Storm, Correcting Singer, and What Exactly?

[bosef982]

Previous to X3, you ahd many Storm fans who were eager for a "more expanded" Storm, lamenting that Storm had "nothing to do" in X1/X2 and she was treated poorly in character. Their wishes were realized when Berry, Ratner, and Co. came out saying of cousre they'd expand Storm.

What is funny? Is that either through incompetency, bad writing, or sheer deception -- they failed miserably. This is humorous, because watch...

In X1, Storm is given a bit of dimension with the Senator Kelly scene -- a scene that really is entirely devoted to her and the themes of the X-Men. She also has a stronger moment when she goes off on Logan, telling him at least she's chosen a side. She's present; she's talking about themes and moving with characters. As most ensembles demand, Logan (the anchor character) plays off Storm well in those scenes.

Now, action wise, per point, Storm:

1) Uses her powers to create a blizzard to rescue Rogue.
2) Creates a lightning bolt to effectively save herself from a Beast that even Logan has trouble wrestling.
3) Creates cloud cover for the X-Men to arrive at Liberty Island.
4) Totally destroys Toad.
5) In a teamwork moment (something everyone accuses Singer's X-Films of not having), Storm helps levitate Logan up to Magneto's machine.

In X2, Storm is a bit more grounded. She's angrier, a more prominent leader. We see her teaching the children; we see her opening up with Nightcrawler in a beautiful moment that shows her vulnerability and how she puts up angry fronts to protect herself; from this point forward, she is practically leading the X-Men -- debriefing them on Stryker's base, leading them inside (notice the one barking out orders when they're in the control room), saving the children, and eventually, entering into Cerebro to save Xavier and all of humanity.

Her action beats are:

1) Blowing down Nightcrawler, about the equivelant to saving Rogue in the previous films.
2) Creating an entire stormbank of Tornadoes while simultanteously steering the X-Jet through them, disabling two hi-tech jetfighters in the process.
3) Creating an electical storm to disable Stryker's communications.
4) Creating a blizzard to freeze Cerebro and save the world.

In X3, STorm becomes a cardboard b*tch. She instantly calls all mutants who do not embrace their gifts cowards, no sympathy to the contrary. She has the gall to tell Rogue that "nothings' wrong with any of us" without even considering the girl's state. Unlike in X2, where she goes from angry to having faith, which was development, Storm goes nowhere in X3. She starts out as a very militant mutant in a way to being that way. Her world is essentially black and white, unlike the previous films. Storm here has no symapthy, none whatsoever, for the girl she grew up with's bout with insanity; she just sthrows her to the wind. She b*tches out Logan no less then 3 times in the film, even after he returns to let them know of Magneto's plan. And that's about it. She has no resolution to an arc that was never started for her.

In terms of 'things done':

1) She flies around and saves Logan in the Danger Room, about the equivelant to her saving Rogue, despite the fact that it looks slightly silly and is really underwhelming.
2) She clears the cloud cover at Alkali Lake so they can see Jean.
3) She spirals around and blows away the Hot Topic Mutants at Jean's House, only to have herself effectively beaten by Callisto afterwards.
4) At Alcatraz, she rains down lightining as the X-Men arrive.
5) She battles Callisto and kills her.
6) Using fog to help aid Colossus, Beast, and Logan attack Magneto

That's it there.

To me, this clearly establishes that not only was Storm handled better (perhaps not to your liking) but certainly better in both X1 and X2, but that in X1 she was given about the same amount to do as in X3 -- and that in X2, althoug "two down" in terms of power usage, her actions were far more awe-inspiring (tornado hurricane or lightining blasts on Alcatraz...) and relevant than in X3.

Looking back on the period before X3, and people who wanted to have a larger Storm role, more nuanced and powerful, these people should heed the warning of being careful what you wish for.

So, I guess I'm wondering, using Storm as a lighining post for this larger idea, how exactly did Ratner IMPROVE upon the alleged flaws of Singer's films?

It's a fair question.

 

[Celestial]

She had a better wig?

 

[Halcohol]

She had a better wig?

I think that about sums it up

 

[flavio_lebeau]

i second that

 

[Boba_Fett_123]

I'm one of the few people who loved the way Storm was handled in the films. Sure, she wasn't exactly like the character from the comics, but at least she was a character.

I think if there's anything Ratner improved on, it was his choice of cinematographer. Dante Spinotti really opened up a world of color in this film to break out of Singer's blue and brown dull-fest. If nothing else, The Last Stand is shot beautifully. Of course, Ratner more than likely isn't directly responsible for any of that.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

I'm one of the few people who loved the way Storm was handled in the films. Sure, she wasn't exactly like the character from the comics, but at least she was a character.

