X-men First Class

[Julius Seeker]

I saw the movie. Certainly worth the admission price. Just a note - It had a lot of very cheesy dialogue even when compared to the original x-men movies. I did find the setting, 1960's, much more interesting than the main trilogy.

The movie is critically rated higher than Wolverine (although this might be a result of people watching the unfinished pirated version - which supposedly had lots of missing special effects), but I didn't enjoy First Class as much as Wolverine. Kevin Bacon played an awesome villain (like a Bond villain with mutant powers), but overall I didn't find the rest of the characters to be anything spectacular. Magneto wasn't as good as the original trilogy.

Generally speaking, I do think the series is becoming better - or at least more towards my tastes. I like the two newer movies more than the original trilogy. I still miss the 90's cartoon though =P

[Lox]

Well, I haven't seen First Class, but I have seen most of Wolverine and that movie is terrible. haha And I'm not even referring to how terrible it was as a Wolverine movie. It was bad for any movie. Cheesy dialogue, terrible special effects, bad acting, bad story, weird flow. I don't think First Class could possibly be that bad.

[Zeus]

. I don't think First Class could possibly be that bad.

There certainly is that possibility. This is Hollywood after all

[Shrinweck]

Didn't like the Wolverine movie but I've been less enthused with the character as the years roll by since I haven't seen anything really good with him in it comic book-wise in years. That said First Class is much more likeable. I wouldn't say it's as good as the first or second X-Men movies but it's DEFINITELY better than the third and Wolverine and it's certainly enjoyable. They covered a lot of bases with the movie and they did it without making it seem like they had a checklist of shit they had to put into the movie.

January Jones is kind of flat in a Natalie Portman being bored kind of way. She does the stoic female character well when she has to in Mad Men so I can't see it being her fault.

[kali o.]

I haven't watched it yet. I'm not real keen to either. Feels like a cash-in on the Star Trek reboot...but unlike ST, I can't really see the X-men franchise needing a reboot.

Sir Ian, Patrick and all the rest felt like a viable solid cast still. If X3 did poorly, it's because of shitty writing.

[bovine]

Tornado hands.

The movie's final act was not good, and all characters except Mystique, Xavier, and Magneto were all flat. Too much Bacon/not enough Bacon... I couldn't make up my mind.

[Shrinweck]

Also it isn't a reboot - it's a prequel. Stewart and McKellan may be some of the best actors around but they can't play twenty-five. And I basically agree with you bovine.

Spoiler: show

Hugh Jackman's cameo was probably the best five seconds of the movie.

[kali o.]

Also it isn't a reboot - it's a prequel.

Semantics. Unless there another Xmen movie with original cast in the pipeline I am not aware of?

[Shrinweck]

Hugh Jackman is still Wolverine in First Class which implies that it's the same cast.

[kali o.]

Hugh Jackman is still Wolverine in First Class which implies that it's the same cast.

You are just being thick now -- you said yourself it's a 5 second cameo. Spock was in ST too, so what?

Again, is there another X-men flick in the pipeline I am not aware of?

And no, I don't really expect an answer.

[Shrinweck]

Doesn't look like it. Getting that cast together for shooting would have to be a nightmarish task at this point. It looks like there's another Wolverine movie, but that they're waiting to see what First Class grosses before announcing more. According to wikipedia there's some loose production on an actual X4 movie with some of the main cast expressing interest in returning and that it would naturally lead to a fifth movie.

[kali o.]

Doesn't look like it. Getting that cast together for shooting would have to be a nightmarish task at this point. It looks like there's another Wolverine movie, but that they're waiting to see what First Class grosses before announcing more. According to wikipedia there's some loose production on an actual X4 movie with some of the main cast expressing interest in returning and that it would naturally lead to a fifth movie.

I tried to ease you into an arguement. How dare you not take the bait?

It's a reboot. They had plenty of content/characters to work with in the previous cast/universe (where else can you ressurect characters if not a comicbook universe?) -- the new young cast was a cash grab. I don't expect to see the old cast together in any more X-men flicks...which I think sucks (and Wolverine remains uninteresting imo).

[Shrinweck]

The problem with young actors is that they're constantly looking for new stuff to expand to and can't appreciate a paying gig and having constant work.

That said, starring in half a dozen X-Men movies sounds painful.

