going off to Alkali Lake to search for clues to his past, and that is exactly where X2 picks up at. The film then proceeds to tackle the movie-verse version of Weapon X, which was the natural progression from X-Men.

At the end of X2, we've lost Jean (setting in motion the Phoenix Saga, obviously), and we have the X-Men making a challenge to the President on how he will handle the mutant situation after the events that William Stryker set in motion. We also have Magneto as a fugitive, after escaping from his plastic prison, and being on the loose.

X-Men: The Last Stand pics up directly from those left over plot points by showing us how the President responded to the challenge made by the X-Men (pro-mutant cabinet, Department of Mutant Affairs), and the efforts made to capture the fugitive Magneto, as well as Magneto's reaction to the triggering of the mutant / human war, via his terrorist attacks around the world. And then of course, we have Jean rising as the Phoenix, and throwing that into the mix.

All movies flow together rather well. Sure, X-Men: The Last Stand may not have dealt with things the way we all wanted or expected, but that doesn't make them out of place with what's been set up. I believe the transition and consistancy on all 3 movies is done rather well.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

I have watched all three films with my girlfriend at the time and while I feel both X1/X2 both flow very well together, X3 in my opinion just seems like a different film and doesn't appear to be connected very well with X1/X2.

Again it's my opinion. Last film marathon I ever did was Lord of the Rings and the Saw trilogy. I'll never watch all three Lord of the Rings in sequence ever again. As great as they are, wow was my ass numb after sitting like that even with breaks here and there.

Anyways X3 again just feels like a different film and doesn't really feel as though it's happening right after Alkali Lake. You have Magneto using Dark Cerebro to try and kill humanity during X2. Logic would point out that planes crashing, children dying, cars crashing, buildings crumbling, and elderly people dying would call for a more drastic approach into eradicating the mutants.

It just seemed like "The Cure" was a very poor plot device that wasn't developed, you know? I feel "The Cure" should've been the introduction of the Sentinels.

X3 just doesn't appear to be in continuity with X1/X2 to in my opinion.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I've watched all three in a row. X1 and 2 feel like one continuous story, but x3 just feels like its from a totally different world, almost AU even.

It really does! I have just finished watching all three in a row, and XIII just does not slot in very well.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

lol yeah i tried to do the marathon thing but it didn't work out. It's like totally like 3 different tones and watching all 3 kinda feels wierd and uneven.

Well the first movie is like a trailer/minute recap for X2 (which Bryan Singer said in an interview, that making X1 was like doing a trailer for a bigger movie), and well X2 has that established style (like the way Spiderman 2 is to the first Spiderman), and then the 3rd kinda doesn't take the stuff setup in the 2nd in the way you thought it would... the 3rd feeling the most out of place.
And it's kinda depressing, cause things seem like they are gunna get better at the end of X2, like Jean will come back and under the lake shes all good and she'll be back. But then in X3 she comes back and shes like evil right away and its sad, I guess it makes her and Scott dying alittle more emotional cause we are expecting they had more of a future?


kinda the whole marathon experience felt like k heres the situation
i feel kinda ill, and I sit down to watch the 3 movies. start with the first, and towards the end of the first i take some E and feel all happy throughout the 2nd. then by the time the 3rd starts the E is wearing off, but not gone yet, and by the time the 3rd is starting to finish I feel even worse then before i took the E.

k wierd way I've described that, since E (ecstasy) doesn't last for like 2 hours only, and I've never done it so I really don't know what it feels like. but I do know you take it and it brings you up high but when you come down it drops you down below your normal level. so uhh lol what was i saying again?

................okay, everyone back slowly towards the door......

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Again it's my opinion. Last film marathon I ever did was Lord of the Rings and the Saw trilogy. I'll never watch all three Lord of the Rings in sequence ever again. As great as they are, wow was my ass numb after sitting like that even with breaks here and there.

