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Archive for June 2014
kanna here, again. Yay! Welcome to part 3 of 5 of my X-Men review series!
Hard to believe we've already gone through two of the films, we have Days of Future Past in theaters, and X-Men: Apocalypse set for a release date in the States of May 27, 2016. And there are apparently going to be even more movies, because some of the actors from Days of Future Past have signed on for FOUR MORE MOVIES. Holy frick.
By the way, I saw Days of Future Past about a week or so before writing this. It was FREAKING AWESOME. I HAVE TO SEE IT AGAIN!
Anyway, let's move onto one of the more popular films of the X-Men film franchise, X2: X-Men United.
X2: X-Men United was one of the more popular films of the X-Men film franchise. It even ranked #2 on the X-Men Movies by Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes before Days of Future Past came out. Now it's at #3, but who cares? It's still a pretty high rating! This movie was even more popular than it's predecessor! It's a little rare for a sequel to be more popular than its predecessors (not saying that it hasn't happened, just saying that I haven't seen it happen that much).
Anyway, we have some new cast members joining us for this movie (and only this movie, unfortunately; don't expect them to appear anywhere else). Those cast members are Alan Cumming, Brian Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, and Michael Reid McKay. We have our headliners, and we have Anna Paquin playing a slightly bigger part in this movie. There are a few new additions towards the end, but we'll get to those later. It's not that they're not important (they are), but this is a topic that can be talked about later on in the review.
Let's get started!
Like the previous film, our movie opens up with a classic Patrick Stewart narration. Seriously, if the guy wasn't an actor, he could have been a motivational speaker or something. These narrations are just epic. However, unlike the previous film, the narration is different. Believe it or not, I actually like this narration more than the last film's. I can't really explain why. Anywho, here it is:
"Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence, they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain? Or simply a new species of humanity, fighting for their share in the world? Either way, one fact has been historically proven: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute..."
Seriously. Patrick Stewart could have been a motivational speaker or something if he wasn't an actor. Listen to his speeches in Star Trek: The Next Generation or wherever else he has some kind of monologue/speech. It's epic.
We then meet our first new mutant of the movie, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming). Don't get too used to him, guys. He's only going to be in this movie. And, yeah, I know. It sucks. Anyway, we meet Nightcrawler as he attempts to assassinate the President of the United States, President McKenna (Cotter Smith).
Um...who? I don't think there was a President McKenna in U.S. history. Then again, this is a work of fiction, so we can't expect the film to have 100% historical accuracy. And, yes, I actually triple-checked before writing this. There has never been a President of the United States with the last name McKenna.
Why am I saying all of this? Well, most of the X-Men movies have tied their story lines to actual historical events. First Class revolved around the Cuban Missile Crisis (and featured actual television footage from when John F. Kennedy appeared on TV and gave his big speech about it), Erik/Magneto was a holocaust survivor, Wolverine fought in a bunch of wars (including the Vietnam War), and Days of Future Past has an actor playing Richard Nixon and has Magneto in prison in the freaking Pentagon for John F. Kennedy's assassination. It's a surprise to see this movie not tied to a historical event. That's all. Not a good thing, but not a bad thing, either. Just something I thought worth mentioning.
Moving on.
It turns out that Nightcrawler has actually been brainwashed by a man named William Stryker. I mean, Col. William Stryker (Brian Cox). This guy is a human military scientist who has experimented on mutants in the past, including Wolverine (who is trying to get answers about his past). Stryker is also our villain for the movie. Why? Oh, only because he wants to combine Charles Xavier's telepathic abilities and Cerebro to wipe out every single mutant on the FREAKING PLANET.
Right...moving on again.
After an attempted assassination of President McKenna, Nightcrawler leaves a note demanding "mutant freedom" and flees. We then cut to the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters at a science museum in New York. Storm, Jean, and Cyclops are taking groups of students around the museum and discussing how history has ties to mutants.
