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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) kradical | |
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Back in 1961, Akira Kurosawa did a film called Yojimbo. Like many of his films up until 1963, it starred Toshiro Mifune (they had a falling out during the filming of the excellent, underrated Red Beard) as a samurai who hired himself out as a bodyguard. The movie -- which was also the basis for the Clint Eastwood film A Fistful of Dollars -- was very successful, and spawned a sequel, Sanjuro. They are still considered two great films, among the many gems in Kurosawa's crown. There was a third film with Yojimbo, called Incident at Blood Pass (as well as a "team-up" of two popular movie series, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo), but Kurosawa wasn't involved, and that film is justifiably the forgotten stepchild of the Yojimbo films. Only the ones by the great director are remembered decades later. I think you can guess where I'm going with this..... I suspect that many many decades from now, X-Men and X2: X-Men United will be remembered as excellent genre films, much as Yojimbo and Sanjuro are, and X-Men: The Last Stand will be consigned to the same trivia-question footnote as Incident at Blood Pass. Brett Ratner is no Bryan Singer, and it shows. The script is a total mess, trying desperately to do too much, and therefore doing almost none of it well. The sledgehammered backstory for Jean to justify her being evil is ineptly handled, and then she spends the entire climax of the movie standing around with her thumbs in her ears during the attack on Alcatraz (why did Magneto bring her, exactly?). Plus there's the mutant cure, plus there's the Worthington family (which, after getting a very effective prologue, goes precisely nowhere), plus there's the Rogue/Bobby/Kitty triangle, plus there's Scott grieving for Jean and then getting killed (more on that in a sec), plus there's Magneto's recruitment drive, plus there's the Pyro/Iceman rivalry, plus there's, plus there's, plus there's. It's too fucking much, and all of it winds up ineffective. The only place Ratner succeeds is in action set pieces. Stuff blowed up real good. But most of what works in this movie is 100% on the backs of the actors. Ratner should thank his lucky stars that actors of the calibre of Stewart, Jackman, Paquin, and most especially McKellen were already in place, and he also did quite well in casting the superlative Kelsey Grammer, who is simply perfect as Hank McCoy. Ian McKellen in particular shines, perfectly conveying Magneto's powerful arrogance, best seen in his speech to the mutant rally (which was also one of the better efforts of the mediocre script). But man, is this film a mess. Cyclops is killed perfunctorily and off-camera, and he doesn't even get a funeral (or a headstone until the film's end). Nightcrawler isn't even mentioned. Jean's an MPD? WTF? And the screenwriters are apparently unfamiliar with the United States of America, as this movie appears to function on the assumption that San Francisco isn't 3000 miles from New York. And why does Magneto just leave Mystique behind after she's cured? I can see killing her because she's human now, but just letting her lie there naked so she can turn around and betray him? Magneto frankly isn't that stupid, nor is he that disloyal. But the biggest problem in the whole thing was the confrontation with Jean. Never mind the fact that Logan's obsession with Jean is way in excess of his lustful infatuation in the other two films, there's the simple fact that a) the ending is ripped off from Van Helsing's finale, and you're in big trouble if you're reduced to that, and b) why did Logan have to stomp toward her anyhow? All they had to do was put Leech near her and the fight was over!!!! They spent the whole movie showing us that Leech negates powers and was the basis of the cure. They just two minutes earlier showed him zapping Kitty and the Juggernaut. So why not use him against Jean? Hell, why didn't Logan jab her with one of the needles filled with the serum instead of stabbing her to death? A major disappointment, but not a surprise, given the come-down in directorial vision. What a pity Singer's being wasted on Superman instead. *sigh* Current Mood:  disappointed
Current Music: "Penis Envy" by Uncle Bonsai
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Now, now, now, we can forgive Keith a few eccentriciies. :)
On more serious matters, I have to question the assertion that Singer directing X3 would have made the film suck any less. The problems with the film you've cited, Keith, are ones of story, not of direction, and a director and can are limited by what they have to work with. Perhaps Singer might have gotten more rewrites, but if he were limited to the script as written his film probably wouldn't have been much different than Ratner's.
And wouldn't that have been just as tragic, that years from now fanboys would say, "What happened to Singer? He completely lost the plot for X3...." when the problems with the film might not entirely have been under his control?
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On more serious matters, I have to question the assertion that Singer directing X3 would have made the film suck any less. The problems with the film you've cited, Keith, are ones of story, not of direction, and a director and can are limited by what they have to work with. Perhaps Singer might have gotten more rewrites, but if he were limited to the script as written his film probably wouldn't have been much different than Ratner's.
Singer was co-writer on the story for both of his movies. He didn't write the screenplay, but he dveloped the story himself with his writing partners. BTW, it's the same writing team for Superman Returns (Singer and his writing partners).
Bottom line: Singer just wouldn't have written X-3. At least not this way. And because of his relationship with the story, he probably would have oozed more out of it.
Now, now, now, we can forgive Keith a few eccentriciies. :)
A few?!?!?!?!
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From: thehey |
Date: June 4th, 2006 03:40 pm (UTC) |
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X3 is a huge step down from the other 2, natch, but I still somewhat enjoyed it.
However, directorial vision aside, I think the fault of it's shortcomings lie on the heads of the studio, although it'll be hard to convince them otherwise given the money it's taking in.
I think the reason why they chose Ratner is because Fox was fixated on making sure the film came out on May 26th and ran less than 2 hours, which is probably why Vaughn bowed out and why, if the rumors are true, Joss Whedon declined to even try.
Ratner is a gun for hire director - not a visionary. But given what he had to work with it wasn't too bad. But you are right, there was too much going on for a 105 minute film.
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From: efromme |
Date: June 6th, 2006 07:46 pm (UTC) |
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I don't get why Logan didn't jam her with the cure needles myself. Or, for that matter, just punch her in the face with his metal knuckles and knock her ass out. However, Leech would not have worked. Leech negates the mutation, not the power itself. Leech would have been as helpless as everybody else who was getting pulled apart.
Say for sake of arguement that Leech's radius for the mutation negate is 5ft, which is generous since Beast almost had to touch him before his mutation began to wear off. Jean was easily affecting a radius ten, or twenty times that much. Leech would have never gotten close enough to Jean to turn off her mutation before getting blasted to atoms.
As far as the darts...Jean may very well have blown up all the cure darts when she really got going, after doing nothing for most of the movie, like when the army nearly blasted her before she stopped them midtravel and pulled them apart. So who knows if there were any darts left to do to her like they did with Magneto despite Magneto being better off alive than dead for future stories. But, that's just a point for why they didn't do that. It could easily be an oversight.
Other than the dialogue being weak in parts, and most of the characters in the X-Men doing little I thought it was decent enough. The actors certainly brought the movie up and sold the plot more than it should have been. However, they spent so much time with Magneto's side, I thought, I nearly sympathized with their side. I definitely saw their point, and Magneto was simply proven right by the Army's weapons, and felt very justified to go to any length to protect mutants.
Keeping Cyclops around would have added to the X-Men sympathy some since I would have bought his pain over Jean more. I never bought Logan's 'love' for Jean since it happened in the very moment he saw her. I could get the lust. Famke is pretty hot, but to go as far as a deep felt love...I never bought it.
And I agree with your geography. I couldn't help but wonder how they got from NY to San Fran in 30 minutes...especially Angel for the last minute save.
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