Same here. I marathoned the 3 Lord of the Rings films and I'll never do that again. I can get through 2 films back to back, but not all 3. That's just way too much sitting on the couch in front of the TV for me, and I'm a freaking couch potatoe! I need to get up and do SOMETHING, I can't sit for that long.

Anyways X3 again just feels like a different film and doesn't really feel as though it's happening right after Alkali Lake. You have Magneto using Dark Cerebro to try and kill humanity during X2. Logic would point out that planes crashing, children dying, cars crashing, buildings crumbling, and elderly people dying would call for a more drastic approach into eradicating the mutants.

It just seemed like "The Cure" was a very poor plot device that wasn't developed, you know? I feel "The Cure" should've been the introduction of the Sentinels.

I disagree with X-Men: The Last Stand feeling like a different film and not part of the trilogy, but I do agree with you that a Sentinel project would have been a very natural progression from the events of X2. What I would have liked to have seen was a pro-mutant President, like we had, but have Trask be running Project Wideawake, a Sentinel project that could counter-act the mutants that posed a threat. The problem with that, that would cause a very good political conflict, is that the Sentinels would be armed with the cure (Sentinels in the comics DID neutralize mutant powers, this would have been a good "movie-verse" version of that), and a form of forced distribution in case of emergency (Alcatraz), but they would be programmed to attack ANYONE with the mutant X-Gene. This would provide a very good political and moral conflict, because the President would be faced with the conflict of protecting the American citizens from mutants who WERE a true threat to society (Magneto and his Brotherhood), but at the same time ruining relations with the mutant community by the consequences of targeting anyone and everyone with the mutant gene, or remaining "politically correct" at the expense of American lives.

This was the kind of conflict that was -implied- in the trailers ("Well then, you know what needs to be done", "We're going to protect our citizens", and the look that Trask gives the President while Xavier voice overs "You have no idea what is upon us now"), but was missing in the films, and it's because of the lack of this conflict that I feel the movie is lacking what it could have truly been. I think that everything else in the film works the way it should (well, except for Cyclops' death, which is another matter, as well as Rogue's curing), but this sense of moral conflict is what's missing in this film. This was the conflict that was hyped up since Matthew Vaughn was on board, the "should we or shouldn't we" mentality of there not truly being one right path. Had this conflict been implemented into the film, I think it would truly be the film that it could have been.

X3 just doesn't appear to be in continuity with X1/X2 to in my opinion.

I disagree, but I guess that goes without saying

 

[Angamb]

I haven't done the marathon yet, but truly when I saw X3 in the theatre, I really had a feeling that X3 wasn't in the same tone/style, etc. Yes, the plots were a possible continuation, but the feelings I had was the contrary one.

I mean, the first scene, Jean flahsback, already there the tone wasn't the same, the music... all wasn't Singer style, for me.

Then Mystique being captured... How?? I never understood that, in X1 and X2 she can't be captured and suddenly in X3 she was captured, and even more, we never saw it (bad move, in my opinion).

 

[FaT_tONle]

Try doing the LOTR extended cuts back to back to back if you haven't already.... but I never got the point of watching 3 movies you've already seen from a trilogy back to back... is it supposed to be more enjoyable? Maybe if you were watching each movie for the second time only but that is rarely the case since you probably see the first or second part three or four times before the third part even comes out... I thought about doing it with Xmen but whats the point... the trilogy ends in a major let down... anyways... I think it would kick ass to see a three part trilogy watching every movie for the first time... imagine you are 12 years old... never seen episodes 4-6... and watch the original trilogy back to back to back... now that could be very enjoyable... I remember doing that a long time ago when they had the Planet of the Apes Marathon on... it entertained me the entire afternoon. Once Spike gets all the rights to air all six star wars movies and has a similar marathon... I am sure it will entertain the hell out of the younger generations watching those movies for the first time.

 

[Storm22]

I've yet to do it but I still think X3 fits quite well with the first two. Sure there are some differences but not enough to warrant X3 feeling like it's from a totally different world. X2 had quite a different feel from X1 also.

Look at the Harry Potter films for instance, each one of those vary in terms of mood, tone, cinematography etc. but they still slot in well with each other imo.