I think if there's anything Ratner improved on, it was his choice of cinematographer. Dante Spinotti really opened up a world of color in this film to break out of Singer's blue and brown dull-fest. If nothing else, The Last Stand is shot beautifully.

Actually, I liked the darker atmosphere and tone that Singer used for the X-Men. The Last Stand wasn't shot that beautifully, especially when you compare it to all LOTR and Spider-Man.

It wasn't horrible by any means, but nothing really stood out as it just seemed like a typical action film.

 

[gambitfire]

i second that

I third that

 

[Omega214]

watch the featurettes, i thinks its the X3 excitement one and it shows it was filmed and will most lightly be in the directors cut

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

To me, this clearly establishes that not only was Storm handled better (perhaps not to your liking) but certainly better in both X1 and X2, but that in X1 she was given about the same amount to do as in X3 -- and that in X2, althoug "two down" in terms of power usage, her actions were far more awe-inspiring (tornado hurricane or lightining blasts on Alcatraz...) and relevant than in X3.

No, I disagree. The only thing that has been clearly established with Storm's treatment in all three of these films is that the directors 1.) do not read/comprehend the source material, and 2.) simply didn't know what to do with Storm. She has always just been "there". And she is just one of several characters who were essentially wasted and/or rewritten completely in favor of the bottom line.

It's my opinion that she has never been "handled better"--but she was certainly treated worst in Singer's adaptations. From his casting choice to his execution Singer never really "got" Storm. And, while I love Ms. Berry and am thankful what she tried to accomplish, when you look at the source material, clearly Singer faltered in his assessment of the character.

The real tragedy? Aesthetically-speaking Bryan got Storm BEST in X1...

...but sadly, he didn't follow through. The exterior look was just the shell. But the substance was all wrong--and he made it worse by not staying consistent in X2 (Accent On! Accent Off!, soccer-mom haircut, etc.,).

It's almost as if the writers for all three films overcompensated Storm's qualities...like somehow they couldn't find a balance. It was either too much softness/gentle compassion at the expense of the Warrior Goddess personna (X1 and X2), or--as demonstrated in X3--the complete opposite.

Looking back on the period before X3, and people who wanted to have a larger Storm role, more nuanced and powerful, these people should heed the warning of being careful what you wish for.

Most X-Men fans will agree we did not even recognize Storm's personality under Singer's guidance. She was like some elseworld take on the character. Hence the reason the outcry was so incredibly boisterous for six years to fix the problem. Obviously something was woefully wrong with his interpretation, and we had a right to "wish for" something superior.

So, I guess I'm wondering, using Storm as a lighining post for this larger idea, how exactly did Ratner IMPROVE upon the alleged flaws of Singer's films?

It's a fair question.

Ratner's version of Storm was a step in the right direction with the following:

*Storm IS a militant personality who only sees things in black and white

*He completed her "Choose A Side" arc with Logan--who eventually listened to her guidance

*Ratner definitely tapped into her emotional connection with the weather (as evidenced in her dialogue with Xavier on the balcony)

*He showed that Storm respected Scott's leadership, humbly taken aback at the very notion of taking over in his absence

*Scenes such "Storm Creates A Wave" along with the various flight sequences demonstrate that Ratner wasn't afraid to show the woman's true power potential--even taking her to near-"Goddess" levels.

*Most importantly, Ratner brought back the furious side of Storm's personality. When she arrives at Alcatraz, gritting her teeth in anger it looks like something lifted from a comic panel. That same fury is demonstrated several other times throughout the film.

The above and more is much closer in keeping with the character of the comics than the softer, passive thing we got in the first two films.

Singer loves to romanticize everything...and sometimes it just doesn't work. He ruined a good thing by casting a petite, soft-voiced actress to play the role of a near 6-foot tall Amazon warrior. It's just sloppy work--and fans can bash Halle Berry all they want, but obviously she was only one element of reprehensibilty.

I do credit Singer for tapping into her sensitivity, and I will agree that much of the compassion (i.e. her demanding conversation with Rogue) was lost from X1 and X2. And Ratner failed in making Logan tower over Xavier's one remaining senior faculty member--filling a leadership role that only Scott or Storm should have handled.

So again, overcompensation on all levels. They just didn't know what they were doing.

 

[The Weather God]

Previous to X3, you ahd many Storm fans who were eager for a "more expanded" Storm, lamenting that Storm had "nothing to do" in X1/X2 and she was treated poorly in character. Their wishes were realized when Berry, Ratner, and Co. came out saying of cousre they'd expand Storm.

