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[X-Maniac]

Sometimes I wonder if you're blindly defending Ratner or do you even read any of his interview?
He had clearly stated in interviews that he had read thru Vaughn's full script, found the white house assault cringe-worthy and moved the bridge scene from the middle to the finale.
And what was his logic for doing so - not due to time but because of a visually stunning scene which he had to put in the end so nobody will miss it but in the process sacrificing the story and any epicness the movie could have been as well as creating logic problems with the over-actions and inactivities of both Magneto and the Phoenix respectively.
X, I agree that the production was rushed but not to the point that he couldn't do scenes he wanted to do, considering he had over 20 deleted scenes in his dvd, most of which were alternate takes/conclusion to the same scene and he had even time to do a extra end-of-the credit scene that was not in the script.
After learning that Ratner was the one who cut the relationship between Xavier and Juggernaut from another thread, I shudder to think what other significant characterisations he had left in the cutting board in exchange for all his mindless & unnecessary actions....I would really love to read Vaughn's full script before Ratner dumbified it.

Was it disappointing that you'd be doing a movie like this but you wouldn't be able to shepherd it because it was developed by another director?

Ratner: It really wasn't developed by another director. I think Matthew Vaughn came on very late, too. He was only on for a few weeks, also. It takes years to develop something, really. They started developing this right after "X2," so it wasn't really... I don't really hear much in the media about who did what. At the end of the day, I directed the movie, so that's what I care about.

Dialogue, too? Did you have the writers there on set?

Ratner: I had the writers there. The story never changed, that's what I loved about it. I completely changed the third act, but not the story. The story was there. It was just the location changed, because the third act was ending in Washington, DC. I said to the studio that these movies always end in Washington, DC. I've seen it so many times. (SPOILERS) And the thing that they did is that they had this incredible set piece, which is this bridge sequence, but it was in the middle of the movie. Originally, there wasn't that truck sequence with the prisoners? They were on Alcatraz Island, that was a prison, and Magneto came to the prison to break them out of the prison and used the bridge to get them off the island. So I said, "This is crazy!" This is the biggest set piece in the entire world, that I've ever read, and it's in the middle of a movie. We have to move this to the end and make it part of the plot. Breaking them out is just one part of it, but where are you going to go from there? So I convinced Tom Rothman, the head of the studio, to move it to the end of the movie and put the Cure on Alcatraz Island and put a face on The Cure with the little boy, and have the reason they're bringing that bridge over is that it just connects the dots even better, I think.

So what was the biggest scene you shot to fit your own sense... that's different from the previous two films? What will people who know your work as a director see as distinctively something of yours?

Ratner: I don't think it's a shot. I don't think it's something like Spike Lee with the shot of the guy floating down the street. (laughter) I think it's more of an energy. If you watch the other movies and you watch this movie, I think this movie has a pace that's my kind of ADD frenetic... I get bored very easily so... next scene, next scene, next scene, keep it moving, keep it moving, keep it moving... I mean, did you fall asleep at all in the film or no? A few times?

(SPOILERS) The after credit sequence in this film... is that something that was in the script? Do you know the whole time that you want to put that after the credits?

Ratner: Yeah, the studio didn't even know I did it until.. I didn't even put it on the schedule. I shot in between set-ups, just went over there and shot it, and then I showed it to the studio and they went "Oh My God, we love that!" because it keeps Xavier. Look, in the last one, Jean Grey died and then I saw her on the first day of shooting X3, so nobody dies in these movies? What the hell are they talking about?

All of which is interesting but I really can't believe that time and money were not a factor in the changes made to the story. An epic battle in Washington --- which could hardly be a studio set --- would be costly and time-consuming.

If you believe everything that people say, then perhaps you really do believe Janet Jackson's tit being flashed to the world really was a 'wardrobe function.' I don't know what was funnier - her tit being revealed, the lies about it being a wardrobe malfunction, or the moral crisis and national meltdown it caused across the USA!

 

[storm-x-fan]

You know how should have been the events in the Jean house?

Storm and Logan end soon with the baddies and enter the room where were Jean, Xavier and Magneto, and see Xavier's death with their own eyes. That would have been more epic, and dramatic.

I don't get it......I mean that's what happened...

 

[xmenfilesfan05]

Yes, the warning was fresh but, it was still unnecessary and had little affect on the storyline. If that terrorist event was so significant then why didn't the goverment consider improving the security on Alcatraz for the possibility of Magneto attacking the source of the cure? This is merely another example of horrible writing and bad filmmaking. That scene of Pryo destroying the clinic was nothing more than a mindless action sequence.





