Showing posts with label X-Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label X-Men. Show all posts
I've never been the biggest fan of the Wolverine movies. After the destruction of the first movie's timeline and the strange plot of the second movie, I didn't have high expectations for the third and final film in the series. In fact, I wasn't originally going to watch it. If it had not been out of sheer curiosity, who knows what would have happened. Though, based on my mini movie review today, I'm glad that I did. The movie I will be reviewing today is the last installment in the mutant superhero trilogy: Logan.
The Plot: Set in the near future, Logan (played by Hugh Jackman) is retired, a drunk, and works as a limo driver to make a living. After responding to a ride order, he encounters a mysterious woman with a small child, named Laura (played by Dafne Keen), who are being hunted by a military group. Logan teams up with familiar friends and new to protect Laura.
The Results: 5/5!
Logan is a dark and gritty action-filled thrill ride that will keep you hooked until the very end. The final part of the Wolverine trilogy makes up for the two lackluster films which proceeded it. Hugh Jackman brings emotional heart to this tired character we've seen for over a decade now, and this may be the first time an X-Men movie has reached a perfect mix of thoughtful drama and action. Dafne Keen does an amazing job of working alongside Jackman, especially with the few words she utters throughout the movie. The action is stunning, the pace is thought out, and the ending is emotionally gripping (there may have been some tears). However, if you're not one for bloody superhero fights and a grittier side to these X-Men characters, you may not initially enjoy the flick.
I would recommend to check out Logan. It's the last film in the trilogy and the last one featuring some of the iconic actors (this is Patrick Stewart's and Hugh Jackman's last X-Men role). This a fun popcorn flick to see in theatres.
Superhero movies can be a hit or miss. While they strike big at the box office (in most occasions) and generate tons of buzz, they can deviate away from the source material, enraging fans in the process. The X-Men films are a perfect example as the series is a great success but fans are diehard about staying close to the original series - and we really don't need to see another X-Men: The Last Stand or Wolverine: Origins again. The movie I will be reviewing today is the latest superhero flick from the blockbuster X-Men franchise: X-Men: Days of Future Past.
[Note: This will be a spoiler-free review. I will try to keep all details of the plot to a bare minimum for those who have yet to watch the film.]
The Premise: Set between two different time periods, X-Men: Days of Future Past follows the story of the X-Men and their struggle against the Sentinel war. In the future, mankind and mutantkind are on the brink of extinction as the robotic machines known as the Sentinels are mercilessly hunting down mutants and capturing (or in most cases, killing) anyone with any trace of the Mutant gene. Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) is sent back in time to the 1970s to prevent Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating a well-regarded scientist, Boliver Trask (Peter Dinklage), and causing the spark that develops into the Sentinel war.
X-Men: Days of Future Past features an ensemble cast in the 1970s and the future. Notable mutants featured in the movie include Professor Xavier, Magneto, Wolverine, Mystique, Beast, Iceman, Shadowcat, Blink, Storm, Quicksilver and much more.
The Good: X-Men boasts one of the biggest casts of characters. Each are unique, holds their own individual power and a backstory that defines who they are. X-Men: Days of Future Past thrives with its cast, as it features the return of several favourites from the original trilogy while introducing new ones as well. It was great seeing my favourites return (i.e. Shadowcat, Professor X, Magneto, etc) while getting to meet new mutants in the film series like Quicksilver - Evan Peters did a great job and brought a lot of humour to the role. Plus, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender have great chemistry together - as well as in their own scenes - that each were the best parts of the past.
CGI and special effects can sometimes be heavily relied upon in superhero movies - it takes away from the experience. There was a nice mix of action and effects in the movie that I quite enjoyed the experience. Unlike some past TV shows and movies, the flick didn't seem to be filmed entirely on a green screen, which is an absolute pleasure.
The Bad: X-Men: Days of Future Past is over two hours long and while I don't have many negatives of the film, the choices that were made at certain points could have been fixed. Continuity seems to plague this movie series as small decisions added (or in some cases, taken out) can drastically affect certain characters in the future. I will admit that I never read the comics as a kid - I was more a video game, film and cartoon fan. However, I still know bits and pieces about the comic book history that made me wonder why certain choices were made. The film series - similar to how Resident Evil was done - is its own story so I'll wait to see the next sequel to see if they try to tackle those history points in the future. Sorry for the vague assessment; remember, no spoilers!
