Written by: Rhett Reese &
Paul Wernick & Ryan Reynolds
Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (AKA. Deadpool), brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling cyborg, Cable.
Finally managed to catch Deadpool 2 on Blu-Ray. I'm mad at myself that I didn't watch it sooner.
I like the story. It has new mutants who I've been dying to see in a film, and some I didn't know I wanted to see, but I'm sure glad are there. The plot reminds me a bit of Looper, which is a good thing because I like that film, but also they are different enough so it doesn't feel like it's the same movie just redone in the superhero universe. Also it's not like Looper was the first story to juggle with the idea.
But in a movie like this, is story the most important thing? Don't you want to know about the action? And my god the action rules. It's fun, energetic and totally bad ass, unless it's not meant to be.
And another important thing about this movie is the humour. How does that work? Well I already said that the action scenes are fun, and that's one of the most important things in an action comedy. But otherwise? The movie is pretty funny. Of course the humour is crude but that's the whole point. It's silly and ridiculous, and there is definitely better humour out there somewhere, but for this film... It's alright.
Visually the movie is incredible. The effects are cool and for once I'm not bothered by the amount of CGI.
Deadpool 2 is alright. I was expecting for something better. It's mostly saved by the awesome characters, especially the new ones.
All the X-Men fans can hopefully agree that the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn't actually that good. Like I'm not going to fight you if you like it but in the long run the story doesn't make sense and doesn't fit with most of the movies anymore. I've actually written two reviews of the movie, and the newer one probably explains my frustrations better.
And as you can see from the title of my post, there is a video game based on the movie, which came out at the same time with the film. I've loved that game (apart from the platforming parts which got me stuck), and I started playing it again today. I didn't even have to get far in the game to notice how much I have to say about the game, so I decided to write a blog post about it. It's going to be different for me, because usually it takes me maybe few hours to write the post, if even that. This one is going to take days. I have to actually play through the game, because it has been a long time, and I don't remember the story that well. I'm going to write down things I notice, and hopefully finish this post in a week I hope.
So here's a post type I never thought I'd do: Movie VS. Video Game.
First things first: I'm going to be spoilingthe moviea lot so I can properly go through every single difference plot-wise.
I'm going to go through the plot piece by piece, place by place and since it's a game, level by level. After that I'm going through other stuff like the atmosphere, new characters, stuff like that.
BEGINNING
It's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so the movie starts in the beginning: Wolverine as a kid. He's sick, his friend Victor visits him, he finds out the man he thought was his father isn't his father, but he shares the same father with Victor, making him his brother. Logan also kills his father, and the brothers are hunted, and they make a run for it - and then we see them going through so many wars. They both share their regenerative powers, so they are perfect soldiers - they don't die or grow old. Then they are drafted into a special team of mutants led by Major William Stryker.
The video game doesn't start at the start. It starts "in the not too distant future", like in the video clip I linked. He has lost his memories, and he's fighting. That's all we get from that. After that we see a helicopter crash in Africa.
There's no need to add his childhood into the game. There wouldn't be much fighting to do, and hey, it's a slash 'em up video game. FIGHTING is all there is! Also creating Logan as kid in the game would be kind of useless. And when it comes to the wars... In the movie they are just in the opening credits. That's something the game doesn't need. It's kind of taken for granted that either the player has seen the movie, or that they are the kind of gamer that the story doesn't really matter.
AFRICA
In the movie, the characters go to Africa to search for adamantium, the basically indestructible metal that will be covering our hero's bones soon enough. Much doesn't happen there, it's just fighting, introducing characters, demanding to know where the metal came from, slaughtering of innocent people... And that's where Logan decides he does not want to be a part of this team anymore, and he leaves.
These levels of the game take place before the events of the movie in Africa. But Africa levels are scattered throughout the game.
Helicopter crashes into Africa, Logan goes through the jungle defeating enemies and trying to find his brother. He does, and there's a typical villain line "we're more alike than you think".
Logan is told to go to a tower to destroy a device on it. Victor is going after the second tower, North after the third.
