What don't you like about The Fox X-Men Cinematic Universe

[Orba]

I think most things have been covered by others but the one that gets to me a lot is their treatment of characters, its hard not to feel that they pick the characters they use purely by looking through a book to see who has a cool looking power. And even then the treatment is not great, they pick a nice power and then make the character do whatever they want, even if it doesn't fit the comic version.

Take FC (which is one of the best) they use the character Sebastian Shaw, but then proceed to give him a completely different history, character and even a different power. They choose Darwin of all characters to kill first (never mind the whole "the black guy dies first" cliche), which goes completely against the whole point of the character. Its just lots of poor treatments of characters that keep niggling away at me, making it hard for me to fully appreciate them as films.

 

[Tony Stark]

From a character perspective I liked the first film the best, and they have all deteriorated since.

The first one, you had a core of characters, that I enjoyed all the interactions. The second one, they went from a balanced story, to one that was Wolverine centric, that left Cyclops the team leader on the sideline through most of the film.

The third one went even more in the wrong direction, to the point where it wasn't interesting anymore.

DOFP was really an apology film for the other crappy X-men films, and then at then end when they undid the damage from the other films, you were left with an empty feeling in your gut.

I just feel the whole series has been written by people who like the ideas and allegory behind x-men, but don't give a crap about any of the characters.

 

[Mike Murdock]

^Do you mean Piotr? Pietro is Quicksilver and they already dumped that name for him by making him American and calling him Peter.

Yeah, I meant Piotr, who is also called Peter enough in the comics for me to forget his Russian spelling.

 

[Tilapia]

I think most of the dislikes have already been touched upon, but what I did like.

Singer's grounded, realistic, story based approached. I think it captured the core of X-Men from the get go. It made the material accessible to most of the masses. It wasn't ridiculous and over the top. It was never going to be an Avengers from the shoot. I think X-1 and X-2 were the best possible movies they could have been at the time.

I think DoFP tries to continue in this mold in a similar but more ambitious scope, given the time travel element. When you compare it to the MCU however, it does appear that Singer shoots himself in the foot visually, because a lot of the overthetop action and craziness is sacrificed for character driven, thematic elements. Not necessarily a bad thing.

I honestly don't expect Apocalypse to be a renaissance by any stretch. Singer is what he is. He's not an action/blockbuster director. He's a very good story teller and drama director. But he's also predictable in many ways. I don't think he can blow me away with an X-Men flick. That's why I am hoping Apocalypse sets up bigger and better things once Singer passes the torch.

 

[Flint Marko]

I just feel the whole series has been written by people who like the ideas and allegory behind x-men, but don't give a crap about any of the characters.

Dead on. There are four really good X-men movies, but even they have some questionable choices in them, and this is the underlying root of it all.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Even DOFP makes some of the same mistakes of the more reviled past films, such as callously killing off popular characters like Emma Frost for no reason.

 

[ernesth100]

The fact that 99% of the time Wolverine is front and center. And literally the only mutant to have a solo film in the XMCU. I mean, what I wouldn't give for a Sabertooth film. Or Nightcrawler. Don't even get me started on Quicksilver. Xavier and Magneto also have incredible backstories that would make great films. So many amazing mutants with incredible powers yet, it's always Wolverine,

 

[Tilapia]

Honestly, I'm in the class that never cared for solo mutant films, but if there was one character that could be profitable that had the source material to draw upon, it's the clawed mutant. I don't expect big numbers from projects like Gambit. Deadpool is really separate from what I consider X-Men. I don't think Fox is planning a dozen spinoffs either. TV series with cheaper low profiled characters is the closest thing we'll get before additional theatrical spinoffs. I think they will want to retain the team factor for that is the most profitable attribute the X-Men have collectively. I think the focus on individual characters comes from the talent behind those roles and the gravitas and persona they bring to the table. That's why a Mystique franchise is all of a sudden a viable option. Fox would be all over it if JLaw would sign on.

 

[Decepticonus]

I hate everything about these films and I am a huge X-Men fan. I love the comics. I like some of the casting like Stewart, McKellan & Jackman.

 

[DACrowe]

DOFP was really an apology film for the other crappy X-men films, and then at then end when they undid the damage from the other films, you were left with a joyful feeling in your gut.

Fixed.

 

[DACrowe]

For what it is worth, I wish the costumes were more colorful (and I fear other than Psylocke and Jubilee that won't change in Apocalypse) and that Beast was a little less of a wet blanket. In terms of more specificity, I hated The Last Stand. So wiping that is all gravy to me.