 

[Seen]

I've yet to do it but I still think X3 fits quite well with the first two. Sure there are some differences but not enough to warrant X3 feeling like it's from a totally different world. X2 had quite a different feel from X1 also.

Look at the Harry Potter films for instance, each one of those vary in terms of mood, tone, cinematography etc. but they still slot in well with each other imo.

I agree here. I remember when I first saw X2 and I was quite taken back by how different it felt. Then again, it had a different production designer, a different editor and a different composer, and all of those major components added up to a different feeling film overall, despite the same main creative crew and cast.

I like how all three films feel distinctly different yet all the same, as if they belong to some grand, whole universe (and they do). The first X-Men feels like a quaint character drama where X2 feels more like an action movie. X-Men: The Last Stand broadens the scope even more, and while I didn't really like the film, I will admit that it took what didn't work in the first two films and capitalizied on that, making it work on a larger, grander scale.

It's different and less consistent then let's say the Spider-Man trilogy where everything really feels cohesive and whole, but I also like how each X-Men film has been different tonally yet still exercising familarity and continuity. It's like you're seeing something old and new at the same time.

 

[X-Maniac]

I've yet to do the marathon either. I don't really have the time or patience, or I haven't had yet anyway. I'd have to hold an X-Men night or something and have friends over to share the experience on my big TV.

 

[javphonic]

I.e. watched all three films back to back?

I'm doing it right now. You can notice a lot of differences between the films this way. I'll use this thread to post my observations.

- X1 is very ominous and atmospheric, and feels more 'real' than the other two movies.

- Wolverine is far more dangerous in X1, by the time we get to XIII he's making action hero quips and one-liners. In XI, he just tries to take people down asap.

- Wolverine looks best in X1. Scruffy and feral, and the haircut is not over done.

- Magneto is a more powerful, commanding figure in X1. In the sequels, McKellen loosens up a bit and adds more humour.



- The fight scenes in X1 aren't completely convincing.

- Wolverine gets his ass kicked repeatedly in X1.

- The first time we see Jean in X1, she is wearing a red dress and Wolverine threatens to kill her. The last time we see her in XIII, she's wearing a red dress and Wolverine does kill her.

- X2 has the best theme tune.

- Best exchange in the series comes at the end of the first movie. Magneto: "The war is coming Charles, and I intend to fight it - by any means necesary." Prof X: "And I will always be there - old friend."

- Storm evolves from being quite a wuss in X1 to a real warrior in XIII.

- Mystique is quite menacing in X1, by X2 she's become almost one of the good guys.

- The relationship between Logan and Rogue is wonderful in X1, but just evaporates afterwards.

- The lack of attention to Rogue in the sequels is the biggest failing of the franchise. In X1, she is one of the two main characters. The audience sees the story thru Rogue's eyes. By XIII, she is virtually ignored and then her character is reset to little girl running away. Really poor.

- Colossus actually has more lines in X2 than XIII.

-I've noticed everything you said aswell especially Wolverine I thought they toned him down too much in X3

-I also hated how Rogue's character development was little to none in X3 she should have had a bigger role and could have tons of emotional moments with the cure and all

-I always thought the competiton between Wolverine and Cyclops was great, and was dissapointed as it dwindled away each film, and I think it should have been present in X3 more than ever especially with Jean's return

 

[Angamb]

Never liked the competition between them at all, because Scott always seemed like a stupid boy, the bad one, while Logan end being the great guy.

 

[oneteen]

^Which is what the movie franchise forced him to be, sadly. And about Wolverine turning soft. In my opinion it's the school that changed him. He sides with the good guys making him transition into the nicer Wolvie. Now that i mention it, they should'nt have done that.

 

[Spider-Fan]

You know what, I haven't. I should do that.

 

[taintedFB]

I plan to, but I'm afraid it will leave me depressed. My favorite character since discovering X-Men on TV, then in comics, has always been Cyclops. And Marsden is one of my favorite characters. So to see the deterioration and meaningless death of this core character is traumatizing.