It is revealed that Raven Darkholme from CIA (was she an operative? agent? I'm not entirely sure) was with them watching over the team, making sure they don't harm the civilians. As Stryker loses the signal to Raven and David North (Agent Zero), he tells Logan to go after third tower, and that if he finds Raven, he should consider her dead, basically ordering him to kill her.
Logan runs into Raven and either unconscious or dead David North and Raven is pointing the gun at Logan. Stryker gives Logan orders to attack her, while she's trying to talk sense into Logan. Wraith appears and attacks Raven, knocking her unconscious. Logan goes to search for third tower.
BEFORE THE PROGRAM
After the events in Africa, Logan lives in Canada with his girlfriend Kayla. Logan works as a lumberjack and he's happy with the quiet life. He is then visited by Stryker, who tells him that someone has been killing off the members of the team, and he want Logan's help. He refuses.
In the game, all that is... very different. It's very short. After the first level in Africa, we see Logan with Kayla, and she tells him the story of the moon and her lover who was tricked to get trapped in our world. That story is where Logan gets the name Wolverine. In the film that story takes its time and is a very emotional scene with meaning, while in the game it's kind of glossed over. They are going to the bar, Logan smells his brother, tells Kayla to flee, they fight and then Victor kills Kayla.
It is kind of annoying how little Kayla has in the game, but when I started thinking about it, what else does she do in the movie before her apparent death? There are only three notable scenes with her: there's the story, there's the scene where there's a hint of her mutant powers, but doesn't serve much else. There's also a scene where Logan wakes up from nightmares, Kayla asks if the dreams were about the war, and she asks which one. This scene is there to mostly show Logan's traumas, but it's also there to show that Logan trusts Kayla completely - apparently she knows everything about his past!
Because we get to see Kayla a little bit more in the movie, his death is much more emotional. In the game there's no time for romance, it's time to FIGHT! I get that. It gives the push, so we see what motivates Logan to try to get revenge on his brother, and why he goes to the weapon X program. Again, the whole deal is that we don't need to know everything, because the assumption is we know the movie. And we still get emotion out of Hugh Jackman as Logan, even though it's just voice acting, and actually it's much more subtle than the "NOOOOO-" we get in the movie. I'm not saying it's better, but it's understandable and Jackman is talented enough to show emotion in like one sentence.
The fight between Logan and Victor is a lot more emotional and means more in the movie, considering it's after Victor kills Kayla. In the game it's like, well, Logan and Victor just are fighting and oh, he also kills Kayla. If in the movie Victor just showed up and didn't attack her, I don't think Logan would've automatically fought him.
When Kayla is dead Stryker appears, says he wanted to warn Logan. Now in the game this is when he first appears after Africa (and actually we did not see him in the first Africa level, so it's his first appearance. The thing is, we don't know if he visited Logan before this, it could be either way. Stryker promises to give Logan the weapons to defeat his brother. This goes pretty much the same way as in the movie.
WEAPON X PROGRAM
Logan getting adamantium in his body goes pretty much the same as in the game, just it's a lot faster, so we can get out of the way and into the FIGHTING.
In the movie Logan escapes the place pretty easily, but in the game it's an actual struggle. Also there are three different levels just for escaping, and the important parts to the plot happen inside the facility. You have to fight soldiers and fighters and all kind of weird monsters to get out of the way. While it's mostly fighting, this is where the story gets more complicated than in the movie:
While running away from the soldiers, Doctor Carol Frost contacts Logan and tells him his body was poisoned in case he escapes (clearly Stryker was cleverer in the game), and that his healing factor and heightened senses have been disabled. She promises to help if Logan gets to her.
This is something that actually could've added something to the movie. We never have to fear for him, because of his powers. We know he doesn't die! But here... he might die. So there's some gameplay where you have to be stealthy. There are a few enemies to kill stealthily, and there are lasers for you to dodge. It's actually more intense because your health is significantly lower, and fighting the enemies that are almost invisible is a lot harder because you can't use your senses to smell them and therefore see where they are. I especially hate the parts where you have to dodge the lasers: first time playing I was stuck for so long...
Of course you can't integrate the whole thing in the movie. It would take a lot of time... But something like this would've been interesting.