 

[DACrowe]

The fact that 99% of the time Wolverine is front and center. And literally the only mutant to have a solo film in the XMCU. I mean, what I wouldn't give for a Sabertooth film. Or Nightcrawler. Don't even get me started on Quicksilver. Xavier and Magneto also have incredible backstories that would make great films. So many amazing mutants with incredible powers yet, it's always Wolverine,

You mean like in First Class and Days of Future Past?

For the record, I know you are referring to more comic accurate plots, but I actually prefer the Xavier journey that Singer and Vaughn, and Stewart and McAvoy, have traced over all these films more than Xavier's origins in the comics, but that might just be me.

Also, Wolverine was not (really) in XFC nor will he be in Apocalypse. I think he was actually about the fourth most important character in DoFP, and we have Deadpool and Gambit movies coming. I think the days of complaining about too many Wolverine movies are fading fast. Soon, people will be wistful for the days when Jackman played the character.

 

[4miles]

I'm going to limit this to the X-Men line because they're all the matters. Others have said the biggest complaint already - it's the liberties they take with continuity. Granted, everyone changes things, even Marvel. But there's some pretty big things that are changed that just prevent things from playing out in the comic. Havok is a good example. I think they're somehow going to find a way to make him Scott's brother, but certainly not his younger brother. Even then, the age gap will be very large. This is going to make Corsair next to impossible to pull off. Another example is the Hellfire Club. X-Men: First Class pretty much shot that idea in the foot.

I also wish it was a little less grounded. Granted, I think Days of Future Past went a bit in that direction, but I mentioned Corsair. I would love to see the space side of things with the Starjammers, the Shi'ar, and the Brood. Hell, I wouldn't be opposed to Longshot and the Mojoverse.

Overall, I like the X-Men films quite a lot, but the first thing will always be a source of a little bit of disappointment.

The liberties taken with continuity is inexcusable. I have always loved the X family of comics but can't support the cinematic universe. Too much complete disregard for the fans IMO. The movies are little more than some good action sequences surrounded by crap. If you watch the movies as a whole and pay attention to character introduction and interaction, everything falls apart. Characters who are supposed to have history with each other, don't act like it. Characters are introduced in the earlier movies and then thrown away to be introduced again 25 years in the past. No amount of time travel can fix these issues. Every time I watch these films, I feel like my intelligence is being insulted. Example: Angel is introduced (poorly) in X3 and now he is going to show up in the new movie that takes place in the 80's? He would either not be born yet or would be like 2 years old. I know DOFP wipes out X3 from ever happening but it does not change a persons birth. How would Angel exist in the 80's and not be a toddler. Insulting. This is just one example of many. So now, let's talk about the DOFP reboot. It basically wipes out a bunch of the X movies and leaves us with the below.
Movies that no longer take place.
X2, X3, The Wolverine
Movies that still are supposedly part of continuity
First Class, X1, Origins, and DOFP.


God, despite all this, I still have hope that one day we will see a great X film, and yes, I hope that the Starjammers are a part of that experience. Sorry about the rant.

 

[Bayne]

So now, let's talk about the DOFP reboot. It basically wipes out a bunch of the X movies and leaves us with the below.
Movies that no longer take place.
X2, X3, The Wolverine
Movies that still are supposedly part of continuity
First Class, X1, Origins, and DOFP.


God, despite all this, I still have hope that one day we will see a great X film, and yes, I hope that the Starjammers are a part of that experience. Sorry about the rant.

I don't know if you're referring to some sort of official statement I'm unfamiliar with - and if that's the case, then I agree it's weird - but based just on a logical interpretation of the movie itself, the new timeline only includes First Class and Days of Future Past, and a few of the older elements of Origins which had time to occur before Wolverine traveled back in time. X1 and the bulk of the events of Origins are just as undone as everything else.

 

[Avid Avenger]

The fact they wiped out X1 and X2 and The Wolverine out of existance because they wanted to remove X3 and origins from continuity.

Yes, I am aware they said that the first two (you know, the good ones) remain intact, but that's not how time travel works. You don't get to do that. Everything from the moment time is changed in DOFP, everything is different.
Sure, some events might occur from those movies in the future, but it's not the movie. So the only movies to exist in the X-Men universe continuity are now

FC ---- DOFP ----- Apocalopse ------ Deadpool ---- Gambit ---- Wolverine 3 ----
The rest don't exist and never happened.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

For what it is worth, I wish the costumes were more colorful (and I fear other than Psylocke and Jubilee that won't change in Apocalypse) and that Beast was a little less of a wet blanket. In terms of more specificity, I hated The Last Stand. So wiping that is all gravy to me.

I really hope they just pretend TLS and Origins don't exist from now on.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

X3 is probably the most disappointing movie of my life, for a time I actually hated it, Ratner and Fox with a passion and raged every time I posted about them. I am less angry toward X3 now, but it's still a poor movie, as is Origins, though I never hated that as much as X3.