What is funny? Is that either through incompetency, bad writing, or sheer deception -- they failed miserably. This is humorous, because watch...

In X1, Storm is given a bit of dimension with the Senator Kelly scene -- a scene that really is entirely devoted to her and the themes of the X-Men. She also has a stronger moment when she goes off on Logan, telling him at least she's chosen a side. She's present; she's talking about themes and moving with characters. As most ensembles demand, Logan (the anchor character) plays off Storm well in those scenes.

Since when does storm say she's afraid of humens? She haves a strong moment with logen all right (when he diden't give a dam about what she was talking about and was about to walk right out the door) and the "at least i've choosen a side" was pure crap, why don't you tell him why you choose to be with xavier instead of magneto not that you at least choose a side. That right there say's she doesen't even know why she is there. Very Unstorm-like

Now, action wise, per point, Storm:

1) Uses her powers to create a blizzard to rescue Rogue.
2) Creates a lightning bolt to effectively save herself from a Beast that even Logan has trouble wrestling.
3) Creates cloud cover for the X-Men to arrive at Liberty Island.
4) Totally destroys Toad.
5) In a teamwork moment (something everyone accuses Singer's X-Films of not having), Storm helps levitate Logan up to Magneto's machine.

Five cheap action scenes with halle just sitting there looking pretty. Except for the toad part where she got her ass handed to her practically the whole time.

In X2, Storm is a bit more grounded. She's angrier, a more prominent leader. We see her teaching the children; we see her opening up with Nightcrawler in a beautiful moment that shows her vulnerability and how she puts up angry fronts to protect herself; from this point forward, she is practically leading the X-Men -- debriefing them on Stryker's base, leading them inside (notice the one barking out orders when they're in the control room), saving the children, and eventually, entering into Cerebro to save Xavier and all of humanity.

Storm was not leader she was doing what storm was suppose to do, and that is being motherly figure of the team, that was about the only thing i'm proud of singer for. The rest is not true, magneto was going his own way and wolverane as well, so who's left for storm to lead (nightcrawler? wow and he wasen't even an x-men yet) her and jean were working as teammates not leaders, so no! storm diden't lead the mission. She saved the proffessor but where was her telepathic resisitence in the first place mentiioned in the novel?

Her action beats are:

1) Blowing down Nightcrawler, about the equivelant to saving Rogue in the previous films.
2) Creating an entire stormbank of Tornadoes while simultanteously steering the X-Jet through them, disabling two hi-tech jetfighters in the process.
3) Creating an electical storm to disable Stryker's communications.
4) Creating a blizzard to freeze Cerebro and save the world.

Tell me again what those tornados did anyway? Oh that's right they still got blasted down only to be saved by magneto. They show a little electricity flairing when storm disables Stryker's communications but where is storm? Cheap!Cheap!Cheap! Blowing down nightcrawler was good but that's hardly any input in the movie. Don't get me wrong ... her action was good but diden't really have a meaning to it.

In X3, STorm becomes a cardboard b*tch. She instantly calls all mutants who do not embrace their gifts cowards, no sympathy to the contrary. She has the gall to tell Rogue that "nothings' wrong with any of us" without even considering the girl's state. Unlike in X2, where she goes from angry to having faith, which was development, Storm goes nowhere in X3. She starts out as a very militant mutant in a way to being that way. Her world is essentially black and white, unlike the previous films. Storm here has no symapthy, none whatsoever, for the girl she grew up with's bout with insanity; she just sthrows her to the wind. She b*tches out Logan no less then 3 times in the film, even after he returns to let them know of Magneto's plan. And that's about it. She has no resolution to an arc that was never started for her.

Storm apologized after calling them cowards because she was angry at the fact that she was insulted. Calling them a disease, i mean that's like calling someone gay a disease just because they are different from the humans. They already explain this already so i'm not about to sit here and break it all the way down, and from the looks of things it looked like jean would have turned storm in to dust as well, seeing she already kill scott who diden't do a dam thing to her, and the proffessor without even listening in edge wise of why he did what he did. Just look at the destrution she caused.

In terms of 'things done':

1) She flies around and saves Logan in the Danger Room, about the equivelant to her saving Rogue, despite the fact that it looks slightly silly and is really underwhelming.
2) She clears the cloud cover at Alkali Lake so they can see Jean.
3) She spirals around and blows away the Hot Topic Mutants at Jean's House, only to have herself effectively beaten by Callisto afterwards.
4) At Alcatraz, she rains down lightining as the X-Men arrive.
5) She battles Callisto and kills her.
6) Using fog to help aid Colossus, Beast, and Logan attack Magneto

That's it there.

