It being a reboot eliminates some problems, but my main issue is that Magneto is portrayed TOO sympathetically, to the point where I can't accept them turning him into a villain at the end, because HE'S THE GOOD GUY IN THE STORY. Seriously. I sympathize with him entirely. He's not in the wrong. What he's doing at the end isn't evil in the context of the movie, but it is portrayed as such.
That poster reminds me of the American cover of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I am slightly disappoint.
What? Like this?
EDIT: (Seattle, Washington 2:19 PDT) Just came back from premier of "The Whisperer in Darkness." An excellent follow-up to the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's critically acclaimed silent movie "The Call of Cthulhu." Less faithful to the source material than that film, which is good because if it was pretty much the entire thing would be reading letters. The end revelation italics of the story is a reveal done with about 20 minutes before the end of the film. After that, it borrows a little from "The Dunwich Horror" for a more dynamic and climactic third act. In my opinion, it actually improves on the original Lovecraft story by creating much more cinematic action and fleshing out it's main character while still conveying the main themes of oppression and the inescapable. The practical effects are well done (in particular the opening scene, a high crane shot on a miniature set ), but the CG betrays the film's low budget origins. A great performance by Matt Foyer as the protagonist Albert Wilmarth, which is a feat considering that he and the writers Andrew Leman and Sean Branney have to craft an interesting and compelling cinematic character out of what is pretty much a blank slate in the short story. If you've been interested in H.P. Lovecraft and want a good introduction movie, you couldn't start at a better place. If you're a Lovecraft fan, this is a must see.
X-Men: First Class was a good action movie, but kind of fails as a prequel to the other X-Men movies. :P
It's a reboot. Ninja'd.
It really isn't a reboot.
I actually liked it quite a bit - all the X-men campiness with actual quality plot and decent acting. Also, I think Kevin Bacon should only play villains for the rest of his career.
It being a reboot eliminates some problems, but my main issue is that WHITED OUT SPOILARZ TEXT
Magneto isn't supposed to be some sort of Snidely Whiplash, mustache-twirling villain, though. He is supposed to be sympathetic and you are supposed to care about him as a character. The whole point of Magneto is for there to be an opposing viewpoint to Xavier and the government. Xavier is trying to get humans and mutants to coexist, the government is trying to kill all of them with Sentinels, and Magneto is trying to create a world for mutants. He's not supposed to be the ultimate evil (Apocalypse fills that role), he's just supposed to be misguided; an anti-hero, if you will.
I don't know, Ryan. Magneto is a supremacist. He wants a new mutant world order to inherit the Earth by displacing humans. I mean, he basically wants an Arian nation, but replace "Arian" with "mutant." The big irony of Magneto's character has been that he was a Jew directly oppressed by the Nazis, and now he's justified himself into a Hitler role. I don't think that qualifies as anti-hero.
I don't know, Ryan. Magneto is a supremacist. He wants a new mutant world order to inherit the Earth by displacing humans. I mean, he basically wants an Arian nation, but replace "Arian" with "mutant." The big irony of Magneto's character has been that he was a Jew directly oppressed by the Nazis, and now he's justified himself into a Hitler role. I don't think that qualifies as anti-hero.
The problem here is that who's right in this argument almost certainly comes down to which period of the comics you're talking about. (I haven't read enough of the varying periods of X-Men to point out the details, I'm just assuming this is true based on the nature of superhero comics that go on for 50 years with dozens of different writers at different times, with wildly different ideas, taking the book in wildly different directions.)
Someone on the Around Comics podcast once said something like (and I'm paraphrasing here) "You get 10 years. You pick 10 years of a comic, or character, or team, or whatever, that's it. You don't get to complain about anything else that happens outside of those 10 years." I think 10 years might even be a little generous, but that's about as long as you can ever expect to follow a superhero comic, and hope that it's in any way cohesive.
I just meant that Magneto was TOO sympathetic. I agree he's supposed to be. But you're supposed to come out thinking he's going too far despite good intentions. I didn't feel he went too far. He was entirely justified. Xavier's dream was kind of stupid in that movie. Also, Xavier was just a douche in the new movie.
I wouldn't say he was a douche, I would say that he is smarmy. Also, his schtick for hitting on women is brilliant.
Yeah, but at the end of the movie, I didn't agree with him. Think about it, he sides with the guy who told Mystique she wasn't beautiful in her normal form. Magneto's side was entirely in the right, and unlike usual, Xavier's dream of Human-Mutant coexistence didn't make nearly as much sense and seemed more like foolishness.
Just watched the movie. It was enjoyable. I liked the campy parts and the Wolverine cameo. The part with CGI Rebecca Romjin looked atrocious. Some of the mutants seemed like they were pulled out of one's ass. I do not know of all the characters in the X-Men Universe, but the Angel girl looked cheap and seemed like just another reason to have a female villain.
