(I apologize in advance for this post being rather
late. I was intending this to be released around the time that ‘The Wolverine’
was released but I was unable to do so because I have been traveling the last
week.)
In 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the
‘X-Men’, a team of mutant superheroes created by telepath Professor Charles
Xavier to fight Magneto and his army of mutants known as ‘the Brotherhood of
Mutants’. While this was going on, they were also dealing with an anti-mutant
sentiment from the rest of the world. Like with many of their fellow Marvel
heroes, the X-Men have been adapted to other forms of media, including TV
series, video games, and of course, films. The first ‘X-Men’ film, released in
2000, is regarded as one of three films (along with 1998’s ‘Blade’ and 2002’s
‘Spider-Man’) that resulted in the reemergence of superhero films and were
responsible for the current age of the genre. While the series has hit some
occasional rough points over the last few years, it is still going strong. The
latest film in the series, ‘The Wolverine’, just hit theaters. Next year, the
biggest X-Men film to date, ‘Days of Future Past’, will be released in May and
will combine the casts of both the original trilogy and the recent ‘First Class’
film. In anticipation for that film (and in honor of the release of ‘The
Wolverine’), it’s time to look back at this series’ highs… and lows.
X-MEN (2000)
As mentioned earlier, this was one of the three
films that started the current trend of superhero films that we have seen
today. Looking back at it now, the film still holds up despite some flaws. This
film is similar to 2011’s ‘Thor’ in that it mainly feels like it’s setting up
the films to follow and like 2002’s ‘Spider-Man’, some of the dialogue is a
little campy (case in point, the ‘toad struck by lightning’ line. The saddest
part about that line, though, is that it was written by Joss Whedon). But,
while the film may just be the ‘establishing’ film, it does a great job at
doing just that; setting up the universe and the characters (although it’s
clear from the start that this film’s main focus is on a select few; Rogue,
Wolverine, and Magneto). The film is perfectly cast, including Hugh Jackman as
Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, and Ian McKellen as Magneto. In the
end, the first ‘X-Men’ film may not be the best entry in the series, but it’s
still a solid superhero film even after more than a decade.
Rating:
4/5
X2: X-MEN UNITED (2003)
The original X-Men trilogy shares a common path with
the original Spider-Man trilogy. The first films in both series did solid jobs
at setting up their respective universes. As for the second film, both are
easily the best in not just their respective trilogies, but in terms of the
entire film franchise as well (the third film; well we’ll get to that later). That
is exactly the case with X2, which I’d say is the best-written X-Men film in
the entire series. While the screenplay does continue to focus on only a few
select mutants, this film does a better job at developing other characters as
well. There are some great additions to the cast, including Alan Cumming as
Nightcrawler and Brian Cox as Colonel William Stryker (easily the best villain
(aside from Magneto, of course) in the series). This film is well-paced from
beginning to end and overall, it may not be my personal favorite in the series,
but it’s easily the best ‘X-Men’ film to date.
Rating:
5/5!
X-MEN: THE LAST STAND
(2006)
After directing the first two films, Bryan Singer
stepped down as director for the third film to do ‘Superman Returns’ and in his
place was… Brett Ratner? Yes, that’s a very questionable decision and as a
result, we have ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ which is a very disappointing
conclusion to the X-Men trilogy. Why? Where do I even begin; the killing of
major characters but with little emotional value (Cyclops, Professor X, etc…),
some underdeveloped characters (Rogue, Angel, Mystique, etc…), some glaring continuity
errors (namely how it quickly goes from day to night before the final battle);
I can go on and on. This film was doomed once Bryan Singer left the franchise
(heck, ‘Superman Returns’ wasn’t that great either so because of this, 2006 had
two disappointing superhero films). But even with all of these problems, I don’t
think it’s the worst entry in the series (that’s another film) because there
are some good things about this movie, like the casting of Kelsey Grammer as
Beast or some of the action scenes. If anything else, this film does manage to
be somewhat of a fitting conclusion to this trilogy.