Name one time up there when her powers wasen't really needed for this. In x3 when she used her powers, she was using it for a reason and for that reason alone it made it feel on-inspiring because it was so effective, she did in some cases on the other films but she did it the best for this film.

To me, this clearly establishes that not only was Storm handled better (perhaps not to your liking) but certainly better in both X1 and X2, but that in X1 she was given about the same amount to do as in X3 -- and that in X2, althoug "two down" in terms of power usage, her actions were far more awe-inspiring (tornado hurricane or lightining blasts on Alcatraz...) and relevant than in X3.

Looking back on the period before X3, and people who wanted to have a larger Storm role, more nuanced and powerful, these people should heed the warning of being careful what you wish for.

So, I guess I'm wondering, using Storm as a lighining post for this larger idea, how exactly did Ratner IMPROVE upon the alleged flaws of Singer's films?

It's a fair question.

I disagree with you there, storm did put meaning to alot of things in this film, the cure should not have been made because it only made things much worse. Phoenix was not to be trusted. and the x-men work together as a team. Her other persona's do not compare. So as of now my opinion remains the same. X3's storm is best out of the series.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I think everyone has made some very valid points here.

Put simply, Storm doesn't do anything in the films (Logan has his past and Jean, Rogue has to confront her powers and romance with Iceman, Cyke spars with Logan and looks after Jean, Jean deals with her control and is in the Cyke/Logan triangle, Prof X leads and conflicts with Magneto, and Mags is the catalyst for most of the events that unfold). Storm has no more character development than Colossus, yet Halle's fame demands her centre stage.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I think everyone has made some very valid points here.

Put simply, Storm doesn't do anything in the films (Logan has his past and Jean, Rogue has to confront her powers and romance with Iceman, Cyke spars with Logan and looks after Jean, Jean deals with her control and is in the Cyke/Logan triangle, Prof X leads and conflicts with Magneto, and Mags is the catalyst for most of the events that unfold). Storm has no more character development than Colossus, yet Halle's fame demands her centre stage.

I think you've just effectively summed the whole situation up.

Where's WeatherWitch?

 

[JP]

I'd take X1-2 Storm over X3 Storm any day. She didn't give a **** about Rogue or Jean. That is just disgraceful. Not to mention her "I'm a total *****" attitude towards Logan in the first 2 acts of the fim, only to let him lead the team in the end.

 

[The Weather God]

I'd take X1-2 Storm over X3 Storm any day. She didn't give a **** about Rogue or Jean. That is just disgraceful. Not to mention her "I'm a total *****" attitude towards Logan in the first 2 acts of the fim, only to let him lead the team in the end.

Did jean give a dam about her? I think not

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I'd take X1-2 Storm over X3 Storm any day. She didn't give a **** about Rogue or Jean. That is just disgraceful. Not to mention her "I'm a total *****" attitude towards Logan in the first 2 acts of the fim, only to let him lead the team in the end.

Um...there wasn't exactly any love lost from Jean's direction either JP.

Remember, Jean killed off half the X-staff in cold blood--a.k.a. Storm's American family members. If anyone "didn't give a **** about" others it was Jean. There wasn't one iota of remorse shown in her character...not an ounce of sorrow or regret.

So I'd think Storm had a right to be pissed at her sister-gone-awry...she had become an unrepentant monster.

 

[BMM]

Did jean give a dam about her? I think not

Yes, but unlike Storm, Jean is actually not supposed to give a damn this go around . . . She doesn't in the actual Dark Phoenix Saga (at least not in so far as Storm is concerned), so why would she here?

 

[The Weather God]

Yes, but unlike Storm, Jean is actually not supposed to give a damn this go around . . . She doesn't in the actual Dark Phoenix Saga (at least not in so far as Storm is concerned), so why would she here?

Um...there wasn't exactly any love lost from Jean's direction either JP.

Remember, Jean killed off half the X-staff in cold blood--a.k.a. Storm's American family members. If anyone "didn't give a **** about" others it was Jean. There wasn't one iota of remorse shown in her character...not an ounce of sorrow or regret.

So I'd think Storm had a right to be pissed at her sister-gone-awry...she had become an unrepentant monster.

Took the words right out of my mouth

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Yes, but unlike Storm, Jean is actually not supposed to give a damn this go around . . . She doesn't in the actual Dark Phoenix Saga (at least not in so far as Storm is concerned), so why would she here?

In the original Dark Phoenix Saga Jean wasn't obliterating her dearest friends. Therefore, there was added motive for behavior of the survivors.

