Susan Hated Literature

Dir: Brett Ratner
Writ: Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn

• Hugh Jackman - Logan/Wolverine
• Halle Berry - Ororo Munroe/Storm
• Ian McKellen - Eric Lensherr/Magneto
• Famke Janssen - Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix
• Anna Paquin - Marie/Rogue

In this, the third X-Men film, there are two main plotlines. One concerns Jean Grey and her return from death in the form of the ultra powerful Dark Phoenix. The other revolves around a cure for the mutant gene, and what this will mean for the X-Men, and for mutants everywhere.

Only trouble is, this film is such a mess that neither story gets the treatment it deserves. We get a cursory look at what such a cure might mean to the likes of Rogue, after all her gift is much more of a burden than many. And then it is straight back into the fight. In the other story line we get exposition dumps and sudden information that makes no real sense in connection with earlier films.

Add to that the desire to stick in as many other mutants from the comics as can be seen on the big screen and you end up with a rubbish film. And such a disapointment after the previous two films which I really enjoyed.

Of course, it isn’t all bad. There are some elements that work; that quick glance at Rogue’s problem being one. And it all looks great, costumes, explosions, stunts. All great. But this merely serves to highlight how lacking in any sort of depth this film really is, and so makes it even worse. And then there is all that clunky dialogue, which not even Ian McKellan can make believable. Plus, plotholes.

All in all this seems more like the writers wanted to stick everything up on the big screen, to show how great the X-Men universe is, but instead managed to throw a lot of elements together and create a disapointment

IMDb | Official Site | Pah! | Samizdisandat | Random Burblings | Stainless Steel Droppings

Tags: 5 Stars, Anna Paquin, based on comic, Brett Ratner, clunky dialogue, disappointing, Famke Janssen, Hallie Berry, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, mutants, plotholes, sff, Simon Kinberg, X-Men, X-Men: the Last Stand, Zak Penn

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Author: Joss Whedon & John Cassidy
DDC: 741.5973
ISBN:0785115315
X-Men verse

I’ve always been a theoretical fan of the X-Mencomics. What I mean is that I’ve always thought they were cool, but I’ve never bought one. I did love the X-Men cartoon, but never really got to watch enough of it. So when the films were released I knew a bit of background, but I wouldn’t really say I knew a lot.

I guess the problem for me is that there is just so much back story that it is hard to know where to start with the comics. I’ve always been a person to start at the beginning, and work my way to the most recent, but OMG the expense! So I never bothered. But I’m a Joss-girl, so I thought that his X-Men would be a good place to start.

Gifted is the first volume of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men and I did enjoy it. But as with many comics/graphic novels there is the sense of slightly being cheated price-wise. I know it isn’t really, considering how many people are needed to make a comic (writer, inker, colourist, speech-bubble-head etc), but still..

Whedon places Kitty in the central role (yet again a young female character, more than a little bit of a pattern), but most of the other familar characters are there too. Of course there are also a few I don’t know, but I’m sure the majority are more than familar to real fans.
I read it in one go, but will probably go back over it in order to pay more attention to the actual graphic part.

Tags: 741.5973, 8 Stars, Gifted, John Cassidy, Joss Whedon, Joss-verse, sff, superheroes, X-Men

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