Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart Return to X-Men

[Thaluikhain]

The future looks dark as knight, but as long as Ellen Page comes back to, this should be good

Seconded. You need either Ellen Page or Anna Paquin or someone to play an X-Person as if they think they might get hurt, otherwise I don't care about teh fight scenes. Also, angsty love triangles do not help anything.

...

Anyone else notice that the best characters in the X-Men films are always played by actors from Commonwealth nations?

 

[Spitfire]

Oh look, Bryan Singer is directing another X-men movie. And here I was just getting excited to see Matthew Vaughn's take on the X-men universe..

 

[theultimateend]

And while I didn't care much for the sequels, I didn't give up on the franchise until X-Men: First Class, which delved into the early days of the hated and feared mutant group and brought in James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender to portray the characters in their younger years.

....so you only gave up on the series when it had its absolute, positive, straight up best film in the series?

How can people not love that movie? It begins with a psychic jewish kid crushing Nazi skulls, and keeps on getting better. It was completely balls out awesome, and in my top 5 best superhero movies ever.

Yeah, that was one of the best films I've seen in ages.

The entire cast was killing it, utterly killing it.

I guess it would've been more accurate to say that X3 is the one that made me give up on the franchise, because it was horrid shit. I just couldn't work up even the slightest modicum of interest in First Class.

Grab your favorite drink, grab a copy of this film, and watch it.

Everyone agrees X3 was terrishit, but First Class is First Class.

wait, who else enjoyed X3? It was a good action movie, not a great X men movie I'll admit but not terrible.

It pandered too much for me. "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT *****!"

Really?...did this really just happen :/.

Had it just been a random action movie then sure, but it wasn't, it was the third part to the trilogy. It should have been treated with some kind of respect.

 

[T'Generalissimo]

"The present-day X-Men are forewarned of the possible future by a future version of their teammate Kitty Pryde, whose mind traveled back in time and possessed her younger self to warn the X-Men."

I know it would depend a lot on execution, but on the face of it this sounds just awful.

 

[Barciad]

Maybe this time they will actually make use of Patrick Stewart's formidable acting talent. Maybe this time they will give him a character (not to mention a script) that actually has some depth to it. McKellan never was, nor never will be the problem, not least when he is playing one modern fiction's greatest tragic roles. His character is quite obvious in its simplicity, yet lends itself to multiple depths. You are dealing not only with the obvious question of vengeance and how it can consume a man, but also the way in which power can corrupt. Thus far, we have been fortunate to see him played by two of Britain's leading actors. Any Magneto script essentially writes itself, which is why in the hands of a good rate actor, it is always a pleasure to watch.
Xavier on the other hand has been much more of a challenge. The reason why seems to suggest the notion that he is simply not as interesting. Xavier is always written as an absolute good, a man without faults. Take this and then compare it to Lensherr and the issue becomes apparent. Magneto is a man that has as of yet, failed to overcome the complexities that have surrounded him. These then leads us on the question of why? Is it the circumstances or the man himself that create the greater burden?
Xavier on the other hand might have issues, foibles and failures, but we never hear about them. There was never a time when he used to cheat at cards or whatever. Well not in the films anyway. If Magneto is the player that could not confront his events that then Xavier must be that man that could.
Plus there is also the small issue of nationality. Is he British or American? What is the true nature of his character? is he an old progressively minded American academic, in the guise of Chomsky or Vidal? Or an idealistic British intellectual, in the manner of Russell or Orwell? Unquestionably the comparative mindset, generally speaking, of these respective types will be markedly different.
The X-Men series has always sold itself as being a cut above the average comic by offering an intellectual depth not seen elsewhere. It would be nice to see it there in all its glory there on the big screen for a change.

 

[Basement Cat]

wait, who else enjoyed X3? It was a good action movie, not a great X men movie I'll admit but not terrible.

It sounds like it's me and you against the world again, Evil One.

Yes, I enjoyed the 3rd X-Men movie. I enjoyed the entire trilogy AND the Wolverine: Origins movie. Haven't seen First Class yet.