Besides, if she's truly schizo, half of Jean should've cared. There really was no struggle between her two sides in this film--the only time she softened was when she was dry humping Logan in the lab and right before he stabbed her. Aside from that? To hell with the X-Men and all the world!

My point is that Storm had natural reasons for being furious with Jean. Not only did she join the fricken Brotherhood of all things, but she killed Charles and Scott--and didn't even bother to show up at the funeral. LOL t:

They were at war--complete with casualties--and Storm suddenly had an entire mansion of children to manage and refocus. Jean was the reason for all these changes, hence Storm's black-and-white view of matters. I think if Jean had beckoned to Storm, Hank and Logan for assistance Storm would've reacted differently. But she didn't.

Interestingly, Storm warned Logan to "just let her go" and eventually he came to the same conclusion. That's why he stabbed her through...he realized "she's not coming back" just like Storm said.

 

[JP]

She looked like she cared in her scene with Logan. "Kill me. Kill me before I kill someone else. Please, kill me."

Of course Jean cared. She knew what she was doing, but couldn't stop the Phoenix. In the movie Jean and Phoenix are 2 separate personalities. Do you really believe that Jean herself didn't care about what the Phoenix was doing to the people she loved?

She needed help (although she shouldn't have) and she asked Logan to save her (it should have been Scott )

It seemed to me that Storm didn't even care about Scott of Xavier. Jean killed them. Now she's joined Magnetos army. Oh well. She made her choice. Whatever.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

She looked like she cared in her scene with Logan. "Kill me. Kill me before I kill someone else. Please, kill me."

Agreed. But don't you think MORE of this should have been shown--esp. to other X-Men?

Of course Jean cared. She knew what she was doing, but couldn't stop the Phoenix. In the movie Jean and Phoenix are 2 separate personalities. Do you really believe that Jean herself didn't care about what the Phoenix was doing to the people she loved?

Who knows? We weren't given any insight into her mind. You'd think she'd be a bit more tied to her longtime friends than the Johnnie-come-lately that is Logan. But no. She fries both husband-to-be and proverbial father figure and we saw no remorse. None. Not even from "Jean".

The balance was lost. And Storm realized that. That's why she wisely warned Logan to leave her alone. But no, he felt there was 'still good in her'. Yeah, so much good that he stabbed her as soon as he got a chance.

So much inconsistency here that it makes my head spin.

 

[The Weather God]

She looked like she cared in her scene with Logan. "Kill me. Kill me before I kill someone else. Please, kill me."

Of course Jean cared. She knew what she was doing, but couldn't stop the Phoenix. In the movie Jean and Phoenix are 2 separate personalities. Do you really believe that Jean herself didn't care about what the Phoenix was doing to the people she loved?

She needed help (although she shouldn't have) and she asked Logan to save her (it should have been Scott )

It seemed to me that Storm didn't even care about Scott of Xavier. Jean killed them. Now she's joined Magnetos army. Oh well. She made her choice. Whatever.

Not enough to come out often enough. It seem like she never came to service. i would love for you to tell me that you would go anywhere near jean after she did that to her closest loved ones. If you were storm.

 

[JP]

Agreed. But don't you think MORE of this should have been shown--esp. to other X-Men?

I do. In fact, I would have much preferred Jean calling out to Storm, her childhood friend and teammates, than Login.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

I do. In fact, I would have much preferred Jean calling out to Storm, her childhood friend and teammates, than Login.

Funny...I think Charles knew that if he entered Jean's home with Storm and Logan that Jean would have destroyed all of them.

That's why he told them to stay outside.

 

[JP]

Xavier's an ass anyway.

 

[DarknessOfDeath]

well the way I see it...the reason Jean called out to Logan cause of their 'connection' in terms of who Logan was before he was just an animal with claws and how he can't remember his past and Jean felt sorry for him and on a side note, he was manipulated whereas Jean was also treated in a similiar way and Jean understood what Logan was going through. If you think back to the scene when Xavier talks to Logan about what he did to Jean, Logan goes on defensive on Jean's side cause he understood what Jean was going through and he can relate to that cause he's been there.

Put the love crap fest aside...if you take out part of the scene when ororo says "Cause you love her..." and the "I love you" line at the end, then Jean/Logan's relationship would have been resolved in a different manner. Bascially, if those lines were cut, then u'll only see Jean and Logan as friends, nothing more...just two friends who care about each other. with that being said, Logan didn't kill Jean out of love, but of his friendship and connection that he had with her, only that Jean pleaded him to kill her cause she knew he'd understand.

and yes...im doin my own edit of x3. lol