Reel Reviews: X-Reviews

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

X-Films

 

With the latest X-Men film coming soon, I remembered I would have to fulfill the promise I made last year of reviewing every X-Men feature. Sadly I don't have much time on my hands or I'm just plain lazy, so what I decided was that I would put up a feature for short reviews of the previous four X-Men movies and even Origins. (The Wolverine was already reviewed here). 

This gives me a chance to group out a feature I had planned. As it's the 75th anniversary of Marvel beyond the Marvel Studios films, every other set of Marvel films will get short reviews grouped by the characters.  Then I will take all of those an be able to rank the top ten Marvel films whether they're from Marvel Studios, Fox, Sony or anywhere else

So the first thing I thought to start with is the X-Men. (I know Amazing Spider-Man 2 will come first, but I'll make a full Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 review later). 

So here are all the X-Men movie short reviews.




X-Men

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Ian McKellen as Erik Lensherr/Magneto, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm, Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey, James Marsden as Scott Summer/Cyclops, Anna Paquin as Maria D'Ancanto/Rogue, Rebecca Romjin as Raven Darkholme/Mystique, Bruce Davison as Senator Kelly with Ray Park as Mortimer Toynbee/Toad and Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.2/10 (7.8 w/out vfx)

Pros:-For it's time an intriguing sci-fi film with some deep notions of identification and diversity through mutants

          -Writers give two well developed arcs for Wolverine and Rogue, they imbue great character and rich back story for Xavier and Magneto, and their relationship

          -Dialogue dictates the political and social situation that the film tries to explain well. Other times it's very witty

          -As a gay man, Bryan Singer taps into his own experiences in order to enhance the concepts of diversity and acceptance of different people

          -The set design team construct and intricate and by the books look for famous X-Men places such as X-Mansion

          -Hugh Jackman gives one hell of a showing. Ian McKellen is eloquent as the villain of the piece while alluding to the pathos within, Patrick Stewart is equally great, sharing an admirable chemistry with his co-star. Rebecca Romjin dazzles in the action scenes and make Mystique menacing.

         

Cons:-The writers tend to focus on Wolverine and Rogue for too long, it takes away from the idea that this is an X-Men film as we rarely get any depth on the other real members

           -Years later the film has just become a dull affair, not holding any attention

           -At times the dialogues are down right atrocious

           -The films plot and climax derides any spectacle to proceedings, the set pieces even for its time are tame and boring. During the climax, too much exposition comes fast and furious.     

           -Costume design is atrocious, the badly designed wig for Storm seems to affect an already tepid performance by Berry. The black costumes in film seem to instill the idea of being the same yet differentiating between Mutant and human which breaks the core concept of the feature.

           -Halle Berry is ineffective as Storm. While Anna Paquin is too stilted in her delivery

Best Scene: The subway station fight scene allows for us to see a lot of powers in action from Storm's weather control to Cyclops optic blast

Best Performance: Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine

Best Dialogue: 'Hey it's me'-Wolverine

                         'Prove it'-Cyclops

                         'You're a Dick!'-Wolverine

                         'Okay'-Cyclops

X-2: X-Men United

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Ian McKellen as Erik Lensherr/Magneto, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm, Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey, James Marsden as Scott Summer/Cyclops, Anna Paquin as Maria D'Ancanto/Rogue, Rebecca Romjin as Raven Darkholme/Mystique, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman, Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce/Pyro, Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama/Deathstrike with Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler and Brian Cox as Col. William Stryker

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 8.6/10 (9.3 w/out vfx)

Pros:-The film ups the ante in every which way, giving the first genuine blockbuster superhero film franchise since long

          -Writers develop a well rounded arc revolving around Wolverine and his origins while also expanding on the other characters especially Rogue and Jean

          -The themes that encapsulate the X-Men are ever present and dynamic in concept

          -Action is marvelously visualized and on a whole other scale from the first film

          -Once again the set design is great while the costume design partially improves

          -Hugh Jackman grows more confident in the skin of Wolverine and proves to be a worthy leading man. Anna Paquin vastly improves with a much better performance. Famke Janssen is terrific as Jean especially in the climatic sequence. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are as always reliable

          -Off the supporting characters Rebecca Romjin is simply stellar as the menacing Mystique. New additions; Brian Cox and Alan Cumming fit into their roles perfectly, Cox makes a compelling villain while with partial screen time Cumming gives good depth to Nightcrawler