I enjoyed The Avengers and am going to see Captain America today, and I expect to enjoy it, too.

I'm going to commit Comic Book Geek High Treason here, so everyone grab your pitchforks and light the torches!

I enjoyed the first two Toby Maguire Spider Man movies--haven't seen the third or the new Amazing Spider Man yet.

I liked the Fantastic Four movies. I liked the Ben Affleck Daredevil movie and its silly Electra spin off.

I even kinda enjoyed the Ghost Rider movie with Nicholas Cage in it.

[HEADING=2]Hold off with the torches! You haven't heard the worst of it yet![/HEADING]

I also enjoyed the first two Transformers movies--haven't seen the 3rd one.

AND HERE COMES THE ULTIMATE GEEK ACT OF TREASON!!!

I also enjoyed the Star Wars prequels (sans the romance scenes--Gods, but Lucas just CANNOT write romance)! And that includes finding Jar Jar more amusing than annoying!

[HEADING=1]That's Right! I said it!!![/HEADING]

The thing is I enjoy watching these movies for the sake of watching them unto themselves. I never came into any of the comic book or Transformer movies expecting them to be Holy Canon Gospel versions of the original comics. As such I look back at those movies in much the same way Movie Bob did when he did the episode: The Phantom Menace 13 Years Later [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/5357-The-Phantom-Menace-13-Years-Later]

Moreover I recognize that the X-Men and Spider Man trilogies and most of the movies listed above are NEW GENRE PROTOTYPES. The CGI technology allowing super hero movies to be made as modern audiences have become accustomed to necessitated that creators and movie studios cut their teeth both on the technology of making super hero movies AND on the story telling aspect of picking and choosing and condensing decades of comic book history into 2 hour long films suitable for general audiences and not just for nerd-culture fan boys.

No matter HOW bad any of the above movies may be NONE of them hold a candle to HOW UTTERLY HORRIBLE the Spider Man movies that were made in the 70's were. I remember a few scenes from one...the horror...the horror....[footnote]Seriously, given the special effects in those days do any of you really need help in figuring out WHY such movies were nightmare material?[/footnote]


Moreover I don't feel like Lucas "destroyed my childhood" when he tinkered with the originals (which I'm old enough to have seen when they were first released) or when the prequels proved to be less than "OMG-EPIC!!!"

It's really only with Marvel's current run on The Avengers and the movies that led up to it that have served as proof that Hollywood's ability to produce quality super hero movies has reached maturity.

Looking down at all these other movies because they weren't canon or had lousy plots or whatever...seriously people, those are just growing pains for the genre in general.

[HEADING=1]Now come at me!!! I regret nothing!!![/HEADING]

 

[Cuacuani]

wait, who else enjoyed X3? It was a good action movie, not a great X men movie I'll admit but not terrible.

-snip-

Shine on, you crazy diamond.

 

[teebeeohh]

snip

well this just means you have terrible taste in movies.
shit stays shit, even if the cow doing the shitting poops gold at some point.

and i should mention i liked x men 3, any movie that has cyclops die is good.

 

[Stalydan]

Though they still need snipes as blade vs Morpheus and the Xmen

Ving Rhames? Looks kinda old.

Howabout that Conan guy. Yeah, I didn't like him in SG Atlantis, he probably sucked in Conan too but he might be okay for Xmen (low budget actor too) - Momoa Ronon? Though maybe not black enough. Howabout, the Rock? Dwayne Johnson.

Good option with Momoa actually. He's not that bad an actor if he doesn't talk too much. He was pretty good in Game of Thrones and has the right menacing air about him...Bishop is way darker than him tho.

Nonzo Anonzie from the same show.

Or the guy who played Tilc in Stargate.

He's old but suitably massive.

Going off this, Idris Elba would be pretty good then. Not too old, holds the size pretty well and is a really good actor.

 

[DJjaffacake]

The future looks dark as knight, but as long as Ellen Page comes back to, this should be good

Seconded. You need either Ellen Page or Anna Paquin or someone to play an X-Person as if they think they might get hurt, otherwise I don't care about teh fight scenes. Also, angsty love triangles do not help anything.