If you truely examined my commentary where I broke down that scene with simple physics then you would undestand how ridiculous it is. There is no way Wolverine could land were he landed considering the velocity thrown, the angle of the throw, and the time it would take for him to fall back down after reaching the apex of the throw.





This is like comparing apples and oranges. Let me break this down for you X-Maniac.

X1: Sabertooth goes to canada to capture Rogue.

This is probably the only mission that was not crucial to the X1 storyline however, it was a nice way to introduce three characters(Cyclops, Storm, Sabertooth.)

X1: Mystique disguises herself as Gyriche's assistant.
Mystique and Toad capture Gyrich.

Without Mystique and Toad accomplishing these goals Gyrich would not have been captured and the storyline could have been completely different.

X1: Mystique goes to X-Mansion to influence Rogue to leave.

If Mystique didn't get Rogue to leave then how would the brotherhood capture her?

X1: Sabertooth and Toad go to Train Station to stop Cyclops and
Storm from finding Rogue.

If Sabertooth and Toad didn't stop Cyclops and Storm from finding Rogue then Magneto's plan to capture Rogue would have been thwarted and the storyline would be different.

X2: Mystique disguises herself as mutiple people to free Magneto.

The significance of this mission is pretty self-explanatory. If Mistique didn't disguise helfself as Gyrich, Lady Deathstrike, and the prostitute how would Magneto have escaped from prison.

X3: Pryo blows up mutant clinic.

What effect would the absence of this scene have on the storyline?

I'm sorry, I'm not usually a nitpicker in an argument, but this just really bothered me. Gyrich was Senator Kelly's assistant. The events you're talking about involved Senator Kelly.

 

[BMM]

All of which is interesting but I really can't believe that time and money were not a factor in the changes made to the story. An epic battle in Washington --- which could hardly be a studio set --- would be costly and time-consuming.

As opposed to Alcatraz Island?

If you believe everything that people say, then perhaps you really do believe Janet Jackson's tit being flashed to the world really was a 'wardrobe function.' I don't know what was funnier - her tit being revealed, the lies about it being a wardrobe malfunction, or the moral crisis and national meltdown it caused across the USA!

What the Hell?

 

[LadyVader]

Wow... that was... random.

But then again so is X3.

 

[X-Maniac]

As opposed to Alcatraz Island?

Well, Alcatraz island was a studio set. Surely, doing location shooting in Washington or another city pretending to be Washington, would be costly and time-consuming rather than keeping everything at Alcatraz (the sets for which had probably been built).

Don't get me wrong, I *think* I'd have preferred the original story structure of the Alcatraz prison break and Washington final battle, and I'm sure they could have made the Washington stuff more epic than the bridge scene. I just feel that time and money were part of the reasoning, no matter what is said in interviews. Of course, if we did get the original story structure, we wouldn't have had Magneto's attack on the prison convoy. Also, if the final battle was in Washington, we wouldn't have had Phoenix's destruction as shown in the storyboards as that was in SF with her parting the waters of the bay. At what point in the story would she have carved a path through the city and then through the water?

What the Hell?

Hehe. Sorry about that. It was shown on TV at the weekend and was fresh in my mind. A national crisis over a nipple - it just made me and some friends laugh. Especially the attempt to spin it as a wardrobe malfunction.

 

[danoyse]

Hehe. Sorry about that. It was shown on TV at the weekend and was fresh in my mind. A national crisis over a nipple - it just made me and some friends laugh. Especially the attempt to spin it as a wardrobe malfunction.

Trust me, it was only a national crisis in the media. Some family watchdog groups made a big deal about it and the networks freaked a bit, but it was more hype than anything else.

Most people didn't even catch it until it was repeated 700 times on the nightly news. Hell, I know people who were AT the Superbowl who didn't even realize it happened until later.

And I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with the topic?

 

[X-Maniac]

Trust me, it was only a national crisis in the media. Some family watchdog groups made a big deal about it and the networks freaked a bit, but it was more hype than anything else.

Most people didn't even catch it until it was repeated 700 times on the nightly news. Hell, I know people who were AT the Superbowl who didn't even realize it happened until later.

And I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with the topic?

My bad. Can I claim it was a post malfunction?

 

[danoyse]

My bad. Can I claim it was a post malfunction?