The Results: 4.5/5!
X-Men: Days of Future Past tackled two storylines and tried to connect each film in the series together - and it made sense, except for some obvious points. The cast did a great job, the action scenes weren't cheesy and the plot didn't tarnish the series as a whole for the next sequels in the franchise. Do I wish certain choices hadn't been made? Yes, but on the opposite side of the argument, I loved what the filmmakers did for the ending and the final half of the movie. As someone who grew up with the original trilogy and knows the storylines, it was great to see that things weren't completely abandoned but instead touched upon. Any diehard X-Men fan will enjoy the movie but it's also a great summer blockbuster and a good popcorn flick so check it out.
Agree or disagree with the review? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
On today's blog post, I will be reviewing one of the most recent films to hit theatres for the summer season. It's the action-packed prequel to the massively successful comic book adaption to the big screen: X-Men: First Class.
The Premise: In a time dated piece set in the past, a looming threat is brewing with the possible emergence of World War III. Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), leader of the Hellfire Club, is manipulating the US and Russian governments with his allies of "visionary" mutants to engage in war and lead to his ultimate plan of the world being run by mutants. Created in an alliance with the US government, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) are recruiting mutants of their own to help bring down this opposing force before the world is plunged in a battle of epic proportions that could leave millions dead!
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Set in a battle of good vs evil, the movie features a variety of mutants that fight for either peace or supremacy. On the Hellfire Club's side, there's Shaw, Frost, Angel, Azazel and Riptide (Alex Gonzalez) while on the X-Men's side there is Charles Xavier, Magneto, Mystique, Havok, Beast, Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones) and Darwin (Edi Gathegi). Dr. Moira MacTaggert is the only human to be an honorary member on the X-Men's side who fights alongside Professor X.
The Good: Being a movie adaption of a series that is so beloved and has a long history with fans throughout the years, I really enjoyed that the story was executed quite well. Some scripts and productions like to loosely base movies off a single idea or theme from the original piece of material (i.e., the first Resident Evil movie or Alone in the Dark....I actually liked the former than the latter from those two movies) but I was happy that the personality of characters and their representation was almost done similar to the original; fans can only hope for "almost" when dealing with adaptations.
Another aspect that is amazing in this film is the acting and the characters. Sometimes the acting is sub-par or melodramatic but it was a pleasant surprise. My top favourites based on the acting and their amazing performances have to be Magneto, Emma Frost, Professor X and Mystique. I'm familiar with the X-Men series when I was a child and never purchased/read any of the comic books but have an understanding with the history of certain characters, I preferred seeing this presentation of the pre-history compared to the Wolverine movie (not even going to talk about that movie....fine! It was good, not great but isn't my top film from the previous movies). It was great to see more character development of Mystique in this film. In the previous films, she was very mysterious and quiet but here she had some heart and I loved her even more. Emma Frost...all I can say is I love sarcastic and icy villains.
The Bad: There weren't many things that were wrong with the movie; a lot of it was done well. The first thing I didn't like was the death of Darwin. I found it completely awkward and unnecessary for him to die because for someone to be "able to adapt for survival," he should have been able to survive the death scene instead of just blowing up. I think it was used in part of the producers to include a mutant death and make it ironic for the one who can survive anything to die. The other thing I found weird was how quick the humans wanted to turn on the humans even after they offered to help save the world. I can attribute this to the same so I'm alright with this but the civil politics and prejudices are something that have been highlighted in the X-Men; even more-so in this prequel.
The Results: 4.5/5!
I think this has to be the highest score I've ever given in a review I've written on this site and it's well deserved. The acting was great, the cinematics and action kept me on the edge of my seat, the characters were well chosen (for the most part) and it left me wanting a sequel because it felt unfinished and so much more could happen in the next movie. For those of you who loves the X-Men history then you will not be disappointed in the film and for those new viewers, it's a good film to start the series and later learn the real story and other characters in the X-Men universe. I do recommend, however, to learn a bit about X-Men or else you will be lost and will not understand the relationships with the characters or what the basis of the story is even about.
Agree or Disagree with the review? Share your thoughts below and let us all know what you thought about the movie!