Bad Movie, Good Play
Posted by Steve Jamieson in Movies, Theater, tags: Julius Caesar, Shakespeare Festival, X-Men
*spoilers ahead*
How do you destroy a highly anticipated summer blockbuster like X-Men 3? Well, start by pulling the director of the two previous hit movies in the series off the project to get the struggling Superman Returns project back on track. Have said director take most of his production staff, including writers, with him. Then, by some freak coincidence, get the director who was messing up Superman to do X-Men 3. I wanted to like the movie–I really did–but by the end I just didn’t care anymore. I had written off the movie as if it had never existed.
First, what possessed Brett Ratner and his crew to think that they should kill off 3–three!–main characters. Granted, yes, it is often necessary to depart from the written text to tell the story on screen, as Bryan Singer did quite effectively and forgivably in 1 & 2. However, to kill off Cyclops and Professor X in addition to Jean Grey, that’s sacrilege. (I grant that Jean Grey was a natural candidate for death, since Phoenix dies and resurrects all the time, but the post-credit “resurrection” of Professor X doesn’t redeem Ratner one iota.) Imagine if for some hypothetical dramatic effect, Peter Jackson had killed off Aragorn in Return of the King. LotR fans would have rioted in the streets. There are some things you just don’t do–certain characters that you just don’t kill off. Naughty Brett Ratner! Naughty!
Second, Phoenix was totally lame. With a huge FX budget, couldn’t they have pulled off a flaming, bird-shaped aura for her, as she’s supposed to have and as was hinted at in X-Men 2? All we get is a single instance of a bright, off-screen light just before she appears to Scott. Furthermore, when she wasn’t killing off a main character or two (or trying to), she mostly stood around and did absolutely nothing for extended periods of time. For example, during the Alcatraz fight sequence, she pretty much just stood off in the distance as the rest of the mutants got their butts kicked. Was she even in the frame whenever the camera cut to Magneto & Pyro during the fight? Some ultimate destructive power.
Third, Magneto acted quite out of character in my opinion. For someone who is fighting for mutant rights supremacy, he sure has a cavalier attitude towards the “pawns” that he supposedly wants to help.
Finally, at a paltry 104 minutes, the movie is the shortest of the three, and it has a definite negative effect. The movie is a rapid-fire series of action sequences that disposes of such things as continuity and character development. For example, did you notice that the Golden Gate Bridge scene started at early evening and a few minutes later as the siege of Alcatraz began it was the dark of night. As for character development, how about this scene where Magneto frees Multiple Man (paraphrased to the best of my memory):
Magneto: “I could use a man of your talents.”
Multiple Man: “I’m in.”
Really, Multiple Man? Some random guy lets you out and without so much as asking who he is or why he wants a man of your talents, you’re ready to join up with him? Riiiight…
Was there anything that I liked? Sure. Shadowcat and Colossus got some time to shine. The movie attempted to continue asking questions about handling power responsibly and ethically. However, ultimately, all the redeemable qualities were vastly overshadowed by a horrible story, crappy writing, and poor directing. As an X-Men fan, I was sorely disappointed.
*end spoilers*
On the other hand, this year’s Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis presentation of Julius Caesar in Forest Park was outstanding! I met up with my friends Jessica & James after work on Monday, which was a beautiful, sunny yet cool day. We enjoyed the antics of Jeff the Juggler—a favorite from last year—and of the wandering magician who performed right in front of our blanket. The play itself was thoroughly enjoyable. The majority of the actors did a fine job and the set was creative and well-utilized. Plus, we had really good seats.
Entries (RSS)
Seems like your main problems are with the continuity between the comic books and the movie. I can’t speak to that at all, but I understand the frustration, for sure. Peter Jackson’s Aragorn is far more insecure, “conflicted,” and reluctant than Tolkien’s. Jackson does not understand any reason why Aragorn would choose humility even though he is boldly confident in himself.
Back to XMen3, character development was saved for the main characters, and depended largely upon the previous movies.
I’m glad to know about the incongruity with the original story and characters, but it doesn’t change my opinion that this was a great movie. I don’t know the other story, or the other characters.
The book is always better than the movie, no?
Yes, indeed, my primary objections arise from how unfaithful this movie is to characters that fans have loved for decades. I have to admit that I don’t have great first-hand knowledge of the X-Men comics, as I have never read them. However, I have been exposed to enough information about them second-hand (the TV show, reading material about X-Men, etc.) to know the basic, broad strokes. That this movie breaks with even the outlines I know, shows just how far astray this director has gone.
I suspect that most people who have had no exposure to the comic universe will probably like this movie. (Although, the critics have been rather negative about it.) However, the great tragedy is that while the first two movies appealed to fans and newbies alike, this movie is an insult to the fans.
Granted: 1)X3 was not as good as either of the first two; 2)I do think it is important that a movie maintain substantial continuity with its source material; 3)I don’t have much knowledge of the X-Men source material; 4)the movie could have used another 15-20 minutes of character development
However: the first two movies, while they reportedly had more continuity with the source material than X3, clearly developed their own trajectory, so if one was willing to accept that trajectory in them, then it’s no fair to cry “foul” now. Admittedly, the Phoenix plot as it developed was not required by the previous movies, but it was one logical progression.
I think the castigation of Phoenix as “lame” is an opinion. I can understand why you say it, but I disagree. For one thing, you can’t have a hollywood babe play a role, and then hide her behind a bunch of f/x flames. Second, I interpreted her lack of action as a result of her character not really being on either “side”.
Of course Magneto was willing to expend the “pawns”. One of the points of the movie is that when you are willing to do anything to further a cause, then the cause is probably merely a pretense for a power grab.
I know I’m not going to convince you, and that’s not my point, I’m just furthering the discussion.
Nick, since you admit that the plot of X3, as developed, was not necessitated by the previous two movies, I’m not sure why you say it’s not fair for me to cry foul. Not every plot option is created equal, and there could have been any number of potential plots for X3 that would have fit the trajectory of 1 & 2 and that I would have liked better. Indeed, some time ago I read a rather interesting X3 fan fic script on the IMDB forums.
I think part of the problem I’m having with X3 is inherent in the choice to weave two primary plots into one–(1) the Phoenix and (2) the cure.
In the comic universe, as I understand it, the Phoenix Saga was, well, a saga. The emergence of Jean Grey as the Phoenix and later the Dark Phoenix (the latter being the focus of the movie) was a major event on which the comics focused for some time. In fact, when the 90′s cartoon series brought the Phoenix & Dark Phoenix sagas to the screen they extended the plots over 5 and 4 episodes respectively (about half of season 3 in total).
Thus, I would contend that the (Dark) Phoenix saga deserved a movie of its own, showcasing the relationships between the X-Men and Jean as they confront her new powers, enemies who attempt to manipulate Phoenix for their own purposes, and the love between Scott and Jean that ultimately wins out. Instead, Phoenix is forced to stand around and do nothing while the filmmakers develop the controversy of the cure and Magneto’s crusade against it, in which Phoenix is little more than a supporting character. Furthermore, I think the cure controversy could have been a movie of its own too, allowing the filmmakers to more fully explore Rogue’s struggle to either come to terms with her powers or receive the cure.