Go right ahead.

 

[Goddessreicho]

Funny. I had a crazy conversation yesterday with a certain someone about plot holes and which ones were slightly more believable than others WITHOUT assuming anything. There were two that we traded.

See my biggest problem with a plot hole was Sabertooth finding Rogue and Logan. Sure the bad guys are smart and have ways of tracking people. Someone says that they read in a newspaper about Rogue's attack on Local Boy...um, ok. But just how is the Brotherhood going to get their hands on Mississippi Smalltown News.

And even if they did, how did Sabertooth get Marie's sent to track her to Random Country Road and be there laying in wait. There is a missing scene. Seriously. They needed her scent (that's how they had to have found her, or else nothing makes sense.) The Brotherhood would have HAD to go to her house and find something of hers to um...sniff.

Thinking about that gave me nightmares of Toothy sniffing Marie's unmentionables. (Thanks to that certain someone, you know who you are, for that joke.)

Now one of the other biggest plot holes of X3 was Angel being in the last battle. How did he get there? Did he fly? Was he a stowaway on the jet? Better yet, if was a stowaway on the jet, how the heck did he get past the security in the subbasement, or Wolverine's nose?

Let's say he flew 3000 miles to the final battle...whose to say that he can't fly 3000 miles at the speed of a bullet with the endurance of an albatross.

Sure its far fetched and totally unrealistic, but so is Toothy following Rogue's imaginary scent to the spot where she was *going* to be...

I am so glad all three of these movies were terrible. Watching felt unfun and like a chore. Ironically crapping all over them is where the fun begins. Who knew?!

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

I'm fully aware of the plot of X2. As you admit, it's a convenience.

So your point was...?

Movies needs "conveniences."

Without them, characters are forced to inexplicably appear in locations whenever the story calls for it. Kind of like an enormous, hostile mutant army appearing suddenly in San Francisco.

 

[X-Maniac]

So your point was...?

Movies needs "conveniences."

Without them, characters are forced to inexplicably appear in locations whenever the story calls for it. Kind of like an enormous, hostile mutant army appearing suddenly in San Francisco.

Indeed. And the movie does kindly tell us that Magneto was sighted in Lisbon, Geneva and Montreal, so we are given a rather large hint that long-distance covert transportation is something he is quite capable of doing, probably via aircraft as in the novelisation. X2's rescue of the X-jet showed us that he has no problem in controlling aircraft.

 

[flavio_lebeau]

you homosapiens and your never ending plot-hole arguments...

 

[Theweepeople]

That incident DID lead to government action.

I have to agree with you X-Maniac. The effectiveness of the government's response to Pyro's attack was unparalled. Why didn't the government immediately prepare for the possibility of a massive attack on Alcatraz? In the final battle it is overwhelmingly obvious that the government was not prepared for an attack.

If Magneto's base was in Washington DC like you suggested why did it take the government so long to find it? Once they found the base why did they only send somewhere around 50 troops to capture the mutants?

As a result, troops were stationed at clinics and the cure was officially weaponised.

I guess you forgot about the scene of the guard firing the cure dart when Magneto is freeing mutants on the big rig. That's proves the cure was weaponized a long time before the battle at Alcatraz.

I just don't buy this nitpick at all. Even if it's valid, which I somehow doubt (since you cannot possibly actually know the velocities, distances and masses involved), it's not relevant.

Of course I don't know the exact velocities, distances, and masses. However, I can estimate these numbers and other factors related to them. You don't know these numbers either and haven't even tried to come up with a valid counter-argument that would explain how the physics of that scene made sense. All you can do is try to insult me at this point.

Pyro blowing up the cure clinic, as mentioned by Magneto in his terrorist broadcast, made the threat a reality which made the government take action. As such it was an 'inciting incident' for the president to act in a military capacity and draw the battle lines in an attempt to stop Magneto.

Magneto and his mutants killing 15 government agents and freeing some dangerous mutants during the caravan scene should have made the threat a reality. Not some random attack on one clinic that appeared to have no effect on the storyline.

EDIT: And since he can only teleport to a destination he knows (to prevent him ending up inside a solid object) he would already have to know the 450-mile route pretty well so he didn't make that mistake. Does this sound logical and realistic?

So what are you suggesting? Nightcrawler had his eyes closed while he was teleporting or wasn't looking where he was going? You are making this way too complex as usual. I wonder when I will hear your "There is no evidence" catch phrase again that you frequently used to try and discredit my explanations.