[Julius Seeker]

Well, for the Wolverine sequel; it is the Japan based story where he becomes involved with Mariko. Filming will take about 1 year. It has a new crew involved, it was adapted by Chris Mcquarrie (who wrote The Usual Suspects) and being directed by multi-Oscar winning director James Mangold. It is based on the Frank Miller Wolverine series. Filming was supposed to begin earlier this year but was delyaed due to the old Wolverine director backing out (due to not wanting to be out of the country for so long) and disasters in Japan. It is still slated for 2012, probably late in the year.

I don't know if Victor Creed/Sabertooth is in this story, but like or dislike the last Wolverine movie, you have to admit Sabertooth was fairly awesome.

[kali o.]

Wow....it was worse than I thought. Reboot/cash in are terms far too kind. Are you kidding me?

We even get an 80's training montage...

Seeker beats out zeus for shitty taste in flicks.

With the exception of Magneto, and maybe Kevin Bacon at some points, the whole cast sucked. The wolverine cameo was the only good part of the movie...and it was a pretty awesome 5 seconds.

[Kupek]

I haven't seen First Class, but based on what I did see, you'd have to go through some serious mental gymnastics for them to be in the same continuity. Professor X would never once mention in 1 or 2, hey, I used to pal around with that blue shape shifter?

Although, come to think of it, this is also true of Marvel's supposed "real" continuity, so, eh.

[Shrinweck]

I just assumed it was her mother. The whole them being named the same thing I chalked up to legacy. I seem to recall this being the case in the comics but the X-Men series can be very difficult to follow plot to plot since there are so many tie-ins that I don't give a shit about.

I think you may be being too harsh on the movie, Kali. I also think your expectations were set way too high by a certain someone haha. Anyone who likes the Wolverine movie more than X1 and X2 has a taste that skews from most critics.

[Zeus]

Wow....it was worse than I thought. Reboot/cash in are terms far too kind. Are you kidding me?

We even get an 80's training montage...

Seeker beats out zeus for shitty taste in flicks.

With the exception of Magneto, and maybe Kevin Bacon at some points, the whole cast sucked. The wolverine cameo was the only good part of the movie...and it was a pretty awesome 5 seconds.

Just FYI: I thought it was a god-awful flick. I downloaded it and am thinking of suing Fox for my time back. The sole redeeming feature of that entire flick was actually Xavier. Not the Xavier we know but he was far superior than all the others. And as much as I like Kevin Bacon, his role was amazingly unoriginal. Might as well have called him Sebastian Magneto

[kali o.]

Just FYI: I thought it was a god-awful flick. I downloaded it and am thinking of suing Fox for my time back. The sole redeeming feature of that entire flick was actually Xavier. Not the Xavier we know but he was far superior than all the others. And as much as I like Kevin Bacon, his role was amazingly unoriginal. Might as well have called him Sebastian Magneto

Bacon was good when he was speaking German. I say all future roles for him ensure he doesn't speak english, lol. I think you are being too nice to Xavier, personally, because he had a few witty one liners and played a cad. In a cast full of duds, he comes off better than he deserves.

For the record, I don't think I am being too harsh on this movie. I mean...come on...

Spoiler: show

...missle crisis averted by the super-secret team and then all of a sudden you have some sort of instantaneous multi-national offensive cooperation to kill the american mutants?

I'm simplifying that stupid end act above, as it's even more loose and gapped. The movie is full of idiotic transitions, unexplained holes and flimsy logic. No one cared and it shows in the writing. Hell, even the origin of the X-men name gets an abortion in the final scenes.

On the plus side, poor cash-in this may be, I can't see this cast or crew getting together for anything else.

Edit: And I checked Rotten Tomatoes. Either I am fucking idiot or the world is fucking retarded. Odds are against me...87% fresh..

[Shrinweck]

Eh, most people flip their shit for it. Color me confused, but I don't get it. Certainly better than most movies of it's ilk though (summer thriller-wise).

[Zeus]

Kali, there are MANY 85%+ "fresh" movies on Rotten Tomatoes that I've disliked or even out-right hated. Critics aren't exactly the most unbiased bunch out there and there's definitely tons of group think going on with that bunch. Hard not to when Disney invites you to a weekend getaway and all you do is eat, sleep, watch movies, and hang out with your colleagues.

[SineSwiper]

A fun movie, but rather forced into a Hollywood mold. Seems like they were trying to go from X-Men's start to present-day X-Men too fast. Still, it was better than a lot of the offshoot crap that I've seen, and way better than X3.