X-Men: First Class - The Dilemma
I've been reading X-Men: First Class slash lately. I'm a bit out of the loop, but it seems like this is the latest boom fandom, correct? And I have to say - yes. I get it. Very much so.
This fandom has many elements that are perfect for me. The relationship between Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier could have been created just to hit my buttons.* The character Erik Lehnsherr - ditto. Plus, XM:FC reminds me of early Smallville with its high fanfic output (including many wonderfully long stories) and the exceptionally high percentage of good writing.**
BUT.
I have still not watched the movie, and I think it would be a very bad idea for me to do so. Because I am pretty sure my reaction would be:
- 15-25% of the movie: very nice! Slashiness and angst, yay. Also, Emma seems like she's pretty bad-ass.
- 50-60% of the movie: extremely boring. Why are there so many scenes about people I don't care about that are treated as extremely portentous (AKA Ta-Daaaah, Meet Your Future Boring Heroes)? And why are there so many boring action sequences? Yaaawn.
- 25% of the movie: hate with virulent passion. HATE. WITH. VIRULENT. PASSION. Because there are some things that Hollywood has never done well, and the context gives me complete confidence that it will do this VERY BADLY INDEED.
- Also: I rather suspect Charles Xavier might be a Gary Stu of Wesley Crusher magnitude. But that is a side-issue.
* Although I do have some problems with their ideologies, because in both cases, they seem too simplistic and dumb to be believable for these two men - especially in the case of Erik, who really should know better. But hey, Erik's blinders are understandable, and smarter people have made themselves believe in dumber things. I can deal.
** Of course, this impression may not be entirely accurate, seeing as I've been following recs and bookmarks rather than braving the wilds of unfiltered slush piles.***
*** However, there has even been grammatically correct German. In several different stories! This is unprecedented. I mean, I only just watched the first 10 minutes of the Grimm pilot ep, and a measly four barely legible words written on a sword managed to incorporate at least one basic grammatical error.
So, this is an odd situation. I am very interested in the fanfic. I would like to watch the canon the fanfic is based on. But I don't dare, for fear it would destroy my enjoyment of the fanfic.
This fandom has many elements that are perfect for me. The relationship between Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier could have been created just to hit my buttons.* The character Erik Lehnsherr - ditto. Plus, XM:FC reminds me of early Smallville with its high fanfic output (including many wonderfully long stories) and the exceptionally high percentage of good writing.**
BUT.
I have still not watched the movie, and I think it would be a very bad idea for me to do so. Because I am pretty sure my reaction would be:
- 15-25% of the movie: very nice! Slashiness and angst, yay. Also, Emma seems like she's pretty bad-ass.
- 50-60% of the movie: extremely boring. Why are there so many scenes about people I don't care about that are treated as extremely portentous (AKA Ta-Daaaah, Meet Your Future Boring Heroes)? And why are there so many boring action sequences? Yaaawn.
- 25% of the movie: hate with virulent passion. HATE. WITH. VIRULENT. PASSION. Because there are some things that Hollywood has never done well, and the context gives me complete confidence that it will do this VERY BADLY INDEED.
- Also: I rather suspect Charles Xavier might be a Gary Stu of Wesley Crusher magnitude. But that is a side-issue.
* Although I do have some problems with their ideologies, because in both cases, they seem too simplistic and dumb to be believable for these two men - especially in the case of Erik, who really should know better. But hey, Erik's blinders are understandable, and smarter people have made themselves believe in dumber things. I can deal.
** Of course, this impression may not be entirely accurate, seeing as I've been following recs and bookmarks rather than braving the wilds of unfiltered slush piles.***
*** However, there has even been grammatically correct German. In several different stories! This is unprecedented. I mean, I only just watched the first 10 minutes of the Grimm pilot ep, and a measly four barely legible words written on a sword managed to incorporate at least one basic grammatical error.
So, this is an odd situation. I am very interested in the fanfic. I would like to watch the canon the fanfic is based on. But I don't dare, for fear it would destroy my enjoyment of the fanfic.