One of those you hate to love. Even if you hate Tucker (and who doesn’t, really) he is terribly funny in this. Jackie Chan is so charming…
What’s more:
I reviewed this one from memory for one reason; I had planned to watch X3 with my daughter but we ran out of time. So since I was already prepared for a Brett Ratner movie, I decided to do this one.
I probably won’t be reviewing the sequels. I remember seeing 2 in the theater and thinking it was pretty good for a sequel. I didn’t see the 3rd one.
If you liked 1980’s Eddie Murphy movies, you really can’t criticize this picture. I don’t find Tucker as funny, but I’m sure Richard Pryor fans didn’t find Murphy as funny either.
And any excuse to watch Jackie Chan is a pretty good one. The man is a magician and it’s a blast to gape at his crazy stunts. What he does is so beyond fight stunts; his moves are actual story elements.
BAMF! Singer knocks it out of the park with this sequel, based on a Claremont classic. Despite unwelcome addition of more Halle Berry (ugh).
What’s more:
This one came out on my birthday, so I would possibly give it a better review based just on that, but this thing didn’t need to be graded on a curve. Was the best superhero movie of its day and is still one of the best of all time.
Story based on a Claremont classic. So good. The best thing going for this, as with all sequels, is the freedom from having to re-explain everything and spend half of your run-time setting up the premise. This movie blasts out of the gates with the assassination attempt; hits the ground running and never looks back.
Sure, there’s far too much Wolverine, and once they unwisely gave Halle Berry an Oscar she was able to demand more unwarranted screen-time, but for the most part Singer manages the large mix of characters well. Except for Cyclops; he gets hosed.
This isn’t the kind of genre-defying movie that Dark Knight was, but it is a top 5 comic book movie. Last chance to see what Singer could do, and he goes out on top. It is so unfortunate that we’ll never know what X3 would have been like with him. He set up the Dark Phoenix storyline; wish he could have delivered…
Spoiler-filled commentary:
Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Man, based entirely on this opening sequence. Far beyond anything that happened in the first movie. Kickstarts the movie.
I know from listening to the commentary that as the first movie was a rush job and Jackman was a last minute add, they didn’t have time to get Logan’s hair right. They were happier with how it turned out in this one. I think you got it right the first time. Everyone else got better haircuts, though.
Hey, Storm lost her accent.
Jean’s power growing – bring on the Phoenix!
Nice job of building the anti-mutant tension. Was more global in first one, here it’s more among the common people.
Brian Cox is a good add.
The Cerebro effect is so much more developed, and excellent. Needs to be as it plays such a major part in the story.
I love that we’re sheltering Nightcrawler here in Boston…
So great when high-tech sci-fi is held back by the technology of the time; Mystique has cracked into secret files and has to wait for the data to print?
Bamf!
Love the attack on the school. Beautifully done. Great to see the different mutants at work. And Wolverine finally let off the leash…
Professor Logan?
Iceman “coming out” to his parents is hysterical.
Alan Cumming may be the most versatile actor working today.
Pyro! Great fire effects.
The uneasy alliance between Magneto & the X-Men is excellent.
Magneto recruiting Pyro is so good.
Mystique is the best – what a great assault on Stryker’s compound.
James Marsden as Cyclops is once again relegated to the bench. So unjust. I guess they had more scenes with him shot but had to cut for time. Wonder if adding extra scenes with Halle Berry was at fault. (Not really a question; it was.)
Lady Deathstrike is an unnecessary addition to this story. Hate when these hero movies use cool characters when they know they’re just going to off them. Such a waste…
I know they were trying to make the Empire Strikes Back of the series, but in some ways it is more the Wrath of Khan of the series. Either way, good role models, to say the least…
Solid start. With the opening scene, Singer lets you know this is going to be a serious film. Comic book movies would never be the same…
What’s more:
Mutants. One of the many reasons I always read DC Comics, not Marvel. Not that DC didn’t have its own goofy stuff, but I just hated the idea of mutation. In theory it makes for great story material. In practice, it’s a loophole for writers that allows them to justify anything they feel like. Once you’ve opened the door to allowing characters to change their physical being, it’s tempting to use that capability for everything.
All by way of saying that I’m not that familiar with all of the characters and storylines of X-Men. From what I have read, this seems very much in the spirit of the comics.