However, towards the end of the trip, Storm notices that there are three students missing: Rogue, Bobby/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and John/Pyro (Aaron Stanford). Some teenagers are harassing them about their powers, and when Pyro tries to show off, every single person (save for the mutants) in the museum freezes exactly where they are. Prof. X tells them not to show off. Guess he's not one for showing mutations off in public.
Wolverine comes back to the school from Alkali Lake, a place in Alberta, Canada, where he thought there would be answers about his past. Turns out that he got his metal claws on there through an experiment done by Stryker. Storm and Jean are sent to find Nightcrawler, while Prof. X is accompanied by Cyclops to go and see Magneto, who is being held in a plastic prison.
Xavier tries to get answers from Magneto about the attempted assassination of the president, because he thought it was Magneto's fault. However, there are more pressing matters at hand. Turns out that Stryker was extracting information on the school and mutants in general from Magneto. Stryker and his assistant, Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) kidnap Cyclops and Prof. X before raiding the school, where all ___ breaks loose. Wolverine manages to kill some of Stryker's men and he escapes with Rogue, Bobby, and Pyro.
This film was FREAKING AMAZING. It was emotional, there were funny moments, there was good writing, and we even got to see Nightcrawler. FREAKING NIGHTCRAWLER! He's a fairly popular mutant in the X-Men franchise. Almost as popular as Wolverine and Gambit. As to whether or not Nightcrawler will be appearing in Apocalypse; I have no idea. They're probably going to get a different actor to play him if he is in Apocalypse, though. That actually sucks, because Alan Cumming is AWESOME. But given that it's been a few years since this film was released and he's forty-nine now--making him fifty-one when Apocalypse is released--he might feel too old to do some of the things he did in X2 for Apocalypse. Well, writers, if you can't give the guy an action scene, at least give him A SCENE. I don't think that's asking too much.
So...let's rate the film!
DRUM ROLL
Rating: 10 OUT OF 10
This was THE BEST X-Men film out of the main three films. It had good direction, good acting, and a fantastic script. Nothing less from BRYAN SINGER. The film isn't flawless (what film is), but it's still THE BEST. There weren't really any loose ends from the last movie to tie up, other than the bit about Wolverine's past.
We still don't really get a ton about that in this movie, other than the fact that Stryker experimented on him and that that was how he got his claws. It's more developed in that other movie that no one really likes to talk about, Origins: Wolverine. But, since that movie was downright awful (even Hugh Jackman hated it), I'll give you the short version in the form of bullet points.
Hard to believe we've already gone through two of the films, we have Days of Future Past in theaters, and X-Men: Apocalypse set for a release date in the States of May 27, 2016. And there are apparently going to be even more movies, because some of the actors from Days of Future Past have signed on for FOUR MORE MOVIES. Holy frick.
By the way, I saw Days of Future Past about a week or so before writing this. It was FREAKING AWESOME. I HAVE TO SEE IT AGAIN!
Anyway, let's move onto one of the more popular films of the X-Men film franchise, X2: X-Men United.
X2: X-Men United was one of the more popular films of the X-Men film franchise. It even ranked #2 on the X-Men Movies by Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes before Days of Future Past came out. Now it's at #3, but who cares? It's still a pretty high rating! This movie was even more popular than it's predecessor! It's a little rare for a sequel to be more popular than its predecessors (not saying that it hasn't happened, just saying that I haven't seen it happen that much).
Anyway, we have some new cast members joining us for this movie (and only this movie, unfortunately; don't expect them to appear anywhere else). Those cast members are Alan Cumming, Brian Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, and Michael Reid McKay. We have our headliners, and we have Anna Paquin playing a slightly bigger part in this movie. There are a few new additions towards the end, but we'll get to those later. It's not that they're not important (they are), but this is a topic that can be talked about later on in the review.
Let's get started!
Like the previous film, our movie opens up with a classic Patrick Stewart narration. Seriously, if the guy wasn't an actor, he could have been a motivational speaker or something. These narrations are just epic. However, unlike the previous film, the narration is different. Believe it or not, I actually like this narration more than the last film's. I can't really explain why. Anywho, here it is:
"Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence, they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain? Or simply a new species of humanity, fighting for their share in the world? Either way, one fact has been historically proven: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute..."