As I said above to Nell, maybe Pyro stayed behind to guard the forest camp. Maybe Magneto thought a dangerous psycho hothead (who would have killed Charles by his own admission) was a bad idea if he was going to try persuading Jean to join him. Pyro's hardly known for moderation, tact or compassion - he would probably have just roasted Xavier and burned the house down and caused Phoenix to act against him!

Did you really spend time thinking this through before posting it? If Pyro is this unstable then why did Magneto add him to his elite force? How could he trust Pyro to go on any mission without screwing up? Pyro's exclusion from the skirmish at Jean's house was horrible writing regardless of which way you try to spin it. What's really sad is Magneto's decision to waste Pyro's talents on that solo mission was consistent with some of his other idiotic ideas in the film that related to his use of brotherhood members:

Hiring and adding a mutant(Juggernaut) to his elite force who can't follow simple orders.(Magneto told Juggernaut to keep Wolverine out of Jean's house and he throws Wolverine inside not once but, twice!!!)

Hiring and adding a mutant(Quills) to his elite force who could get his ass kicked by a human with a baseball bat.

Hiring and adding a mutant(Arclight) to his elite force who lacks the ability of using her power more than once in the film.

Magneto sending the first wave of brotherhood members at alcatraz to attack when he could have killed many of the soilders by crumbling the buildings with his power.

I would suggest you avoid science fiction altogether because it's never going to please you if you cannot suspend disbelief to some extent. a figure looking amazingly likethat defy rational explanation.

I suggest you should stop wasting your time telling me to avoid science fiction since most of my favorite books and movies have a science fiction element.

 

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

You know how should have been the events in the Jean house?

Storm and Logan end soon with the baddies and enter the room where were Jean, Xavier and Magneto, and see Xavier's death with their own eyes. That would have been more epic, and dramatic.

Not really. Like, at all.

 

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

Magneto sending the first wave of brotherhood members at alcatraz to attack when he could have killed many of the soilders by crumbling the buildings with his power.

No, no, no... It's not bad writing.

See, people dying just for the hell of it is EPIC.

Sending an army on foot rather than just capturing a jet and just bombing the place is much more roxxor. And hey, Wolvie can give his little speech about holding the line.

That, and it's a clever way to showcase Mags' ruthlessness. Cause apparently audiences needed to be f****n reminded of said fact every 10 minutes.

t: t: t:

 

[ntcrawler]

I have to agree with you X-Maniac. The effectiveness of the government's response to Pyro's attack was unparalled. Why didn't the government immediately prepare for the possibility of a massive attack on Alcatraz? In the final battle it is overwhelmingly obvious that the government was not prepared for an attack.

It is rather surprising that the government underestimated the importance of Alcatraz and its position in the mutant vs normals war. But then again, in most superhero movies the homo sapiens and their weapons of technology and mass destruction usually turn out to be less than adequate when dealing with someone who has super powers. What surprises me is that the government didn't try to militarize the operation or at least as far as security, lock down the whole island and park several naval vessels around it just to keep out any trespassers. Apparently the military leaders over there are just as bright and intelligent as Magneto when it comes to strategy and planning t:

If Magneto's base was in Washington DC like you suggested why did it take the government so long to find it? Once they found the base why did they only send somewhere around 50 troops to capture the mutants?

Oh you mean the stereotypical, sacrificial SWAT team, ready for anything and sent into to be slaughtered?

I guess you forgot about the scene of the guard firing the cure dart when Magneto is freeing mutants on the big rig. That's proves the cure was weaponized a long time before the battle at Alcatraz.

Indeed it was. And surprisingly that was never made into an issue. They seemed to be more upset that the Cure existed and not that it was being used as a weapon against mutants.

Of course I don't know the exact velocities, distances, and masses. However, I can estimate these numbers and other factors related to them.

You don't need to be a math major to use common sense. Just like you don't need to be a certified, professional structual engineer to notice another technical fault, that of a bridge which is able to support its own support towers in mid-air by pretending that suspension CABLES are really acting like suspention POLES, but we're covered this one before t:

You don't know these numbers either and haven't even tried to come up with a valid counter-argument that would explain how the physics of that scene made sense. All you can do is try to insult me at this point.

Indeed. What Theweepeople says is a valid argument. if you want to prove that his argument is invalid you need to present some semblence of solid fact or evidence. Not simply introduce generic doubt into the matter.