The biggest criticism I have of X-Men is the same problem with all superhero series starters; you spend so much time developing the setting, characters and tone, there’s no screen time left for a serious showdown. It would be so much more satisfactory to just leave the battle with the villain to a sequel; there’s never enough breathing room to create anything other than a surface-level good vs evil conflict. Interestingly, I read that the treatment that author Michael Chabon put together actually did put the villains in the sequel; wish I could see that.
The other major issue is the promotion of Wolverine to the focus of the entire film series. Considering how the character is the linchpin of this movie, it’s sort of amazing they went with an unknown actor. Yes, I love Wolverine – everyone does. But focusing on any one character necessarily leaves other characters out in the cold. How much you can about the rest of the X-Men being relegated to the bench depends on your knowledge of the series.
But in spite of the Wolverine obsession, this is a good, solid movie that made the next decade-plus of superhero movies possible. Hopefully you think that’s a good thing…
Other odds and ends written down while I watched this for first time in years:
Patrick Stewart’s voice – yes. Wish he’d do more voice-overs or audiobooks.
Opening scene so good at setting tone & theme of series.
The anti-mutant tenor provides a perfect setting for these stories.
Gorgeous framing of shots by Singer & DP Newton Thomas Sigel.
McKellen: what a massive talent. And barely on the radar for most of us at this point in his career – how much that would soon change…
The acting in this is so thick.
Hugh Jackman is such a discovery. Wonder if the Wolverine obsession of these movies is due to the character or Jackman. Probably both…
Watching this for the first time in a long time. Forgot this was made at the dawn of the age of excessive color timing.
Sabertooth is so ridiculous. One of the only missteps in the vision for this movie.
Ray Park as Toad. Don’t forget this was right after Phantom Menace. What a great talent for such a foolish character…
Famke Janssen almost makes up for her Bond villain with performance as Jean Grey. Almost…
Introduction of the school is so well done. You can’t wait to see more glimpses of the characters.
James Marsden great as Cyclops. As to Halle Berry’s Storm…ugh.
Bruce Davison is so perfect in this part.
Mystique…
Anna Paquin’s now you hear it now you don’t midwestern accent is a bit surprising from an Oscar-winner. Although Berry is also trying on an accent that doesn’t fit. These questionable Oscar selections sure do a lot of damage down the line…
Cerebro is a neat room, but if there is a dorkier helmet to be found they must have given up looking for it…
Ah, the old “I can shape-shift into anything” plot device. The first refuge of the lazy writer, just after time travel and before cloning…
Magneto – oh, they did find a dorkier helmet…
The practical effects used in the stand-off at the train station make all the difference in the world.
Uniforms are an improvement over the blue & yellow spandex, if not by a lot…
I’m not a big X-Men comic reader; couldn’t they have found anyone better than Toad?
I want one of these cool 3D map things!
Fights pretty good, but too much wire work, like everything post-Matrix.
Believe it or not, the “know what happens to a toad when it’s struck by lightning” line was written by Joss Whedon. A rare mistake by the legend.
Pretty good battle, although the whole thing feels like a paltry climax for such a good story. Little more than a warm-up for the sequel.
The cast is ridiculously talented, but didn’t even need to be with top of class writing from Kasdan. Very funny, lovely & sort of mellow…
What’s more:
No reason this movie isn’t as famous as like-minded dramadies like As Good As It Gets. That’s the closest comparison I can come up with for this one; a mix of really funny, biting humor and mildly schmaltzy feelings that somehow balance each other out nicely.
Should have been a launchpad for Loren Dean, but somehow it didn’t really happen. Lots of great character actors and tv-type talent abound. Zooey’s first movie. Hope Davis continues her great work. Jason Lee at his most charming (plus he skateboards).
But the star here is the script. It’s a slow burn of a movie, and that is a good thing; it really draws you in. Kasdan is in another league…
Unique animation divides audiences; I like it ok. Decent little film; only nominated because Oscar hates anime. Only saw English version…
Animation unique divise le public, je l’aime bien. Petit film décent; seulement nommé parce Oscar déteste l’anime. Ne voyait version anglaise …
What’s more:
Parents, be cautious with this one; the subject matter isn’t light. Uncharacteristically for me, I would have liked this to be a little longer – spent more time with the characters before all the action starts. Because there’s some good things going on here.
I really should track this down in French with subtitles. The voiceovers are not that smooth and really draw attention to the fact that you’re watching something that has been overdubbed.
I’m sort of indifferent on the animation. I don’t hate it and I can appreciate the child-like style they were going for, but it’s not my taste. I don’t find it off-putting, and at times it’s quite beautiful.