The part where Banshee saved Havoc seemed a bit too unreal. If he was gliding the whole time, the weight of another person would totally throw off the gliding.
I did enjoy the both Xavier & Magneto. They were done very well along with Kevin Bacon.
Seeing Michael Ironside in there gave me a smile, because I always enjoy him in his roles, however minor they are.
Saw X-Men: First Class as well yesterday. I really enjoyed the movie. As an X-Men fan growing up, I just had to go into the theater knowing that they were going to deviate tremendously from the comics, and they did, but I was ok with it because all I wanted was a good movie, and that's what I got.
Xavier and Magneto were both really great and I thought the girl who played Mystique was good too. Kevin Bacon played a great villain.
One thing I noticed, and it wasn't that much of a big deal, was that at times, the actor who played Magneto's Irish accent would come through a bit.
At the end, a lot of people stayed to see if there would be any teasers or anything after the credits and when there wasn't, I had to explain to my non-comic reading friend that even though the X-Men and Spiderman were part of Marvel comics, at least in the movie universes, they're separate from Ironman, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, and the eventual Avengers movie. It's too bad, because if they could have tied them all together it would be pretty cool.
Axel, do you really agree with the logic and/or morality of [spoilers (but not really if you know X-men at all)] let's commit genocide on/holocaust them before they commit genocide on/holocaust us over and above even attempting to a peaceful co-existence via diplomatic means? Do you actually think that Magneto was right/righteous in his decisions? If you are upholding his decisions, then I am sorry but my personal morals dictate that you are evil.
What's a mutant to do then, when the world wants you dead and if not dead some lab-rat in a secret facility and or conscripted to serve them? I haven't watched the film yet but that's been the way of the mutants life in the comics. How do you reason with a world like that?
hey commit genocide on/holocaust us over and above even attempting to a peaceful co-existence via diplomatic means? Do you actually think that Magneto was right/righteous in his decisions?
I don't think Magneto ever really advocated genocide, he just doesn't agree with Xavier's "rose-tinted" view that Humanity and Mutants will ever be able to peacefully coexist.
Magneto wants to live in peace just as much as Xavier does, but he's more cynical in knowing that Humanity will fear mutants and try to wipe them out. Magneto is really only violent in response to Humanity's aggression.
In some of the comics, Magneto goes so far as to create an asteroid and even a country where Mutants can live peacefully and apart from Humanity but it's always an outside force that threatens his preferred isolation.
Many people have compared Xavier and Magneto to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Both wanted the same thing, but went about trying to get it in very different ways.
Fun Fact - The X-men universe has stayed pretty steady, and not had any universal reboots since the beginning of it's run. It also sticks to a pretty strict 1-for-every-3 x-men year to real year ratio. Which means that every single thing - every death, rebirth, marriage, divorce, etc, in the universe has happened in the universe since the founding of the x-men has occurred in 16 years. This is not a fun fact for the X-men, whose lives are apparently one long 16 year house of horrors.
@Kate - While I don't approve of his usual actions, that requires OUTSIDE knowledge. In terms of the movies, he doesn't seem genocidal, just like he planned to blow up anyone who was gonna blow him up, which in the logic of the movie made sense. In terms of that movie, SPOILERS: the ships that fired on them did kind of deserve to be blown up. Sure, they were just following orders, but they also watched as these mutants saved them. Plus, how was Magneto supposed to know if they'd just stop afterwards? Certainly there were more weapons somewhere aboard those ships and they could've kept going, or the men had guns and would've started shooting. There was no reason for him to believe that just stopping one launch of missiles was gonna keep them safe. He was entirely justified in the context of the movie and with his knowledge. However, they tried to portray this as evil, which I don't think it was.
Fun Fact - The X-men universe has stayed pretty steady, and not had any universal reboots since the beginning of it's run. It also sticks to a pretty strict 1-for-every-3 x-men year to real year ratio. Which means that every single thing - every death, rebirth, marriage, divorce, etc, in the universe has happened in the universe since the founding of the x-men has occurred in 16 years. This is not a fun fact for the X-men, whose lives are apparently one long 16 year house of horrors.
I wish they would reboot, almost. There's too much back material to catch up on, and some of it is absolutely batshit crazy. Highlights include:
--House of M/Decimation (Scarlet Witch rewrites all of reality, makes mutants the dominant species with Magneto's family as their rulers, goes completely insane, depowers all but 198 mutants; Professor X and Magneto are among the depowered) --Basically everything Grant Morrison ever wrote (Xorn-Magneto except not really, Cassandra Nova and the manifestation of Prof X's evil astral spirit twin, Professor X can walk, etc.) --Rachel Summers and the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey is still dead, etc.
I love X-Men more than any other underwear pervertry, but unlike Green Lantern (my close second), where I just started at Blackest Night and was fine, I have absolutely no idea where to dive into the X-Men comics.