Seriously. Patrick Stewart could have been a motivational speaker or something if he wasn't an actor. Listen to his speeches in Star Trek: The Next Generation or wherever else he has some kind of monologue/speech. It's epic.
We then meet our first new mutant of the movie, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming). Don't get too used to him, guys. He's only going to be in this movie. And, yeah, I know. It sucks. Anyway, we meet Nightcrawler as he attempts to assassinate the President of the United States, President McKenna (Cotter Smith).
Um...who? I don't think there was a President McKenna in U.S. history. Then again, this is a work of fiction, so we can't expect the film to have 100% historical accuracy. And, yes, I actually triple-checked before writing this. There has never been a President of the United States with the last name McKenna.
Why am I saying all of this? Well, most of the X-Men movies have tied their story lines to actual historical events. First Class revolved around the Cuban Missile Crisis (and featured actual television footage from when John F. Kennedy appeared on TV and gave his big speech about it), Erik/Magneto was a holocaust survivor, Wolverine fought in a bunch of wars (including the Vietnam War), and Days of Future Past has an actor playing Richard Nixon and has Magneto in prison in the freaking Pentagon for John F. Kennedy's assassination. It's a surprise to see this movie not tied to a historical event. That's all. Not a good thing, but not a bad thing, either. Just something I thought worth mentioning.
Moving on.
It turns out that Nightcrawler has actually been brainwashed by a man named William Stryker. I mean, Col. William Stryker (Brian Cox). This guy is a human military scientist who has experimented on mutants in the past, including Wolverine (who is trying to get answers about his past). Stryker is also our villain for the movie. Why? Oh, only because he wants to combine Charles Xavier's telepathic abilities and Cerebro to wipe out every single mutant on the FREAKING PLANET.
Right...moving on again.
After an attempted assassination of President McKenna, Nightcrawler leaves a note demanding "mutant freedom" and flees. We then cut to the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters at a science museum in New York. Storm, Jean, and Cyclops are taking groups of students around the museum and discussing how history has ties to mutants.
However, towards the end of the trip, Storm notices that there are three students missing: Rogue, Bobby/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and John/Pyro (Aaron Stanford). Some teenagers are harassing them about their powers, and when Pyro tries to show off, every single person (save for the mutants) in the museum freezes exactly where they are. Prof. X tells them not to show off. Guess he's not one for showing mutations off in public.
Wolverine comes back to the school from Alkali Lake, a place in Alberta, Canada, where he thought there would be answers about his past. Turns out that he got his metal claws on there through an experiment done by Stryker. Storm and Jean are sent to find Nightcrawler, while Prof. X is accompanied by Cyclops to go and see Magneto, who is being held in a plastic prison.
Xavier tries to get answers from Magneto about the attempted assassination of the president, because he thought it was Magneto's fault. However, there are more pressing matters at hand. Turns out that Stryker was extracting information on the school and mutants in general from Magneto. Stryker and his assistant, Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) kidnap Cyclops and Prof. X before raiding the school, where all ___ breaks loose. Wolverine manages to kill some of Stryker's men and he escapes with Rogue, Bobby, and Pyro.
This film was FREAKING AMAZING. It was emotional, there were funny moments, there was good writing, and we even got to see Nightcrawler. FREAKING NIGHTCRAWLER! He's a fairly popular mutant in the X-Men franchise. Almost as popular as Wolverine and Gambit. As to whether or not Nightcrawler will be appearing in Apocalypse; I have no idea. They're probably going to get a different actor to play him if he is in Apocalypse, though. That actually sucks, because Alan Cumming is AWESOME. But given that it's been a few years since this film was released and he's forty-nine now--making him fifty-one when Apocalypse is released--he might feel too old to do some of the things he did in X2 for Apocalypse. Well, writers, if you can't give the guy an action scene, at least give him A SCENE. I don't think that's asking too much.
So...let's rate the film!
