Movie Talk - The X-Men Movies

(After watching Catwoman)

Moria: Charles...are you okay?

Charles: .....I'm a bit disturbed, but I'll live. Students?

Students:...(silence)...

Erik: Well....at least I now have the answer to this certain problem.

(Erik then shoots the crap out of the TV.) 

And here it is. I wanted to do this when X-Men: First Class came out, but I didn't. Now, since I'm at the end of X-Men Month, I think it's finally time to talk about these movies. The only movie that is exempt from this list is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and that's because it's a Logan movie...though you could make an argument that all of the X-Men movies (save for FC) were Logan movies. Don't worry, I'll get to that when I actually sit down and watch it. Ready....set.....Go:

Background
Since I was a fan of the X-Men since the animated series, me, my mom, grandmother, and sister went to go see the first X-Men movie in 2000. I think I finally got to see X2 during Thanksgiving of 2003 at my uncle's house. I then saw HULK afterwards...guess which one was better and made sense at the end? When 2006 came, I either was going to see X-Men 3 or Superman Returns. I chose the latter. While I did hear bad things about X-Men 3, I still wanted to watch it. I finally did when it came out on DVD. I'll admit, I thought it was okay, but then I got to thinking and... I'll talk about that later. Then 2010 comes and I hear of an X-Men prequel. I was interested but pessimistic for obvious reasons. When June of 2011 came, I went to go see the movie and....you'll find out below. I have recently seen X: FC and the first two X-Men movies, and while I don't  own X-Men 3, it is somehow still fresh in my mind. I read all of the novelizations to the movie as well.

X-Men
The plot is pretty simple. The movie  revolves around Logan and Rogue as they meet the X-Men who are trying to stop Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants from using a deadly machine.

Xavier: I'll have you in 6 more moves.

Erik: Well...you're bald!

Pros: This is a good movie. It's not the best X-men movie, but it does get the ball rolling. The acting, especially Hugh Jackman's, was good. The action, while minimal, was pretty good and well done. Wolverine vs. Mystique was awesome. The story was pretty decent as well. The music was fine as well.

Cons: Not many. Some characters aren't as fleshed out as others. It's a little short, but since not too much is going on, it's okay.

Favorite Quotes
"What do they call you? Wheels?"
" I'm Charles Xavier. Would you like some breakfast?"
"Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?"
"Do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning?...The same thing that happens to everything else." (yeah, it's horrible, but it's still awesome.)

X2: X-Men United
In the second movie, The X-Men have to join forces with Magneto to stop government official William Stryker from using a brainwashed Xavier to kill all mutants.

Cyclops: Well, if I'm gonna get shafted in this movie, I might as well kick someone's butt!

Pros: This is probably the best X-Men by far. Pretty much everything was good about this movie. The acting was good. The action went OVER 9000!!! In other words, the action was awesome, especially that first scene involving Kurt. More characters get the spotlight other than Wolverine, and we get a good antagonist from William Stryker. I also like that they actually tried to adapt something from the comics. Yeah, they changed stuff, but it's still good. One thing  I have to note is that I was kinda shocked that Jean died (Spoiler Alert!!!) at the end. Why? Because in the novelization (I read it before I saw the movie), she does not die at all. The music here was good and even better than the first.

Cons: Is it wrong for me to want to kick the crap out of Bobby's stupid little brother? Yes? Crap. Anyway, there are not many cons. Cyclops is not seen during the middle of the movie, but since there were other characters getting the spotlight, I guess it's okay. Other than that, the movie's good.

Favorite Quotes
" You know, outside the circus, most people were afraid of me. But I didn't hate them. I pitied them. Do you know why? Because most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes."
" Have you ever tried... not being a mutant?"
"Well, let's just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls."
"Logan, my tolerance for your smoking in the mansion notwithstanding, continue smoking that in here, and you'll spend the rest of your days under the belief that you're a six-year-old girl."
"If you want to shoot me, then shoot me!"

X-Men: The Last Stand
Here, the X-Men have to deal with a cure for mutants, Magneto (again), and Jean coming back as a psycho. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?

Beast: Oh! Don't worry miss. I'm just reading the novelization to this movie. Who knew it would be actually better than the movie itself?