...

Anyone else notice that the best characters in the X-Men films are always played by actors from Commonwealth nations?

I'm pretty sure Michael Fassbender is German/Irish.

 

[Thaluikhain]

The future looks dark as knight, but as long as Ellen Page comes back to, this should be good

Seconded. You need either Ellen Page or Anna Paquin or someone to play an X-Person as if they think they might get hurt, otherwise I don't care about teh fight scenes. Also, angsty love triangles do not help anything.

...

Anyone else notice that the best characters in the X-Men films are always played by actors from Commonwealth nations?

I'm pretty sure Michael Fassbender is German/Irish.

His mum was from Northern Ireland, with is part of the UK, which is part of the Commonwealth of nations.

And Magneto was not a good character in X-Men: Origins, though you could argue one of the best in that film, because nobody else was.

 

[DJjaffacake]

The future looks dark as knight, but as long as Ellen Page comes back to, this should be good

Seconded. You need either Ellen Page or Anna Paquin or someone to play an X-Person as if they think they might get hurt, otherwise I don't care about teh fight scenes. Also, angsty love triangles do not help anything.

...

Anyone else notice that the best characters in the X-Men films are always played by actors from Commonwealth nations?

I'm pretty sure Michael Fassbender is German/Irish.

His mum was from Northern Ireland, with is part of the UK, which is part of the Commonwealth of nations.

And Magneto was not a good character in X-Men: Origins, though you could argue one of the best in that film, because nobody else was.

He was brought up in the Republic of Ireland, and as far as I can tell is an Irish citizen, not British. Not to mention that his mum is a Nationalist, meaning she almost certainly identifies as Irish rather than British.

It will have to respectfully disagree with your appraisal of First Class,[footnote]You wrote Origins, but I assume you meant First Class, since Fassbender isn't even in Origins[/footnote] although it is of course, a matter of opinion.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Maybe this time they will actually make use of Patrick Stewart's formidable acting talent. Maybe this time they will give him a character (not to mention a script) that actually has some depth to it. McKellan never was, nor never will be the problem, not least when he is playing one modern fiction's greatest tragic roles. His character is quite obvious in its simplicity, yet lends itself to multiple depths. You are dealing not only with the obvious question of vengeance and how it can consume a man, but also the way in which power can corrupt. Thus far, we have been fortunate to see him played by two of Britain's leading actors. Any Magneto script essentially writes itself, which is why in the hands of a good rate actor, it is always a pleasure to watch.
Xavier on the other hand has been much more of a challenge. The reason why seems to suggest the notion that he is simply not as interesting. Xavier is always written as an absolute good, a man without faults. Take this and then compare it to Lensherr and the issue becomes apparent. Magneto is a man that has as of yet, failed to overcome the complexities that have surrounded him. These then leads us on the question of why? Is it the circumstances or the man himself that create the greater burden?
Xavier on the other hand might have issues, foibles and failures, but we never hear about them. There was never a time when he used to cheat at cards or whatever. Well not in the films anyway. If Magneto is the player that could not confront his events that then Xavier must be that man that could.
Plus there is also the small issue of nationality. Is he British or American? What is the true nature of his character? is he an old progressively minded American academic, in the guise of Chomsky or Vidal? Or an idealistic British intellectual, in the manner of Russell or Orwell? Unquestionably the comparative mindset, generally speaking, of these respective types will be markedly different.
The X-Men series has always sold itself as being a cut above the average comic by offering an intellectual depth not seen elsewhere. It would be nice to see it there in all its glory there on the big screen for a change.

They should do a Fatal Attractions movie. That would cut a bit into Xavier's paragon status.

 

[SonicWaffle]

The best things about the X-Men film from 2000 were Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, who respectively portrayed Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr, better known to the world at large as Professor X and Magneto. Hugh Jackman was a brilliant Wolverine and Ray Park was fun as Toad, but it was Stewart and McKellan who really anchored the thing. And while I didn't care much for the sequels, I didn't give up on the franchise until X-Men: First Class

I...I don't follow you. Are you saying you actually preferred X1 to X2?

