meteordust (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meteordust) wrote2003-05-17 07:03 pm
meteordust) wrote2003-05-17 07:03 pm
Entry tags:
Mutant power
Everyone's talking The Matrix Reloaded this week, but since I'm the only fan left who hasn't seen it yet, I will talk instead about watching X-Men 2 last week.
Warning: I am probably going to use the word "cool" a lot. With exclamation marks, even.
It was so cool, I don't even know where to begin apart from bouncing up and down and saying "How cool was that?" The reviews are right - it *is* better than the original. But it's not for the reasons I would have expected. Sure, the big action plot was dramatic (and believable) and the special effects impressive (how cool was Nightcrawler's teleportation?), but it was the focus on characters that really made the movie for me.
There was a lot of story packed into this movie, and it always felt like you were learning new things about the characters. They didn't waste time either - one of my favourite scenes is the one where Wolverine comes back to the mansion, and Rogue welcomes him home. The way Rogue greeted him, and Bobby's reaction to that, and the brief exchange between Wolverine and Jean and Scott - you could pick up so much about the characters and their relationships in just a few lines.
I loved how Mystique was running around doing stuff on her own initiative, even though Magneto was shut away. I like cool, clever lieutenants, and I like it when they're acting as free agents even more.
I really liked Pyro's character arc. It was the perfect depiction of how and why he came to join the side of the bad guys. You could see how the choices he made made him, and vice versa. No Aussie accent though - but considering how they mangled it in the animated series, I'm not going to complain.
Personally, I had no idea Professor X could snuff out the lives of everyone on the planet just by concentrating. My sister suggested that perhaps he's the one who should be in a plastic cage, not Magneto.
I'm a bit dubious about the workability of the iron injection Mystique gave the guard. If it increased the concentration of iron in his blood enough to make a difference, wouldn't it kill him or something? But the scene where Magneto broke out was just, wow. You think he's dangerous because he can throw tanks around and turn guns into pretzels, but *this* - this makes you realise why they were keeping him in that prison.
Did Lady Deathstrike get even a single line? I can't recall any. It would have been interesting to have had her perspective on being an experimental subject like Wolverine, especially since she is - or was - the only person in the world like him. I liked finding out more about Wolverine's past, and the hints that there are more secrets still to be uncovered.
Jean's sacrifice at the end was unexpected, and made for a powerful scene - more so because of everyone's reaction to it. (Wolverine's and Cyclops's shared grief set my slashdar off, but anyway...) I'm confident we will see her again though, because Jean Grey *is* Phoenix. It would be even more interesting to see her return as Dark Phoenix.
My wishlist for X-Men 3:
* Jean Grey returns as Dark Phoenix, the main antagonist
* Wolverine finds out about who he was in his previous life
* Pyro has a showdown with his former friends (fire and ice, baby!)
* Professor X is not in a coma, under mind control, or otherwise indisposed
* Gambit makes an appearance and is incredibly cool
Warning: I am probably going to use the word "cool" a lot. With exclamation marks, even.
It was so cool, I don't even know where to begin apart from bouncing up and down and saying "How cool was that?" The reviews are right - it *is* better than the original. But it's not for the reasons I would have expected. Sure, the big action plot was dramatic (and believable) and the special effects impressive (how cool was Nightcrawler's teleportation?), but it was the focus on characters that really made the movie for me.
There was a lot of story packed into this movie, and it always felt like you were learning new things about the characters. They didn't waste time either - one of my favourite scenes is the one where Wolverine comes back to the mansion, and Rogue welcomes him home. The way Rogue greeted him, and Bobby's reaction to that, and the brief exchange between Wolverine and Jean and Scott - you could pick up so much about the characters and their relationships in just a few lines.
I loved how Mystique was running around doing stuff on her own initiative, even though Magneto was shut away. I like cool, clever lieutenants, and I like it when they're acting as free agents even more.
I really liked Pyro's character arc. It was the perfect depiction of how and why he came to join the side of the bad guys. You could see how the choices he made made him, and vice versa. No Aussie accent though - but considering how they mangled it in the animated series, I'm not going to complain.
Personally, I had no idea Professor X could snuff out the lives of everyone on the planet just by concentrating. My sister suggested that perhaps he's the one who should be in a plastic cage, not Magneto.
I'm a bit dubious about the workability of the iron injection Mystique gave the guard. If it increased the concentration of iron in his blood enough to make a difference, wouldn't it kill him or something? But the scene where Magneto broke out was just, wow. You think he's dangerous because he can throw tanks around and turn guns into pretzels, but *this* - this makes you realise why they were keeping him in that prison.
Did Lady Deathstrike get even a single line? I can't recall any. It would have been interesting to have had her perspective on being an experimental subject like Wolverine, especially since she is - or was - the only person in the world like him. I liked finding out more about Wolverine's past, and the hints that there are more secrets still to be uncovered.
Jean's sacrifice at the end was unexpected, and made for a powerful scene - more so because of everyone's reaction to it. (Wolverine's and Cyclops's shared grief set my slashdar off, but anyway...) I'm confident we will see her again though, because Jean Grey *is* Phoenix. It would be even more interesting to see her return as Dark Phoenix.
My wishlist for X-Men 3:
* Jean Grey returns as Dark Phoenix, the main antagonist
* Wolverine finds out about who he was in his previous life
* Pyro has a showdown with his former friends (fire and ice, baby!)
* Professor X is not in a coma, under mind control, or otherwise indisposed
* Gambit makes an appearance and is incredibly cool