DRUM ROLL
Rating: 10 OUT OF 10
This was THE BEST X-Men film out of the main three films. It had good direction, good acting, and a fantastic script. Nothing less from BRYAN SINGER. The film isn't flawless (what film is), but it's still THE BEST. There weren't really any loose ends from the last movie to tie up, other than the bit about Wolverine's past.
We still don't really get a ton about that in this movie, other than the fact that Stryker experimented on him and that that was how he got his claws. It's more developed in that other movie that no one really likes to talk about, Origins: Wolverine. But, since that movie was downright awful (even Hugh Jackman hated it), I'll give you the short version in the form of bullet points.
- Wolverine was born in insert-some-time-in-the-1800s-here as James Howlett in Alberta, Canada
- He already had the claws as a child, only they were made out of bone and not adamantium
- Stryker was the one who gave him the adamantium claws, as well as an entire skeleton made out of the stuff
There were A HUGE amount of references to the comics, and a few cameos, as well. There's one scene in the movie where Mystique is going through files on Stryker's computer, and there are so many files on so many mutants and places and events from the comic books, it would take a whole other review to name them all. So I'll just give you these to sum up all the cameos and comic book references:
Part 1/2
Part 2/2
Now, if you remember, I mentioned something about a few new additions towards the end of the movie. There are a few new mutants introduced besides Nightcrawler. The key part of that sentence being "a few." Those mutants would be Shadowcat (Katie Stuart), Artie (Bryce Hodgson), Jubilee (Kea Wong), Siryn (Shauna Kain), Danielle Moonstar (no idea), Douglas Ramsey (Layke Anderson), and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore). Yeah, don't get used to some of these guys. Specifically, Shadowcat, Artie, Jubilee, Siryn, Danielle Moonstar, and Douglas Ramsey.
Well, some of that isn't entirely true. Shadowcat does get a more developed role in The Last Stand, as well as a new actress, Ellen Page, who reprises the role for Days of Future Past. Not sure why that was, but I'm not complaining. Colossus also returned for The Last Stand, but Daniel Cudmore got to stay and play Colossus in a slightly more developed role. Daniel Cudmore also returned for Days of Future Past. As for everyone else, this is all you're going to see of them. What's weird is that Jubilee's scene isn't even in the actual film. You have to watch the deleted scenes to see her.
Like I said, out of the main three X-Men movies, this one is THE BEST. It's rare for a sequel to be more popular than its predecessor. If you haven't seen this movie, SEE IT. It's just amazing.
Well, we're almost done, guys. Just two more movies. I know I said I'd do this in order of continuity to the best of my ability, but given that I saw Days of Future Past fairly recently, I'm going to do that one last. I actually like that the order is working out like this, because Days of Future Past practically--
I'm saying too much! If you haven't seen Days of Future Past yet, see it. And if you have seen it, see it again. Stay after the credits, because there's a nice little teaser for the next movie, Apocalypse. It's a bit of a wait for that teaser, but it's totally worth it (I kinda-sorta made my friends stay after the credits when we went to see the movie). If you're wondering what it is that they're saying in that scene or are just confused as to what's going on in that scene, leave a comment or something and I'll reply. Why am I not doing that here in this post? Because I'm not going to give it away for the people who haven't seen it. I'm nice like that.
Anyway, we're almost done. Two more movies. I'm actually looking forward to doing my review for The Last Stand. It's a guilty pleasure of mine. Let's just hope I don't mention Star Trek: The Next Generation anywhere in the review.
Before I sign off, I wanted to say I'm going to
take a break before I do my reviews for The Last Stand and Days
of Future Past. Why? Well, there's a certain show I've been meaning to
review for a while, but wasn't quite sure about how to write a good review for
it. Then I heard that a show I used to watch was going to have its final
season, and I thought it would be a good idea to compare and contrast the two.
So, get ready for the ultimate supernatural TV-series competition: Being
Human (US) vs. True Blood. Who do you think is going to win? I
think Being Human, but that's just my opinion.
All right, now I'm signing off! I'll see you guys soon! ~kanna
