|
|
Post by coke & comics on Jul 8, 2017 16:36:20 GMT -5
It feels like a good concept poorly executed whereas Apocalypse was a lot of spit shine on a whole lotta nothing. Absolutely agreed. I think Last Stand was good material handed to a director who did a poor job with it. Apocalypse is the reverse. Singer knows how to direct a movie, if he's given material to direct. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 9, 2017 14:27:09 GMT -5
Yes, Anna Paquin's portrayal has little to do with the comic book character. Thank goodness! I'd never been able to stand the comic's Rogue, but I loved Paquin's sweet, vulnerable Marie. As I've said elsewhere, I enjoy the X-Men movies (particularly the first two) more than I ever did the comic books. Cei-U! I summon the preferred alternative! My question, then, was always "why make her Rogue?" Kitty Pryde would have made more sense. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 9, 2017 14:33:43 GMT -5
I think I said it all in my lead-in. Why did Storm join Apocalypse? Right, agreed. The character was underdeveloped. But I'm not sure how not doing enough with the character is "enough to condemn this film." They didn't do anything wrong with Storm; they just didn't do anything with Storm. Because he was killing her hero. They at least covered that much. Because her hero did. And, presumably, because she wouldn't have to steal to survive anymore. If they're going to take Magneto back in after devastating civilization as we know it, I have to imagine they'd be cool with Storm too. The film has plotholes aplenty, but since when is that a new problem for the X-franchise? I agree. And so much of the plot hinged upon character decisions and moments of character awareness. But, at the end of the day, I'd rather have a fun film that didn't do all it should than a plodding film that does all sorts of things it shouldn't. Thus why I would never put this film in the same category as Last Stand. At least Apocalypse wasn't standing around in the woods for most of the film with a Dark Phoenix only good for making sad faces and following orders before actually doing something. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 9, 2017 14:37:02 GMT -5
Your other point I didn't really respond to is: I consider that a fairly neutral statement regarding the quality of the films. It seems a mere statement of fact concerning them. Akin to: "Days of Future Past was a far better film, but it wasn't set in the 1980s. This was." Or: "Days of Future Past was a far better film, but it didn't have Psylocke in it. This did." But...the franchise is called "X-Men". We spent two films waiting for a new permanent X-Men team. There was proto team in First Class and a mismatch of characters who had been X-Men in Days of Future Past. Now we have the actual beginnings of the team we've been waiting to see back on the screen. I don't think the Psylocke comparison is particularly apt. Anyway, I hate to reply and run, but I'm headed off for family vacation tonight and won't regularly be back on for a week. It may be a while before I reply here again. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 9, 2017 14:38:26 GMT -5
Apocalypse was a lot of spit shine on a whole lotta nothing. This is the one place where I feel I can agree with you. The story certainly was a whole lot of nothing, but it was fun (if mindless) nothing that didn't really screw anything up. It took no wrong turns; it just failed to go down the right ones. And the film gave a sense of unity to the franchise and introduced a new X-Men team with familiar characters that we'd been waiting to see. I feel that balances out the shortcomings. |
|
|
|
Post by coke & comics on Jul 9, 2017 15:06:27 GMT -5
Apocalypse was a lot of spit shine on a whole lotta nothing. This is the one place where I feel I can agree with you. The story certainly was a whole lot of nothing, but it was fun (if mindless) nothing that didn't really screw anything up. It took no wrong turns; it just failed to go down the right ones. And the film gave a sense of unity to the franchise and introduced a new X-Men team with familiar characters that we'd been waiting to see. I feel that balances out the shortcomings. One of my most hated superhero films is Fantastic Four from 2005. I acknowledge that the film had a team of superheroes which included Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny. I just don't know how many points that's worth on the scoreboard. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 9, 2017 15:08:59 GMT -5
This is the one place where I feel I can agree with you. The story certainly was a whole lot of nothing, but it was fun (if mindless) nothing that didn't really screw anything up. It took no wrong turns; it just failed to go down the right ones. And the film gave a sense of unity to the franchise and introduced a new X-Men team with familiar characters that we'd been waiting to see. I feel that balances out the shortcomings. One of my most hated superhero films is Fantastic Four from 2005. I acknowledge that the film had a team of superheroes which included Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny. I just don't know how many points that's worth on the scoreboard. That film DID take a major wrong turn with Dr. Doom. Almost as unforgivable as what Last Stand did to Dark Phoenix. But otherwise, that's an apt comparison -- a film that did a whole lot of nothing with the story and yet delivered some fun. I'd probably give it a C-. |
