Yep, Film #2 is also a comic book movie. From last summer. Trying to catch up, ok?
Bottom line on this one? I liked it. Funny thing about expectations though, I think I ended up liking Thor better because my expectations on that one was lower than for this one.
So, as a quick plot summary, this is basically a prequel to the X-Men movies, going back to when Prof X and Magneto were younger. Some of this (generally speaking) was in the comics that I read, but certainly not this story. Basically the bad guy (Kevin Bacon!) is spouting the rhetoric that Magneto was preaching in the first X-Men movie, but his methods are cruel, and poorly placed since it makes Magneto his enemy. But Bacon is badass enough that Prof X and Magneto have to team up to take him down. Will it work? I’ll let you guess.
Anyway, what did I like about this film? Fassbender was great as Magneto, and Bacon was good enough as Shaw that I forgave how much they changed that character from the comics. The plot was solid enough, if at times a bit gruesome (poor Oliver Platt). A couple of the cameos were great (loved Jackman). I also liked what they did with Mystique (and the actress who played her was quite good too).
What didn’t I like? Mostly, it was Prof X. It didn’t work for me. Patrick Stewart is a good enough actor to get away with the “finger to the temple, now I’m doing my super-power”, no so much this guy (the name escapes me). The movie also suffered from cramming as many mutants as they could into the film (X-Men #3 was the worst example of this) and they seemed to be merging Cyclops backstory with Beast’s in this film. The less said about how the films ruined Cyclops, the better. There were a couple of other minor points, but they don’t really tip the balance one way or the other. Oh, except Moira. WTF? A reasonably useless CIA operative instead of genetic researcher? That was lame.
Not sure where they go with the franchise at this point. Were they to have another prequel, it almost demands the exclusion of Magneto. But I wouldn’t line up to watch another film where it was mostly this Prof X.
Anyway, bottom line was that I did like it, even if I’m sounding a bit harsh is this post.
Oh, and I forgot to add: “Geez Carlos, ever see a closed door you didn’t want to be on the other side of?” It probably took us an extra 20 minutes to watch this movie, what with all the scratching at the door.