That's just crazy. Flat-out crazy.

As for not seeing First Class, yeah, you really ought to sort that out. By far the best iteration of the franchise on-screen, and I include the 90's FOX series in that.

Yeah, that's right. I went there!

 

[Scars Unseen]

Huh, First Class was just awful, no really, one of the absolute worst films I saw that year. The plot was terrible, the acting (aside from Fassbender) was choppy, stiff and unnatural, Jennifer Lawrence in particular was shit. The writing was even worse and the characters were all dimwits (again except for Fassbender).


Not really looking forward to another X-Men movie like that, I mean, the second one was good and the first one was okay, but the third one was bad, First Class was terrible and Wolverine was just horrific. In fact, most comic book-movies seem ludicrously overrated, Nolan's Batman are average at best, the Avengers was entertaining, but still dumb as shit, and I haven't much love for the other ones either.

Can't there just be a comic book-movie with decent writing, like, at all? Oh wait, I guess that's an oxymoron.

PS: The Watchmen movie wasn't very great either.

Just wanted to point out that the secret is out.

 

[Thaluikhain]

He was brought up in the Republic of Ireland, and as far as I can tell is an Irish citizen, not British. Not to mention that his mum is a Nationalist, meaning she almost certainly identifies as Irish rather than British.

It will have to respectfully disagree with your appraisal of First Class,[footnote]You wrote Origins, but I assume you meant First Class, since Fassbender isn't even in Origins[/footnote] although it is of course, a matter of opinion.

Meant First Class, yeah.

In regards to Origins...well, IMHO the best characters are played by commonwealth actors, not that the commonwealth actors play the best characters.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Day of the Future Past was the best story arc ever!

Shame so many mutants died though. Including Spiderman, Fantastic Four and some such. Sentinels really don't like mutants. >.> BUT YEAH, good storyline.

I'm going to be That Guy here, but in ordinary continuity (ie not Ultimate) Spiderman and the FF aren't mutants. Or at least not capital-M Mutants. They've mutated, but not naturally, which puts them in a different category to the X-Men whose mutation is not triggered by external influences like spiders or...like, space radition, or whatever it was.

 

[ExtraDebit]

And while I didn't care much for the sequels, I didn't give up on the franchise until X-Men: First Class, which delved into the early days of the hated and feared mutant group and brought in James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender to portray the characters in their younger years.

....so you only gave up on the series when it had its absolute, positive, straight up best film in the series?

How can people not love that movie? It begins with a psychic jewish kid crushing Nazi skulls, and keeps on getting better. It was completely balls out awesome, and in my top 5 best superhero movies ever.

I couldn't agree more, the only thing missing is Magneto flying like superman or ironman while blowing shit up.

P.S. I think Edward Norton would make a good brotherhood character, possibly a good young Magneto. Not saying What we have now isn't great.

 

[TheEndlessGrey]

I have to join everyone else questioning the hate for First Class. The first X-Men movie wasn't actually all that good, looking back at it now, but at the time I was excited for the fact that it existed, and there were some brilliant casting choices. McAvoy may not be the perfect choice for young Xavier the way Sir Stewart was, but he's not the wrong choice, and Fassbender is always the right choice.

For the movie itself, I wouldn't be so sure yet that they've completely discarded the timeline of the original movies and origins spinoff. The older Xavier and Magneto are being reprised by the original actors, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine had a quick cameo in First Class, and as mentioned in an earlier post, Senator Kelly did die in the first movie. I sincerely doubt they planned it all that far ahead, but it is convenient that they could potentially tie it all together like that. Retcon the first 3 movies by implying they're also part of the alternate future. Worse things could happen.

 

[mParadox]

I'm going to be That Guy here, but in ordinary continuity (ie not Ultimate) Spiderman and the FF aren't mutants. Or at least not capital-M Mutants. They've mutated, but not naturally, which puts them in a different category to the X-Men whose mutation is not triggered by external influences like spiders or...like, space radition, or whatever it was.

True! Didn't stop the Sentinels from going Leather Face on 'em.