Anyway, I saw the new X-Men movie with 5 other geeky friends and we loved it. Highly recommended to anyone who digs the X-Men.
Comments
Ninja'd.
EDIT: (Seattle, Washington 2:19 PDT) Just came back from premier of "The Whisperer in Darkness." An excellent follow-up to the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's critically acclaimed silent movie "The Call of Cthulhu." Less faithful to the source material than that film, which is good because if it was pretty much the entire thing would be reading letters. The end revelation italics of the story is a reveal done with about 20 minutes before the end of the film. After that, it borrows a little from "The Dunwich Horror" for a more dynamic and climactic third act. In my opinion, it actually improves on the original Lovecraft story by creating much more cinematic action and fleshing out it's main character while still conveying the main themes of oppression and the inescapable. The practical effects are well done (in particular the opening scene, a high crane shot on a miniature set ), but the CG betrays the film's low budget origins. A great performance by Matt Foyer as the protagonist Albert Wilmarth, which is a feat considering that he and the writers Andrew Leman and Sean Branney have to craft an interesting and compelling cinematic character out of what is pretty much a blank slate in the short story. If you've been interested in H.P. Lovecraft and want a good introduction movie, you couldn't start at a better place. If you're a Lovecraft fan, this is a must see.
I actually liked it quite a bit - all the X-men campiness with actual quality plot and decent acting. Also, I think Kevin Bacon should only play villains for the rest of his career.
My only complaint is that the CG gets bad at times. And some of the makeup/costuming is bad as well.
And yeah, Kevin Bacon is an awesome villain.
Someone on the Around Comics podcast once said something like (and I'm paraphrasing here) "You get 10 years. You pick 10 years of a comic, or character, or team, or whatever, that's it. You don't get to complain about anything else that happens outside of those 10 years." I think 10 years might even be a little generous, but that's about as long as you can ever expect to follow a superhero comic, and hope that it's in any way cohesive.
The part where Banshee saved Havoc seemed a bit too unreal. If he was gliding the whole time, the weight of another person would totally throw off the gliding.
I did enjoy the both Xavier & Magneto. They were done very well along with Kevin Bacon.
Seeing Michael Ironside in there gave me a smile, because I always enjoy him in his roles, however minor they are.
Xavier and Magneto were both really great and I thought the girl who played Mystique was good too. Kevin Bacon played a great villain.
One thing I noticed, and it wasn't that much of a big deal, was that at times, the actor who played Magneto's Irish accent would come through a bit.
At the end, a lot of people stayed to see if there would be any teasers or anything after the credits and when there wasn't, I had to explain to my non-comic reading friend that even though the X-Men and Spiderman were part of Marvel comics, at least in the movie universes, they're separate from Ironman, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, and the eventual Avengers movie. It's too bad, because if they could have tied them all together it would be pretty cool.
If you are upholding his decisions, then I am sorry but my personal morals dictate that you are evil.
Magneto wants to live in peace just as much as Xavier does, but he's more cynical in knowing that Humanity will fear mutants and try to wipe them out. Magneto is really only violent in response to Humanity's aggression.
In some of the comics, Magneto goes so far as to create an asteroid and even a country where Mutants can live peacefully and apart from Humanity but it's always an outside force that threatens his preferred isolation.
Many people have compared Xavier and Magneto to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Both wanted the same thing, but went about trying to get it in very different ways.
While I don't approve of his usual actions, that requires OUTSIDE knowledge. In terms of the movies, he doesn't seem genocidal, just like he planned to blow up anyone who was gonna blow him up, which in the logic of the movie made sense. In terms of that movie, SPOILERS: the ships that fired on them did kind of deserve to be blown up. Sure, they were just following orders, but they also watched as these mutants saved them. Plus, how was Magneto supposed to know if they'd just stop afterwards? Certainly there were more weapons somewhere aboard those ships and they could've kept going, or the men had guns and would've started shooting. There was no reason for him to believe that just stopping one launch of missiles was gonna keep them safe. He was entirely justified in the context of the movie and with his knowledge. However, they tried to portray this as evil, which I don't think it was.
--House of M/Decimation (Scarlet Witch rewrites all of reality, makes mutants the dominant species with Magneto's family as their rulers, goes completely insane, depowers all but 198 mutants; Professor X and Magneto are among the depowered)
--Basically everything Grant Morrison ever wrote (Xorn-Magneto except not really, Cassandra Nova and the manifestation of Prof X's evil astral spirit twin, Professor X can walk, etc.)
--Rachel Summers and the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey is still dead, etc.
I love X-Men more than any other underwear pervertry, but unlike Green Lantern (my close second), where I just started at Blackest Night and was fine, I have absolutely no idea where to dive into the X-Men comics.
Anyway, I saw the new X-Men movie with 5 other geeky friends and we loved it. Highly recommended to anyone who digs the X-Men.