More X3 (any excuse to use this icon...)
The more I think about it, the more I wish X3 had chosen a different plot line. I wish they'd chosen the Sentinels.
The Sentinels are classic X-Men fare. They're the quintessential X-Men baddie (aside from Magneto and Apocalypse). The first episode of the animated series is about the Sentinels. Aside from that, they pretty damn cool. Giant, killer robots always make a movie more interesting *g*
They did an homage to the Sentinels at the beginning of X3, as well as an homage to the Danger Room, but I really wish they'd decided to make the Sentinels more central. I love the Phoenix plotline, but...well, X3 didn't have THE Phoenix plotline. If you think your audience is unwilling to accept a powerful alien possessing a mutant, then perhaps you should pick one of the myriad of other plotlines available in the X-Men universe. The multiple personality thing was balls. If they weren't going to stick to aliens, then they should have gone in a different direction. Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix for that matter, is far too large for one movie. X3 pretty much went straight to the ev0l and skipped over the seduction of ev0l part. Which is a shame, because the Hellfire Club ruled.
So, the Sentinels. Thematically, it fits with both the prequels. Both have included crazy mutant haters sparking mutant issue related violence. The third was really all about Magneto doing some rabble-rousing. Yes, there was The Cure, but the creator of The Cure didn't hate mutants, per say, he just wanted to cure his son. There was a moment, when the female doctor wondered if Beast would be a problem, and I though, "Hooray! There's a conspiracy a foot! They want to Cure EVERYONE!" But no. Actually, it was hard to be sympathetic to most of the mutants in the movie at all. In this instance, they really started the violence. But that became moot, as Jean fried them all with her brain.
Now, one could argue that in itself that's compelling. Mutants are persecuted to a point where any perceived threat sets them off. However, human persecution of mutants has always been a central theme of X-Men. It was decidedly missing. Humans didn't so much persecute as react. And when humans should have been wary, fearful, or plain vengeful, ie after Jean took out an entire battalion with her brain, Humans are suddenly okay with mutants. Hell, they promote Beast to Ambassador.
So, the Sentinels. They're great because you can go two ways:
1) Nutty McEvilScientist hates mutants and feels it's his personal mission to rid the world of them, so he creates giant, killer robots for just that purpose.
2) Nutty McEvilScientist is employed by the government to look into a system by which mutants "can be controlled". He naturally goes overboard and creates giant, killer robots.
You can even introduce The Cure if you want. Once the mutants are rounded up, Nutty McEvilScientist can try to "cure" the mutants, or simply rid the world of them. I remember the Genoshian plotline with fondness. Advertising to mutants that there's a safe country for them to live, them slapping power-inhibiting collars on them all so they can be used as slaves. There's a plotline for a movie. And the Sentinels can be gaurds! (not letting go of this bone...)
The Sentinels not only provide tonnes of fodder for fight scenes and special effects, they are a plotline that you can wrap up easily in an hour. They also fit the specifications for Professor X's, "there's a war a-brewin'" speech at the end of X2.
I have no problem with Magneto throwing the first stone, but the beauty of X-Men has always been that both sides, humans and mutants, make the problem worse through prejudice. Also, the characters. There’s a multitude of characters that I care about. Funnily, Jean's not on that list. I've never liked her that much. The most interesting thing she ever did was go evil and die. I've always thought of her as a Mary Sueish prop so that Wolverine and Cyclops can argue and have UST. Having the movie revolve around a neutered version of the Dark Phoenix Saga was a hard pill for me to swallow. And Jean going nutso and nuking Alcatraz is not my idea of a final war between humans and mutants. Sentinels, baby. Should have been Sentinels.
The Sentinels are classic X-Men fare. They're the quintessential X-Men baddie (aside from Magneto and Apocalypse). The first episode of the animated series is about the Sentinels. Aside from that, they pretty damn cool. Giant, killer robots always make a movie more interesting *g*
They did an homage to the Sentinels at the beginning of X3, as well as an homage to the Danger Room, but I really wish they'd decided to make the Sentinels more central. I love the Phoenix plotline, but...well, X3 didn't have THE Phoenix plotline. If you think your audience is unwilling to accept a powerful alien possessing a mutant, then perhaps you should pick one of the myriad of other plotlines available in the X-Men universe. The multiple personality thing was balls. If they weren't going to stick to aliens, then they should have gone in a different direction. Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix for that matter, is far too large for one movie. X3 pretty much went straight to the ev0l and skipped over the seduction of ev0l part. Which is a shame, because the Hellfire Club ruled.
So, the Sentinels. Thematically, it fits with both the prequels. Both have included crazy mutant haters sparking mutant issue related violence. The third was really all about Magneto doing some rabble-rousing. Yes, there was The Cure, but the creator of The Cure didn't hate mutants, per say, he just wanted to cure his son. There was a moment, when the female doctor wondered if Beast would be a problem, and I though, "Hooray! There's a conspiracy a foot! They want to Cure EVERYONE!" But no. Actually, it was hard to be sympathetic to most of the mutants in the movie at all. In this instance, they really started the violence. But that became moot, as Jean fried them all with her brain.
Now, one could argue that in itself that's compelling. Mutants are persecuted to a point where any perceived threat sets them off. However, human persecution of mutants has always been a central theme of X-Men. It was decidedly missing. Humans didn't so much persecute as react. And when humans should have been wary, fearful, or plain vengeful, ie after Jean took out an entire battalion with her brain, Humans are suddenly okay with mutants. Hell, they promote Beast to Ambassador.
So, the Sentinels. They're great because you can go two ways:
1) Nutty McEvilScientist hates mutants and feels it's his personal mission to rid the world of them, so he creates giant, killer robots for just that purpose.
2) Nutty McEvilScientist is employed by the government to look into a system by which mutants "can be controlled". He naturally goes overboard and creates giant, killer robots.
You can even introduce The Cure if you want. Once the mutants are rounded up, Nutty McEvilScientist can try to "cure" the mutants, or simply rid the world of them. I remember the Genoshian plotline with fondness. Advertising to mutants that there's a safe country for them to live, them slapping power-inhibiting collars on them all so they can be used as slaves. There's a plotline for a movie. And the Sentinels can be gaurds! (not letting go of this bone...)
The Sentinels not only provide tonnes of fodder for fight scenes and special effects, they are a plotline that you can wrap up easily in an hour. They also fit the specifications for Professor X's, "there's a war a-brewin'" speech at the end of X2.
I have no problem with Magneto throwing the first stone, but the beauty of X-Men has always been that both sides, humans and mutants, make the problem worse through prejudice. Also, the characters. There’s a multitude of characters that I care about. Funnily, Jean's not on that list. I've never liked her that much. The most interesting thing she ever did was go evil and die. I've always thought of her as a Mary Sueish prop so that Wolverine and Cyclops can argue and have UST. Having the movie revolve around a neutered version of the Dark Phoenix Saga was a hard pill for me to swallow. And Jean going nutso and nuking Alcatraz is not my idea of a final war between humans and mutants. Sentinels, baby. Should have been Sentinels.