Magneto and his mutants killing 15 government agents and freeing some dangerous mutants during the caravan scene should have made the threat a reality. Not some random attack on one clinic that appeared to have no effect on the storyline.

Didn't Magneto declare on public television that he was going to fuxxor up the world? Yet they didn't take his threat seriously until some punk blew up a cure clinic?

So what are you suggesting? Nightcrawler had his eyes closed while he was teleporting or wasn't looking where he was going? You are making this way too complex as usual. I wonder when I will hear your "There is no evidence" catch phrase again that you frequently used to try and discredit my explanations.

I remember those arguments. Just like when I suggested that Jean went to college and med school to obtain her medical education. Not everything has to be stated obviously in the face. I just finished watching "Pleasantville" and they make an excellent point in the movie. The setting is based on a 1950's tv show. In 1950's tv shows you never see someone going to the bathroom to use the commode. Therefore when Jennifer runs into the bathroom in the diner she is shocked to discover that there is no toilet! Same deal here. I guess in this movieverse people just suddenly hatch from eggs right at the beginning of the film, have no backgrounds, and just happen to have their brains infused with education or any such concepts unless it's clearly and plainly stated. It therefore never rains in the movieverse, and the Xavier mansion doesn't have bathrooms or toilets either because "there is no evidence"...

Did you really spend time thinking this through before posting it? If Pyro is this unstable then why did Magneto add him to his elite force? How could he trust Pyro to go on any mission without screwing up? Pyro's exclusion from the skirmish at Jean's house was horrible writing regardless of which way you try to spin it. What's really sad is Magneto's decision to waste Pyro's talents on that solo mission was consistent with some of his other idiotic ideas in the film that related to his use of brotherhood members:

Agreed. but then again it's been established that Magnneto's tactical abilities and strategy planning rank about in the same place as Cobra Commanders. That of plans which are ridiculously complicated as they are stupid, and usually involve some ultra-powerful doomsday weapon that backfires at which point the good guys have to race against time not only to save Magneto's butt but the whold world.

Hiring and adding a mutant(Juggernaut) to his elite force who can't follow simple orders.(Magneto told Juggernaut to keep Wolverine out of Jean's house and he throws Wolverine inside not once but, twice!!!)

Oh wow, I never noticed that! Good god it's hard to find competent henchmen these days!

Hiring and adding a mutant(Quills) to his elite force who could get his ass kicked by a human with a baseball bat.

Quille's power was at best trivial. Why he wasn't quickly shot dead by conventional weapons during the initial stages of the assault is beyond me.

Hiring and adding a mutant(Arclight) to his elite force who lacks the ability of using her power more than once in the film.

She clearly lacks initiative. Unless told to use her powers, she'll stand there like Jean.

Magneto sending the first wave of brotherhood members at alcatraz to attack when he could have killed many of the soilders by crumbling the buildings with his power.

Or dropping the bridge on top of everything? But then the movie would be even shorter!

 

[ntcrawler]

No, no, no... It's not bad writing.

See, people dying just for the hell of it is EPIC.

Of course it is! You can't have drama unless someone dies. And how can it be called "The Last Stand" if 1/2 the cast didn't die off? THen it'd be just another stand and then you'd be forced to make more movies.

But as I said before: death is a really cheap and effective way to introduce "drama" into the story. It worked, didn't it? OMG she killed Scott! OMG Xavier is dead! See how dramatic that was? And when Jean died (again) at the very end, of course it was dramatic because we had no idea that would happen, didn't we?

Sending an army on foot rath
er than just capturing a jet and just bombing the place is much more roxxor. And hey, Wolvie can give his little speech about holding the line.

It's wonderful to see a world of "in the near future" resorting to Ancient Roman combat tactics, isn't it? With all the arsenals at theirr disposal including but not limited to nukes and tactical laser assault satellites, the fate of the world is still determined by several dozen ground pounders slugging each other on a little island. Oh the symbolism of it all!

That, and it's a clever way to showcase Mags' ruthlessness. Cause apparently audiences needed to be f****n reminded of said fact every 10 minutes.

And despite it all, he still doesn't have an evil, maniacal laughter. Nothing about "fools! I will destroy them all!". What gives? I feel robbed

 

[La_She-Beast]

Ding, ding, ding ntcrawler returns! Welcome back, friend

 

[ntcrawler]

Trust me, it was only a national crisis in the media. Some family watchdog groups made a big deal about it and the networks freaked a bit, but it was more hype than anything else.

