Thoughts on X-Men: First Class
I got out of work a little early today, so E and I ran out to catch a matinee of X-Men. I always try to see a comic book movie as an alternate universe, because I know if I'm looking for it to be true to the comic I will be disappointed. This is especially true of comic characters that have been around for over 20 years. Comic books have too many conflicting story-lines for any movie to do them justice.
As an origin story of Xavier and Magneto (and to a lesser extent Mystique) it worked OK. It was a decent movie although not the best X-Men movie. (I still think the first one is the best to date.)
I liked the way they worked in the historical period without making it too alien for those who don't remember it. The costumes worked for the most part, except for some of the lingerie. I also didn't like the wheelchair design. It's just too futuristic for the early 60s.
I LOVED the cameos.
I enjoyed the emotional story they were telling and I won't turn it off if I run across it on TV a few years from now, but I'm not planning another trip to the theater to see it again.
My number one complaint is the introduction of a black character only to have that character die a few scenes later. If you need to introduce a character and plan to kill them off to show that the situation is dangerous for the love of god don't make it the only black speaking part. This is one of those Hollywood things that drives me crazy.
For all the character development we saw with Charles and Erik we didn't get to see a lot (or any) character development for a lot of others. Emma Frost was being used by Shaw, and we never saw her motivation for that (or for Shaw's other henchmen). Just a line or two could have helped.
Several story points were lessened by the desire to stay within the guidelines of the PG-13 rules. Erik's reaction to his mother's death would have been stronger if the scene had ended with him sobbing over his mother's body during Schmit/Shaw's speech about pain and anger. But doing so would have required more violence than they could do and still get a PG-13.
I guess the problem is I want an X-Man series on a cable channel, where we could get the depth of story that the universe offers and instead we get movies that tease us.
As an origin story of Xavier and Magneto (and to a lesser extent Mystique) it worked OK. It was a decent movie although not the best X-Men movie. (I still think the first one is the best to date.)
I liked the way they worked in the historical period without making it too alien for those who don't remember it. The costumes worked for the most part, except for some of the lingerie. I also didn't like the wheelchair design. It's just too futuristic for the early 60s.
I LOVED the cameos.
I enjoyed the emotional story they were telling and I won't turn it off if I run across it on TV a few years from now, but I'm not planning another trip to the theater to see it again.
My number one complaint is the introduction of a black character only to have that character die a few scenes later. If you need to introduce a character and plan to kill them off to show that the situation is dangerous for the love of god don't make it the only black speaking part. This is one of those Hollywood things that drives me crazy.
For all the character development we saw with Charles and Erik we didn't get to see a lot (or any) character development for a lot of others. Emma Frost was being used by Shaw, and we never saw her motivation for that (or for Shaw's other henchmen). Just a line or two could have helped.
Several story points were lessened by the desire to stay within the guidelines of the PG-13 rules. Erik's reaction to his mother's death would have been stronger if the scene had ended with him sobbing over his mother's body during Schmit/Shaw's speech about pain and anger. But doing so would have required more violence than they could do and still get a PG-13.
I guess the problem is I want an X-Man series on a cable channel, where we could get the depth of story that the universe offers and instead we get movies that tease us.