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I am going to be totally honest with you. I am a comic book nerd, yet when it comes
to X-Men comics, I own like two issues and I've really only ever read a few X-Men storylines
(one of the Essential Volumes and Age of Apocalypse for those who are interested). My exposure
to X-Men comes mainly from these movies. With that said, what a relief to be done with that
Generation X ***. Doesn't it feel like it too? The opening narration
for this movie lasts for a few seconds, we get some early 2000s superhero title screen
DNA CGI shots and then we're being thrown from character to character in order to get
all of the setup done as quickly as possible. With an ensemble cast as big as this, you
have to be economical with your story-telling and for the most part this film succeeds very
well. Why they do is simple. The story revolves around arguments. The greatest battle that
takes place in this movie is not about fists and mutant powers, it's about ideologies.
What rights should mutants have? Are they dangerous? Can we co-exist with them? These
questions and more are some of the riveting debates that go on throughout this movie.
What I like is that David Hayter a.k.a Solid freakin' Snake takes the story that Bryan
Singer and Tom DeSanto came up with and he presents equally compelling arguments for
all sides of the debate. On one hand you have Professor Xavier's approach
to the scenario. He believes in equality between humans and mutants. He is like Martin Luther
King while the militant Magneto, who believes in Mutant Superiority over those that oppress
them, leans more towards Malcolm X territory. You also have Senator Kelly who presents the
human side to the debate. Humans would have a lot to fear from mutants, and while I believe
we're supposed to dislike Senator Kelly as a character, I find I can empathise just as
much with him as I do with Magneto and Professor X.
As if that's not enough for an engrossing story, we also get Rogue. She's our entry
character, the one we empathise with the most and we do. Anna Pacquin Pre-True-Blood turns
in a great performance as the girl who has been given powers by nature that are detrimental
to her. She's one of the most sympathetic characters because her plight is one we could
all identify with. Imagine not being able to feel the touch of another human. It's almost
unbearable to think about. While I'm complimenting Anna Pacquin, I want
to compliment the rest of the cast as well. Of course you have the main two powerhouses
played by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, like I even have to explain how that is amazing.
You have Hugh Jackman who pretty much is now only associated with Wolverine because of
how big a badass he is. There is the beautiful Famke Jennsen and Rebecca Romijn. This cast
is fantastic and it's heralded by a great director.
I haven't seen The Usual Suspects, so I have no reason to judge him based on that. If anything,
I should be shaking my fist at him in anger for Superman Returns. But he does such a great
job at taking this movie and humanizing it. His use of close-ups, bright colours and lingering
shots allow for some very tender moments. His direction works great in bringing out
the human side of these mutant characters. Now, while Bryan Singer is good at creating
the human moments and generating discussion and things like that, he's not so good at
the more comic-book-y elements. The action is always very abrupt and disjointed to the
main narrative, like it's there more out of obligation than anything else, and the way
Singer shoots it makes it look very staged. The CGI tends to get a little muddy, like
it's trying to shake off the late 90s influence it has. While I am railing on what's bad I
would like to mention that Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants in this movie is quite lame. We
have Magneto who is great mainly due to him being played by the great Sir Ian McKellan
and we have the voluptuous Mystique, played by the beautiful Rebecca Romijn who manages
to really pull off the blue make-up so well, but then what. There's Ray Park, who is kick-***
in everything he's in, but come on. He's Toad. He has like, one cool move then he gets zapped
away. Then you have Sabretooth who would be incredibly imposing but unfortunately he has
the misfortune of speaking. Tyler Mane cannot act. That is all.
Despite problems with the fight scenes and Toad and Sabretooth being completely weak-sauce,
this movie still manages to be what most superhero movies aren't; a compelling piece of cinema
that can generate discussion through its audience. The ethical dilemma helps this film flourish,
thanks to a good director, a great cast and some clever writing. It's very clear as to
why this is one of FOX's biggest franchises.