Most people didn't even catch it until it was repeated 700 times on the nightly news. Hell, I know people who were AT the Superbowl who didn't even realize it happened until later.

It's no worse than the typical British Constitutional Crisis involving a member of the royal family having naughty pictures posted in the tabloids or a minister performing some illegal political chess move in one of the Houses. From the news coverage they make it seem like the entire Commonwealth is about to crumble to its knees sometimes.

 

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

Of course it is! You can't have drama unless someone dies. And how can it be called "The Last Stand" if 1/2 the cast didn't die off? THen it'd be just another stand and then you'd be forced to make more movies.

But as I said before: death is a really cheap and effective way to introduce "drama" into the story. It worked, didn't it? OMG she killed Scott! OMG Xavier is dead! See how dramatic that was? And when Jean died (again) at the very end, of course it was dramatic because we had no idea that would happen, didn't we?

All the more epic when said half of the cast (which conveniently is 99% of the baddies and the two good guys who could've stolen Logan/Storm's screentime) dies in the mutant equivalent of a nuke just because the big baddie, huh, throws a hissy fit.

It's wonderful to see a world of "in the near future" resorting to Ancient Roman combat tactics, isn't it? With all the arsenals at theirr disposal including but not limited to nukes and tactical laser assault satellites, the fate of the world is still determined by several dozen ground pounders slugging each other on a little island. Oh the symbolism of it all!

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... EPIC!!!!!!!!!!

Ask Kinberg and Penn. They'll tell ya.

And despite it all, he still doesn't have an evil, maniacal laughter. Nothing about "fools! I will destroy them all!". What gives? I feel robbed

rotflmao.

Yeah, movie Mags is a bit too serious for his own good, isn't he? I mean, hey, it's not as if he was a mass-murdering bloothirsty sociopath with the occasional bout of eloquency and charisma and... Oh, wait.

 

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

*Trying real hard to resist making a 'Brits still don't get that the empire is dead' joke*

 

[ntcrawler]

Nightcrawler!!!! You're back. Long time no see. Here's a cyber high five to you.

And a high-five right back at you!

Like Cyclops, news of my demise has been... greatly exaggerated.

I hope you stay around for a while and continue contributing to the X3 bash fest.

Oh I wouldn't miss this. Like the X-men, the fans have a never-ending job to defend their heroes who defend the world

Also, have you been enjoying my criticisms of Simon Kinberg's Q and A archives from thexverse.com?

I haven't looked at those, but then again I seem to have fallen terribly behind on things.

It is wonderful though to see that the things we have been talking about and were laughed at by some people are turning out to be valid and true and that recent developments in the industry and the X-men world, both among fans and among the powers-that-be support this as well

 

[X-Maniac]

It is wonderful though to see that the things we have been talking about and were laughed at by some people are turning out to be valid and true and that recent developments in the industry and the X-men world, both among fans and among the powers-that-be support this as well

What does this mean? Do elaborate...

And where have you been all this time?

 

[X-Maniac]

I have to agree with you X-Maniac. The effectiveness of the government's response to Pyro's attack was unparalled. Why didn't the government immediately prepare for the possibility of a massive attack on Alcatraz? In the final battle it is overwhelmingly obvious that the government was not prepared for an attack.

If Magneto's base was in Washington DC like you suggested why did it take the government so long to find it? Once they found the base why did they only send somewhere around 50 troops to capture the mutants?

I didn't say his base was in Washington DC itself. Obviously, it wasn't right in the city. But it could have been somewhere in Washington state. I'm not saying it WAS, I'm saying it might have been, as we just don't know. He can shield himself from Cerebro..so he can probably shield himself in other ways, so it would explain why his base remained hidden.

Yes, the government was not prepared for the EXTENT/SCOPE of Magneto's response - the story has to have some drama and suspense in it. They didn't know exactly what he was doing, how he would respond. Just look at most terrorist incidents - they come as a real shock when they happen and the level of military response is sometimes questionable (911 anyone?).

I guess you forgot about the scene of the guard firing the cure dart when Magneto is freeing mutants on the big rig. That's proves the cure was weaponized a long time before the battle at Alcatraz.

Indeed, but it was only weaponised in a limited way, for the security guards dealing with mutants who were a threat on that convoy. It was only after Pyro's attack that the military forces adopted the cure as a weapon.