|
|
|
Post by coke & comics on Jul 9, 2017 15:12:17 GMT -5
Your other point I didn't really respond to is: I consider that a fairly neutral statement regarding the quality of the films. It seems a mere statement of fact concerning them. Akin to: "Days of Future Past was a far better film, but it wasn't set in the 1980s. This was." Or: "Days of Future Past was a far better film, but it didn't have Psylocke in it. This did." But...the franchise is called "X-Men". We spent two films waiting for a new permanent X-Men team. There was proto team in First Class and a mismatch of characters who had been X-Men in Days of Future Past. Now we have the actual beginnings of the team we've been waiting to see back on the screen. I don't think the Psylocke comparison is particularly apt. Anyway, I hate to reply and run, but I'm headed off for family vacation tonight and won't regularly be back on for a week. It may be a while before I reply here again. An interesting side note. I actually tend to love the X-Men-without-X-Men eras. X-Men #251 where the team disbands is among my favorite X-Men comics, and I think the next 20 issues before the team reforms for X-Tinction Agenda are great. Despite, or perhaps because of, the lack of X-Men. Similarly, while not disbanded, the team was mostly scattered after Mutant Massacre. From issue 214 on, the team is slowly assembling. Dazzler and Longshot join in this period. Havok returns. At some point, Colossus recovers from his injuries sufficiently to rejoin. Magneto, Wolverine, and Storm are mostly off doing their own thing. X-Men 2099 also had an era where the team was disbanded I thought was pretty solid. |
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Jul 9, 2017 15:40:29 GMT -5
Thank goodness! I'd never been able to stand the comic's Rogue, but I loved Paquin's sweet, vulnerable Marie. As I've said elsewhere, I enjoy the X-Men movies (particularly the first two) more than I ever did the comic books. Cei-U! I summon the preferred alternative! My question, then, was always "why make her Rogue?" Kitty Pryde would have made more sense. Because Kitty's power lacked the tragic aspects of Rogue's: her mutation makes her a danger to everyone around her. Her isolation, her loneliness, was a central element, conceptually, of the first and third films. She needed to be sweet and vulnerable if the audience was to embrace her. Comic book Rogue is so obnoxious and unlikeable that she's almost impossible to empathize with. Cei-U! That's how I see it, anyway! |
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jul 12, 2017 15:09:44 GMT -5
This is the one place where I feel I can agree with you. The story certainly was a whole lot of nothing, but it was fun (if mindless) nothing that didn't really screw anything up. It took no wrong turns; it just failed to go down the right ones. And the film gave a sense of unity to the franchise and introduced a new X-Men team with familiar characters that we'd been waiting to see. I feel that balances out the shortcomings. I guess the biggest area I disagree with is how you list out many of the same issues with the film as me yet you come out with a B- and I'd give it a D+. I am not sure how to reconcile that difference aside from addressing the above. I don't think the film was particularly fun because nothing anyone did made sense to the point it was distracting, and like Coke & Comics, while it's nice they gave us an X-Men team, I just don't see that being worth a whole lot. It's like spelling your name right on the test. It's not going to get you a good grade, but it is a baseline minimum expectation. |
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jul 16, 2017 8:00:55 GMT -5
I'm all caught up on all the X films. I saw Logan on an airplane flight. Boy, was it good and sad at the same time.
|
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jul 16, 2017 8:17:35 GMT -5
Logan... Boy, was it good and sad at the same time. That about sums it up in as few words as possible. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 16, 2017 9:05:12 GMT -5
Logan... Boy, was it good and sad at the same time. That about sums it up in as few words as possible. The film that makes you desperately need your kid by your side...watching a film that kid should be kept far away from. |
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jul 16, 2017 9:15:24 GMT -5
I was surprised by all the f-bombs dropped and the over the top violence. You can see that they were influenced by the Deadpool movie. By the way, I rewatched Deadpool a week ago and I enjoyed it much more the second go around.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jesse on Jul 16, 2017 15:03:53 GMT -5
Rank The X-Men Movies- Logan (2017)
- Deadpool (2016)
- X2 (2003)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
- X-Men (2000)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
- The Wolverine (2013)
- X-Men: First Class (2011)
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
|
|