The rest of the movie are verygoo-excellent for me, with X2 and DOFP being in my top 5 CBMs, with FC also in my top ten. I also think The Wolverine is criminally under-rated, however, like any CBMs, they aren't perfect.

Cyclops and Rogue were 2 of my favourite characters in the cartoon, they have not been done very well so far. I agree Magneto has been over used, but I could watch both McKellan and Fassbender play that character all day. Wolverine too has been over-used in the X-Men movies, and it's a shame other characters have suffered for that. While there have been some very good action sequences in the movies also, there has yet to be anything truly jaw dropping yet either, though that applies to many other CBMs as well. I do think though in terms of drama, story telling and emotions, nothing can beat the X-series in the CBM genre so far.

Apoc is still my most anticipated movie next year though, and I look forward to Gambit and especially Deadpool.

 

[Mike Murdock]

I tend to have a better feeling about movies if I saw them in theaters. That's why I didn't hate anything about X-Men Origins: Wolverine when I saw it in theaters. But, as soon as it ended, I realized I had no desire to ever see it again.

I didn't get a chance to see X3 in theaters, which is why it's easier to judge. I just remember being so bored by it. It's possible to nitpick things or whatever, but I just don't care. I remember spending so much time during that movie paying attention to anything else. It was just dull.

 

[The Batman]

The Over-focus on the Logan/Jean relationship, at the expense of both the Scott/Jean romance and the Logan/Mariko one.

With the "The Wolverine", they were so concerned with this overdeveloped relationship, that Mariko, one of if not the love of Logan's life in the comics, pretty much comes off a rebound chick, IMO.

 

[Bayne]

The fact they wiped out X1 and X2 and The Wolverine out of existance because they wanted to remove X3 and origins from continuity.

Yes, I am aware they said that the first two (you know, the good ones) remain intact, but that's not how time travel works. You don't get to do that. Everything from the moment time is changed in DOFP, everything is different.
Sure, some events might occur from those movies in the future, but it's not the movie. So the only movies to exist in the X-Men universe continuity are now

FC ---- DOFP ----- Apocalopse ------ Deadpool ---- Gambit ---- Wolverine 3 ----
The rest don't exist and never happened.

Well, they did happen. Just not in the current timeline.

Also, hasn't Wolverine 3 been officially described as a direct sequel to the Wolverine? That would mean it will probably still take place in the original timeline.

 

[TeeKay]

Another problem with the X Men films IMO is Brian Singer. He is still responsible for the terrible characterizations, ****** costumes, misrepresented powers and blatant unneccessary source material deviations. While certainly looking forward to Apocalypse, I'm glad someone new is taking over.

 

[Fosterson]

This sums up my feelings exactly.

Just thought I'd put in my personal opinions on all the X-Men films (for reference):

X-Men - 8/10 - A little dated now, but still a great watch.

X2 - 9/10 - One of the greatest CBMs of all time.

X-Men: The Last Stand - 4/10 - A systematic butchering of everything that made the first two films great.

X-Men Origins - 2/10 - Complete garbage.

X-Men: First Class - 8.5/10 - Breathed new life into a dying franchise.

The Wolverine - 6/10 - Incredibly generic and forgettable.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - 9.5/10 - Best in the franchise.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Another problem with the X Men films IMO is Brian Singer. He is still responsible for the terrible characterizations, ****** costumes, misrepresented powers and blatant unneccessary source material deviations. While certainly looking forward to Apocalypse, I'm glad someone new is taking over.

At the same time though he is heavily credited with being responsible for the current CBM boom. He brought respectability, belivability and realism to a genre that was frankly considered a joke at the time. I think people tend to forget that. The realistic approaches in movies like Iron Man and Batman Begins would not have been possible without X-Men doing it first. You could even argue that no Singers X-Men, no MCU or DCCU.

 

[First Avenger]

If I must be totally honest,I slightly give more credit to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man for its quality and especially Its sensational box office numbers. Singer is a great storyteller but he made oh so many changes.

 

[Mjölnir]

At the same time though he is heavily credited with being responsible for the current CBM boom. He brought respectability, belivability and realism to a genre that was frankly considered a joke at the time. I think people tend to forget that. The realistic approaches in movies like Iron Man and Batman Begins would not have been possible without X-Men doing it first. You could even argue that no Singers X-Men, no MCU or DCCU.

Yes, X-Men is certainly the origin of the current superhero movie age. It's been done better since that movie (including by Singer himself) but that was what showed studios that you can bring something far more out there, and less known, from the comics than Batman to the screen and make it work.

I don't think X-Men was the first to do something less known into a good movie though. That was Blade imo, but it wasn't something that changed much.