Because of this, I’m giving the film two different
ratings. As an X-Men film, I give it a (2/5) because of the many mistakes
this film makes. But as a movie, I’ll give it at least a (3/5) mainly based on
entertainment value.
X-MEN ORIGINS:
WOLVERINE (2009)
The idea of an X-Men ‘prequel’ focusing on Wolverine
sounds doable, but it wasn’t until 2013’s ‘The Wolverine’ when a solo film
about this character actually turned out good. As for the first attempt… it’s
really not that good. In fact, dare I say it’s actually quite terrible; it’s so
bad it makes ‘The Last Stand’ look like a masterpiece by comparison. The main
problem with this film is that it lacks direction and focus. There really isn’t
anything in this film that’s as memorable as anything we’ve seen in the last
three films (even ‘Last Stand’ had some memorable moments). It’s a standard
superhero film at best. Instead of focusing on Wolverine, the film shoehorns in
other mutants but the screenplay doesn’t really do much with them. Fan favorite
Gambit is only on screen for a short time, and as for the character of Deadpool…
I have no idea why they decided to do what they did with this character. The
‘Merc with a Mouth’ is turned into this whole new mutant that possesses the
powers of other mutants (with no mouth). The only good thing about this movie
is the cast; they do a really good job despite the fact that they don’t have
much to work with. Jackman, of course, is still great as Wolverine, and Liev
Schreiber is also pretty good as Sabretooth. But, as a whole, this is a film I
do not recommend. ‘The Wolverine’ deserved much better…
Rating:
1/5
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
(2011)
After a disappointing third film and a horrible solo/prequel
film, what was next for the ‘X-Men’ franchise? A pseudo-reboot prequel, that’s
what. So we have ‘X-Men: First Class’, a prequel that takes place in the
1960’s; telling the story of how Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr met and the
events that would lead them to become rivals years later. In the director’s
chair this time around is Matthew Vaughn, who was previously in the running for
the job for ‘X3’. Also, while he didn’t direct, Bryan Singer returned to the
franchise for the first time since X2 as producer/writer. The end result is not
only a huge improvement over the last two films, but arguably one of the best
superhero films in recent years. While the original ‘X-Men’ films had a futuristic
sci-fi feel to them, this film, being set in the 60’s, feels more like a James
Bond film. In fact, the scene where Magneto travels to Argentina looking for
Sebastian Shaw makes me wonder why Michael Fassbender wasn’t considered for the
role of Bond, because he would be perfect for the role. Speaking of Fassbender,
the cast is terrific (with the exception of January Jones, who is just flat as
Emma Frost). Fassbender, of course, steals the show as young Magneto, although
James McAvoy is equally terrific as young Professor X along with Jennifer
Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast (though the makeup for him isn’t
as good as Kelsey Grammer’s look in X3), and Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw.
Admittedly, the screenplay isn’t perfect and X-Men fans are certainly going to
notice a few inconsistences with the original trilogy. Still, this is one of
the best superhero films in recent years and overall, it’s my personal favorite
in the series.
Rating:
5/5!
THE WOLVERINE (2013)
Basically, I’m just going to do a quick summary of
my original review (http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-wolverine-2013-review.html).
‘The Wolverine’ is a stronger solo film than
‘Origins’ thanks in part to better direction, action scenes (despite some
instances of ‘shaky-cam’), and special effects. This is also Hugh Jackman’s
best performance in the role, and this film does a great job at keeping its
focus on Wolverine, his struggle to deal with the demons of his past, and the
burden of his immortality that makes him the loner he’s known to be. As far as
superhero films go, this film is much more dramatic in tone than what we’re used
to seeing in this genre. However, the last 20 minutes is when the film slips
into the ‘traditional superhero film’ fare and as for the big twist at the end…
I won’t say it’s bad but I will say it’s just… obvious. But aside from that,
this is a rock-solid superhero film and it does do the character of Wolverine
justice. Not only that, but the post-credits scene does a great job at setting
up the next film in the series.
Rating:
4/5
As
far as rankings go;
6.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
5.
X-Men: The Last Stand
4.
X-Men (2000)
3.
The Wolverine
2.
X-Men: First Class
1.
X2: X-Men United
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