LastSunrise1981 said:
I blame Ratner, Penn, and Kinberg for willing to work with a half-assed script and not wanting to make a complete quality film. It seemed Ratner was only in it for the money and had no interest in making a great film.
Seriously, this could've been the trilogy of all trilogies. In my opinion X3 could've surpassed Return of the King with the potential it had. Instead, Fox chose to neglect that particular potential and decided to defecate on the source material and spit in the face of the fans.
In the end it's a matter of opinion, I guess. When push comes to shove I am a passionate X-Men reader and I am passionate about the stories, the characters, and the overall theme that is the X-Men. I am not denying that X1/X2 had deviations from the material, but, believe it or not, the changes that were made didn't ruin the films and the films were so emotionally powerful and intelligent that it didn't matter. Despite those changes Singer was still very faithful to the X-Men universe and the overall theme.
Singer, in my opinion, brought the comics to life the way I always imagined with his vision.
Perhaps if X1/X2 were mindless action films with no story then maybe X3 would be easier for me to accept. But since both films were building up to something epic and beautiful, and to see what X3 is really just makes me vomit inside with the whole politics issue.
You know, I really wish you could be this civil in
all of your discussions. When you express your viewpoint like this, I actually care what you have to say, and want to take part in conversation with you.
Despite our vocal disagreement over
X-Men: The Last Stand, I agree whole heartedly with you about
X-Men and
X-Men United. Nothing changed in Singer's movies messed with the essence and foundation of the X-Men mythology. And even some changes he made, weren't really changes at all, but rather focusing on different aspects of the character than what's mainstream. Perfect example is Rogue. People complain about her being a whiney little crybaby... which is exactly what she is in the comics. Yea, she has her bad ass chick facade, but deep down underneath all of that, she really is the scared, alone girl. She was that when she first joined the X-Men. She didn't become Miss Confident until later. And even when she is that, her relationship in the movies with Iceman is pretty much exactly how her relationship with Gambit in the comics is dealt with.
I think that
X-Men: The Last Stand told a much more epic and powerful story than either
X-Men or
X-Men United did. However, I think that Bryan Singer told his stories better than Ratner told his. Despite my love of
X-Men: The Last Stand, there is still a sense of disappointment there, and that is because there's no depth behind what's going on. It's bare bones, minimalistic explanations of everything just to move the plot forward. Singer actually built stuff up, and made it an important part of the story. With
X-Men: The Last Stand, it's just kind of "Okay, here it is, next scene".
Overall, I voted "Very Good" (my opinion is somewhere between "Very Good" and "X-Cellent").
I find it to have the best story, and the most epic events.
I find
X-Men United to be a better crafted and executed film, even though the story it's telling isn't as interesting.
On the whole, I have a hard time deciding which is my favorite. I may have to give the edge to
X-Men: The Last Stand just because I love the storyline so much. But it's tough, because while doing the most right in my opinion, it also did the most wrong. While bringing the X-Men to life in ways Singer never did, it also forgot some of the beautiful elegance that Singer brought to the universe. My biggest complaint about
X-Men or
X-Men United is Lady Deathstrike not having any connection to Wolverine.
X-Men: The Last Stand has problems much more significant than that, like killing off Cyclops, curing Rogue, and turning Wolverine into a leader.
All in all, the one thing that is easy for me to say is that we got an amazing trilogy of X-Men films. From the first shot of Magneto's days in the concentration camps to the final shot of Moira and Xavier on Muir Island, this entire trilogy makes me a very happy X-Men fan.
Sure, things could have been better. But I don't judge films on what they weren't, I judge them on what they were. And to me, what they were, was brilliant adaptations of my favorite fictional universe and my favorite fictional characters, brought to life just as I love them, just the way I see them, with emotional, and epic stories.