Pros: Yes, there are some good things in this film. The acting was okay, Wolverine was still awesome, Beast was cool, Magneto was okay for being the villain again, and Phoenix was okay for what she was.  The action was well done, the music was probably the best out of the trilogy, and I think that is it.

Cons: Well....hold on to your butts, this is going to take a while. When I first saw the movie, I did think it was okay. After a lot of thinking, I began to loathe this movie. This may be the only movie that I really have negative feelings about. The reason is that this movie could have been a great X-Men movie, but because of three major things it was not that at all. At most, it was a decent action movie, and a bad X-Men movie.

• Many characters get the shaft - A lot of characters get the shaft in this movie. Cyclops is definitely an example. Other than Logan and Storm, the rest of the team aren't seen that much either. Colossus is probably the biggest example. Here is a character who was introduced in an awesome way in the last movie...and then does NOTHING here. Yes, he does fight on the team, but other than that, NOTHING. Angel also did NOTHING here. You could have easily cut him out and you wouldn't have missed a thing. That's how integral he is to the plot, and speaking of the plot...
• The story wasn't that great - Another thing that is wrong with this movie is that the story is not that great. Here, we have the mutant cure for the major story while the Phoenix gets regulated to the b-plot. To me, these are two interesting stories that did not need to be combined together. One thing I wished happened is that the "mutant cure" storyline got fleshed out better. It's not a bad idea for a main story. The "Phoenix" story could have also been the whole movie if it was actually fleshed out. Unfortunately, we get a combination of the two and about 20-something characters to go with it. 
• The movie was too short - Finally, the movie was too dang short. This movie was about 104 minutes. The first movie was about that length, but that's fine since it was a little low-key. The second movie was 134 minutes, and that great because you had some new characters and you learned a little more about some older ones. Why wasn't this movie about as long as  the second one? I mean,  there were a ton of characters in this movie and only 5 of them mattered. The plot was pretty hollow with little substance. 
• Is there more to say about this thing? Probably, but I have said all that I've wanted to say.
• Oh yeah, why the *$*$*#* are Angel and Cyclops pictured in X-Men suits ? They don't wear them in the dang movie! 

Favorite Quotes:
"As Churchill said, "There comes a time when every man must...Oh you get the point!"
"Einstein wasn't a mutant, so far as we know."
"Wolverine. I hear you are quite an animal."

X-Men: First Class
We see the origins of Xavier and Magneto as they try to stop the Hellfire Club from starting war between the U.S. and Russia in 1962.

My name is Lensherr. Erik Lensherr.  

Pros:This was a good movie. It might even be the best X-men movie. The lead characters, except maybe a couple, were well acted. Michael Fassbender was awesome as Magneto. The story, while rushed at the end, was pretty decent. The action was well done, especially the long battle sequence at the end. It literally felt like an X-Men movie. I also love those costumes and the fact that they come so close to being the original costumes from the comics. My favorite scenes are the Cerebro scene, the training scene, Erik's Nazi-killin' scene, and the last battle. I also liked the 1960's feel and the music as well.

Cons: I do think that the ending was a bit rushed. Since there is a sequel eventually coming out, it would have been good to see Charles and Erik on the same side for a little while longer. The black dude dies....no comment here. January Jones as Emma Frost was also a big goose egg....though she did look the part nicely. Some characters weren't too fleshed out, but since this is Charles' and Erik's movie, I can forgive that. Continuity is also something that's lacking here.

Favorite Quotes
"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again."
"Let's just say I'm Frankenstein's monster. And I'm looking for my creator."
"Heterochromia was in reference to your eyes which I have to say are stunning. One green, one blue. It's a mutation. It's a very groovy mutation."
"Even I got to admit you look pretty bad-ass. I think I got a new name for you: Beast."
"I am going to count to three and I'm going to move the coin."
"Are you sure we can't shave your head?"

........................
Finally, here's my list of them from great to not so great:

1. X2
2. X-Men First Class
3. X-Men
4. X-Men 3

And that ends that. I definitely recommend that you see the movies and judge for yourself on if they're good or not. Well...back to reading articles on databases!!