It's frustrating because X2 left us all with such hope... only to have that hope dashed! No good Phoenix, no phoenix flame effect, no Jean/Scott drama as she turns evil. X3 has the best story (dark phoenix, cure) with the WORST script (character deaths, weaker Wolverine, very different character in Storm, Rogue & Mystique cured).

Still I hope to do it soon...

 

[November Rain]

there's no amount of money that will make me watch x2 again or purchase x3.

 

[phillip phonix]

there's no amount of money that will make me watch x2 again or purchase x3.

what! X2 is proberly with the exception of Bateman Begins and spidey 2 one of the best comic book movies ever, i dont understand you. but in relation to X3 i can see why you would not want to.

 

[psylockolussus]

Yeah since I got X-Men 3 dvd

X-Men movies are just legend!

 

[The Chris]

I watched all three movies last october. X-Men and X2 felt like the cool big brothers and X3 was like the little annoying jackass brother who was only enjoyable to a point.

 

[flavio_lebeau]

I've just done the X-Movie marathon. And...X2 is, without a glimpse of doubt, lightyears beyond the other two. It starts with the best theme, has the smartest plot, the best locations, best lines, best art, best details, best characterizations.
If I had to guess, I'd say X2's budget was at least twice the budget for X3 too. X2 is undoubtdely the most classy, elegant and overall best movie of the franchise. X2 has an extreme attention to details, while in X1 and X3 (here most) the details are on background and hardly ever show.

X1 is indeed, the most "real" approach of the franchise. By that movie, you can see the intention wasn't to make a superhero movie, but a movie in which those characters were extremely human, just with some powers. None of them (besides the villains and Wolverine) are good fighters, and their powers have limits. You can see they are vulnerable, just like any human.

-The only time in X3 I felt like watching an X2 sequel was from Xavier's funeral to Iceman searching Rogue to tell the school stays open. X3 just isn't like the previous two. A little too colorful, and I did miss the green/blue filters from the previous movies. X3 looks and feels like a kids movie, while the other two had an adult energy to them. I wish X3 was a lot darker, more serious and I wish it took its plot seriously too.

A character analisis:
Cyclops
I still think he's best in X2. His scenes are important to the plot, and although he spends half of the movie missing, when he's on screen, he gets his due.

Wolverine
He goes from believable, likeable and truly scene-stealing in X1 and parts of X2 to a terribly cliché, annoying and dreadful character in X3. Even his look in X3 is worn-out and careless, which kinda translated how he was treated in that movie. I agree X1 has his best look, with the exception of the uniform.

Storm
If Xavier's funeral happened in X1 or X2, she would be the last person to give that speech. In X3, she's the perfect, and the only who could do that. I liked this. I used to say I like her more in X1, but I can't help but notice her evolution during the trilogy. If in X1 she hardly speaks, X2 gives her more attention and X3 makes her shine over the other members. Best power display: X2. Best line: X1. Best hair and overall attitude: X3. I hope she continues the evolution. I was quite pleased with it...

Rogue
She has her peak in X2, no doubt. And the best look too. She comes through a beautiful evolution, and a hopeful end in X2, to...a shame in X3. God, I don't even wanna talk about X3.

Jean
No doubt, the best developed, and most dynamic character. I now think she looks best in X3. But I can't hide the sadnesss after watching X2 and seeing how it turns out in X3. Phoenix is a shame in almost every direction, but somehow, she's still kinda nice, with all the defects. She still holds the best scene of the trilogy to me, when she kills Xavier. X2 Jean rocks.
Something that made me happy was to see her evolution, and how the mind blocks theory perfectly fits within the trilogy. It's just perfect, and everything makes absolute sense. Loved this.

Professor
Not much of an evolution here. But X3 does ruin his reputation a lot.

Magneto
My mighty Magneto. He's smartest in X2, no doubt. Classy in all 3 films, but he's so smart and elegant in X2...Love the plastic prison escape scene forever.