         

Cons:-Once again the writers fail to realize the essence of the X-Men, they're focus is too much on Wolverine and still all other characters especially the far supporting ones feel underdeveloped and two dimensional

           -Black costumes still feel a bit contradictory while Storm's wig once again looks bad

           -The younger cast even at times Paquin seem to be going through the motions

           -VFX is only slightly better than the first

Best Scene: The opening White House set piece involving Nightcrawler

Best Performance: Brian Cox as Col. William Stryker

Best Dialogue: 'Have you ever tried...not being a mutant'-Ms. Drake, to her son Bobby. Kind of highlights the underlying society that Mutants represent, the Gay Minorities and the fight for their rights

X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Director: Brett Ratner

Cast: Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Ian McKellen as Erik Lensherr/Magneto, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm, Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix, James Marsden as Scott Summer/Cyclops, Anna Paquin as Maria D'Ancanto/Rogue, Rebecca Romjin as Raven Darkholme/Mystique, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman, Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce/Pyro, Daniel Cudmore as Peter Rasputin/Colossus, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Dania Ramirez as Calypso, Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, Cameron Bright as Jimmy/Leech with Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy/Beast and Ben Foster as Warren Worthington III/Angel

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 5.6/10 (5.5 w/out vfx)

Pros:-A film full of dazzling spectacle

          -Wolverine and Jean's arc is developed with deep understanding and brought to a close in a touching moment

          -The set pieces of the film blow the previous features out of the water. From iceman turning into ice to bigger things such as the bridge takedown

          -Hugh Jackman is competent as the lead while Famke Jansen does well with what she has. Shawn Ashmore and Ellen Page are delightful surprises. Kelsey Grammer steals the show

         

Cons: -There's no real substance to the story beyond the played out romantic angle, using two deep and vital arcs from the comics with varying emotion results in an uneven film

           -As such the sub text issue of mutants doesn't come across as well as it should

           -There are too many elements within the film that it becomes bloated. Once again the screenwriters focus towards Wolverine causes imbalance of character

           -The writers go with a say instead of show aspect regarding their major villain, Phoenix doesn't come off as powerful as they say she is in the film. It also forces Jansen to give a one expression performance 

           -Constant directorial changes seem to have an effect on the visual narrative and tone of the film

           -Halley Barry, Ian McKellen and Anna Paquin phone it in, seeming disinterested. Ben Foster is saddled with a bland character and non existent arc forcing him to give a wooden performance. While Vinnie Jones is an atrocity

           -The VFX still feels a bit too low budget, Fox seems to have issues shelling money

Best Scene: Iceman actually turns into Ice and goes on to defeat Pyro

Best Performance: Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast

Best Dialogue: 'You Would die for them?'-Phoenix

                         'No, I'd die for you'-Wolverine, he finally professes his love saving Jean from the Phoenix and stabbing her to save everyone else and preserve Jean's true soul

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Director: Gavin Hood

Cast: Hugh Jackman as James Howlett/Logan/Wolverine, Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed, Danny Huston as William Stryker, Lynn Collins as Kayla Silverfox, Taylor Kitsch as Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Will I Am as John Wraith, Kevin Durand as Fred Dukes/Blob, Dominic Monhaghan as Chris Bradley, Daniel Henney as Agent Zero with Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 1.4/10 (1.7 w/out vfx)

Pros:-Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds steal the show with their charismatic turns

Cons:-A fairly mundane action film that included a too dumb plot to bother with

           -Riddled with plot holes, the screenplay runs a gamut of action film clichés and terrible character development and motives

           -Certain characters are card board cut outs simply used as plot devices to provide exposition and move the languishing plot along

           -The Villains are mercilessly  bland and undefined where as Wolverine's character arc is terribly compromised for action set piece after set piece

           -Action is terribly constructed and like with the whole film neither the writers nor director seem to understand the logic or details of the period setting. Dumbing down the film further

           -Jackman seems uninterested and phones it in, Lily Collins tries to hard to bring any spark to her role and fails. Will I Am simply doesn't know how to act and is dull without direction while Taylor Kitsch does his best to embody Gambit but lacks the personality to shine through

           -Score isn't memorable

           -The VFX is atrocious, Wolverine's Claws look like cartoons to a jarring extent

Best Scene: The war montage that shows Victor and James fighting through every epic historic battle

Best Performance: Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed and Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson

Best Dialogue:-

X-Men: First Class

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Cast: James McAvoy as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr/Magneto, Kevin Bacon as Dr. Klaus Schmidt/Sebastian Shaw, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkholme/Mystique, January Jones as Emma Frost, Nicholas Hoult as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast, Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore, Caleb Landry Jones as Sean Cassidy/Banshee, Lucas Till as Alex Summers/Havok, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Alex Gonzales as Riptide, Oliver Platt as CIA Agent with Rebecca Romjin as Mystique and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 8.3/10 (8.9 w/out vfx)

Pros:-A scintillating spy thriller styled film with a cool retro 60's feel

          -The story uses actual historical elements and incorporates it perfectly into the film's world

          -Both lead characters have defined arcs with balanced interaction in between, the moments between Xavier and Erik are written with great understanding and insight

          -Mystique and Beast also get some well developed characterization

          -Dialogue and visuals well explain the film's core idea of mutants as minority, without having to revert to exposition

          -Vaughn uses his understandings of spy thriller tropes and globe trotting action to make a film that is slick and stylish but with substance as well

          -Costume designing in the film is terrific, it captures the kitsch sense of the era as well as the original X-Men look

          -Fassbender makes a breakthrough with this film, he taps into the darker side of Magneto as well as the scared boy within. McAvoy aptly supports him as the playboy Xavier, he gets to enjoy this aspect of his role but also presents shades of the man he is going to become

          -Lawrence and Hoult share some sizzling chemistry, while the other actors are competent enough

          -The score blends itself to the mood, tone and setting of the film perfectly

         

Cons:-Beyond the Nazi hunter plot regarding Erik, everything else seems tame and falters

           -Every other character is one note and two dimensional with no profound development, as usual the X-Men films latch onto two main characters and are hard pressed to focus on anyone else

           -Mystique's change of heart and allegiance seems rushed on paper

           -During a scene with racial undertones, the director makes a questionable decision to focus on the minority characters and proceeds to paint one as a traitor and the other as a sacrifice. Thus leaving the heroes as an all white cookie cutter team. Not one director understands the proper idea of diversity within the X-Men 

           -There isn't much spectacle to the film, we see the powers in action but none of which is dazzling

           -Kevin Bacon hams it up too much, where as January Jones is far wooden and stilted. Rose Byrne and James McAvoy share a forced chemistry

           -Even though it's a 60's gaudy film, it doesn't excuse the cartoon like effects

Best Scene: Anytime Magneto goes Nazi Hunting or when he and Xavier share lighter moments discussing Mutanity and their plight

Best Performance: Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr/Magneto

Best Dialogue: 'Erik, you said yourself we're the better men. This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men! They're just following orders.'-Charles Xavier.

                         'I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.'-Erik Lensherr

another one: 'I'm Frankenstein's monster, and I'm looking for my maker'-Erik Lensherr, to the Nazi he kills in Argentina

The Wolverine

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida, Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida, Rila Fukushima as Yukio, Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada, Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Ichiro Yashida, Brian Tee as Noburo Mori, Svetlana Kodchenkova as  Dr. Green/Viper, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/White Phoenix with Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier and Ian McKellen as Magneto

Genre: Comicbook

Score: 8.1/10 (8.6 w/out vfx)

Pros:-A splendid first two acts which while utilize similar CBM tones really have a different style and deeper elements to it

        -Explores a very interesting angle regarding Logan's character not seen in his prior films

        -Character development for the female supporting characters is unique and they aren't stereotypical or characters closely similar to each other

        -There are some memorable dialogues that explore inner characteristic demons for Logan and ones that are bad-ass coming from him

        -Direction and cinematography is stunning, it helps shine on the brilliant Japanese culture and aesthetic

        -The VFX is much better than any other X-Film

        -It really understands the base elements of its source and character, especially Wolverine as a Ronin

Cons:-The third act mostly the climatic battle is a bit generic superhero fare 

         -The villains are a bit underdeveloped and the film uses recent shock value style for a less impact-full main villain 

         -The Silver Samurai VFX is shoddy

         -Run-time for the film is a bit overlong

Best Scene: The bullet train fight is swiftly edited and savage

Best Performance: Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine and Svetlana Kodchenkova as Dr. Green/Viper

Best Dialogue: "What kind of monster are you?!"-Shingen Yashida

                         "I'm The Wolverine"-Wolverine 

 

 

'Nuff Said Bub

Aneesh Raikundalia