Of course I don't know the exact velocities, distances, and masses. However, I can estimate these numbers and other factors related to them. You don't know these numbers either and haven't even tried to come up with a valid counter-argument that would explain how the physics of that scene made sense. All you can do is try to insult me at this point.

I just don't buy it. This is one of those silly nitpicks. Even if you could show me mathematical calculations to show this scene was against the laws of physics (which you haven't, and which you would be unable to do), it is irrelevant.

Magneto and his mutants killing 15 government agents and freeing some dangerous mutants during the caravan scene should have made the threat a reality. Not some random attack on one clinic that appeared to have no effect on the storyline.

Magneto acting to free Mystique is not the same as him getting Pyro to act in a way that would harm the public, clinic staff and innocent mutants wanting the cure. That's a much wider public threat.

So what are you suggesting? Nightcrawler had his eyes closed while he was teleporting or wasn't looking where he was going? You are making this way too complex as usual. I wonder when I will hear your "There is no evidence" catch phrase again that you frequently used to try and discredit my explanations.

It just sounds a stretch that he teleported continuously for 450 miles.

Did you really spend time thinking this through before posting it? If Pyro is this unstable then why did Magneto add him to his elite force? How could he trust Pyro to go on any mission without screwing up? Pyro's exclusion from the skirmish at Jean's house was horrible writing regardless of which way you try to spin it. What's really sad is Magneto's decision to waste Pyro's talents on that solo mission was consistent with some of his other idiotic ideas in the film that related to his use of brotherhood members:

Hiring and adding a mutant(Juggernaut) to his elite force who can't follow simple orders.(Magneto told Juggernaut to keep Wolverine out of Jean's house and he throws Wolverine inside not once but, twice!!!)

Hiring and adding a mutant(Quills) to his elite force who could get his ass kicked by a human with a baseball bat.

Hiring and adding a mutant(Arclight) to his elite force who lacks the ability of using her power more than once in the film.

Magneto sending the first wave of brotherhood members at alcatraz to attack when he could have killed many of the soilders by crumbling the buildings with his power.

He didn't so much 'recruit' Pyro - Pyro came to him and no doubt Magneto saw it as a point scored against Xavier and his teachings for a student to want to join him.

It's not the first time his henchmen have been potentially 'unreliable' - look at Sabretooth in X1. He failed to capture Rogue, failed to stop the mutated Kelly from escaping, and the irony in Magneto's line 'when i give my powers to the girl, you'll be my only defence' is wonderful. Magneto's glad to have followers but, as many of them are outcasts and thugs, they do pose a challenge. As in the comics, Magneto 'hires' people to his dirty work but, in order to bring conflict and interest to the story, it doesn't all go to plan.

I just don't see the absence of Pyro as 'horrible writing'. We do not have every mutant in every scene. Many have powers so extreme that they could potentially end the movie there and then. I agree it seemed odd for Juggernaut to throw Wolverine into the house (but Juggernaut is traditionally a bit of a dolt), I agree Quill was an odd choice and I agree Arclight used her powers once (two shockwaves on one occasion) - I didn't mind Arclight's powers being held back for dramatic effect though.

EDIT: As for Magneto not crumbling the buildings... Do all buildings have a steel frame? Does Alcatraz have a steel frame? If it has one in reality, does it mean it has to have one in a fantasy movie? Is the building reinforced to be earthquake-proof, shielding any steel with thick concrete? Why doesn't Magneto go around crumbling buildings all over the place?

I suggest you should stop wasting your time telling me to avoid science fiction since most of my favorite books and movies have a science fiction element.

Really? You must have a stroke every time you hear an explosion in outer space in movies like Star Wars or Star Trek, knowing how there is no sound in the vacuum of space. You must have apoplexy when time travellers don't go back in time far enough to actually stop the event they are trying to erase (Terminator). You must be virtually comatose when aliens speak perfect American English in space movies and when their planets have perfect earth gravity and earth atmosphere. Oh the horror of it all! How shocking! How terrible! How come earth's greatest criminal was easily able to get away with swindling cash from a widow in Superman Returns without repercussions or without her living family contesting the will? How come the power company didn't investigate the source of the EM pulse in SR and discover the crystals in that house? How can James Bond survive uninjured in Casino Royale after two-storey leaps from cranes and car crashes with multiple rolling? How come....and why didn't...and why did.... And it goes on and on. You must be on medication to deal with all this.