I disagree. The main thing I was thinking when I saw X3 was how rogue chose to cure herself rather than accept the way she is. It completely destroyed any arc rogue would have had for a trilogy (from hating her powers to accepting them and becoming awesome)
I would agree if they'd had her have her powers from the comics. Granted that technically, yes she did, but she had the Ms. Marvel powers right from the minute she was introduced... that powerset is as essential to her character as her accent.
and sends the wrong message to the audience.
That you should live with something that prevents you from living a happier life? Again, I would agree with you if she had powers that were automatically worth a damn. But in the films, without the flight (etc), she's just someone who can't touch anybody. I completely side with her in the film. There'd be a lot to love about being invulnerable and being able to fly, but she didn't have that kind of fun.
It's definitely not even close to the spirit of the comics.
I've read all of Claremont's first (17 year) run. Not trying to be elitest, but I think I'd be qualified to disagree with you there.
X2 is an actual film with themes and a well written script, while X3 is just a high concept popcorn film.
Disagree. X3 actually does what X1/2 failed to do... be inciteful
and exciting. The action's better, the scope is bigger, and the script actually plays both sides. It calls into question the ethics of not only the right of an authority to control others (Xavier with Jean's mind, the government with the weaponized cure), but also the ethics of whether a 'cure' is a concept that should be tolerated at all, considering it suggests that there's something wrong with Mutantkind inherently. Not unlike if Hitler might've considered death a "cure" for the Jewish. The film allows you to reasonably understand both sides of the coin ("I wonder how democracy survives when a man can move cities with his mind"), as opposed to the first two films which are simply, myopically, "humans are bad."
The discussion between Logan, Hank, Ororo, Rogue and Xavier alone is more inciteful and on-point to the spirit of Chris Claremont's comics than the entirety of X1/X2. My favorite line being Beast's "Is it... cowardice to save one's self from persecution?" because it's
sooo good a point to raise. Rogue faces that question. Is it wrong to want to be able to touch someone else? In movie Rogue's case, her 'gift' is only a curse. If I was born crippled.... why wouldn't I want to be given the ability to walk? It doesn't make me any less who I already was.
The film makes bold moves. Killing Xavier and Cyclops, and letting Rogue be cured were ballsy and great. Totally like Claremont at his best, taking the book in new, brave directions. The film, while Wolverine is still the main X-Man, doesn't make him the hog of his scenes. The charm of the Claremont comics finally appears a little bit, with other characters usually being allowed to seem like they have personality. Kitty's skate with Bobby being one great scene, since it serves no purpose than to be character development, and allows us to see the characters have a nice moment. And Wolverine ain't there to steal the spotlight.
Granted, the film does make mistakes, I admit. I dislike the removal of the galactic element from the Pheonix saga, and Juggernaut is
not a mutant. I dislike Magneto's goading of Jean to kill Charles (basically), and his abondoning of Raven.
I think people got so head-up about Singer not directing it that nobody gave the film a fair shake. I think most people see it the way they've decided it
must be (bad), and never looked beyond their own stereotyping of the film.
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