After she gives your powers back, she asks Logan to help a little girl also imprisoned in the facility, and who has been scheduled for termination. The girl can teleport which actually helps a little bit, because she teleports you twice. She is captured again when she tries to help, and she has to be rescued again, and then she teleports out of the place.
This whole thing isn't really interesting. I think it only exists there to make the escape longer, and maybe to show Logan's softer side. He almost refuses to help, saying he isn't a babysitter, but still he helps. But people who have seen the movies, read the comics... They already know he has a softer side. You can see it in the first movie and how nice he is to Rogue. This whole deal would be interesting if we knew who she was, if we knew what happened to her, if it wasn't just Logan going after her a few times... Like what if she would follow Logan for a while? What if we'd hear from her after escaping? What if there was something more? It's almost touching but we don't know her. It's just a kid almost getting killed. Yeah, it's awful, but if we knew more...
After that you get out of the facility, it's snow-y Canadian forest and more facility buildings... Honestly only two interesting things happen outside:
1) You see a monster called Wendigo and fight it several times inside and outside, but outside there's this one Wendigo you meet a couple of times and almost has a weird storyline, considering you fight him twice, you think he's dead but he attacks you... I wouldn't mind if Wendigo would've made it into the movie. Sure, CGI would've been annoying and it would've have to be really good interesting monster, but it could've worked... Actually it could've been more interesting than Deadpool if final fight would've been with the same Wendigo you've seen a several times...
2) You fight agent Zero. It's boring, and Zero says the same line as in the movie: "Good people tend to die around you." Makes sense in the movie since Zero kills the elderly couple that helped Logan... At this point I don't know who the good people are supposed to be... The soldiers trying to catch him? Kayla? She's the only one, but... She isn't dead and also at this point it wouldn't make sense.
PROJECT WIDEAWAKE
Wideawake has nothing to do with the movie. This didn't happen, and it's only necessary so you can meet a couple of characters.
Logan goes to search for Wraith but he isn't there. Instead he hears a message in the answering machine from Raven, who he thought was dead.
The message in the answering machine is about Wideawake, something probably similar to the Weapon X Program but not quite. It's not very well explained, but apparently Victor has taken a job with them, and he's the person Logan wants to kill.
There are robots and more soldiers to kill, and eventually Logan runs into Raven, who turns out to be a blue mutant that can transform into other people. Well, it isn't much of a reveal, since the player already knows this if they have seen the movies. Well, it is downplayed and Mystique just is there and Logan doesn't question much. Apparently Wraith is captured and Mystique promises to guide Logan through the place. Yay, another captured teleporter.
While looking for Wraith Logan runs into a sentinel head that starts shooting at him. He destroys it by shooting with an sentinel hand. When he and Mystique find Wraith, he teleports himself and her to a helicopter, I think, and Logan has to find his own way there. Wraith also reveals that Mystique is pregnant with Wraith's son, and he asks if she likes the name Kurt, so we know where Nightcrawler supposedly came from, even though... Isn't Azazel usually his father?
While Logan is trying to escape a sentinel attacks. Logan tells Wraith and Mystique to go without him. He destroys the sentinel eventually in a boss fight.
FINDING THE ISLAND
Wraith tells Logan to go after Fred Dukes, who has now gotten fat because of an eating disorder instead of, you know, his size being part of his mutation. After beating the shit out of him, Logan finds out about the island, which is a place where Stryker imprisons mutants trying to combine their powers. One mutant has escaped the place, Remy LeBeau.
The fight with Remy LeBeau takes ages and you have to fight people that are there to find you, so it takes a while until you get to the boss fight. And the thing is, it's the third boss fight in a row. It's annoying as hell, and this is the part where I actually stopped playing the game. The final part of the game comes from my memory alone.
THE ISLAND
From what I remember, there isn't much going on on the Island. You fight Creed (fourth boss fight in a row, yay) and then the abomination the movie called Deadpool (fifth boss fight in a row, yay), and after that the game ends.
From what I remember it's similar to the movie. You get your memories erase, Kayla dies but now she walks into a lake to drown herself, I guess. And then you're in the future with Trask and you... I don't know, it just leaves there. World is broken and you have the tools to fix it.
ATMOSPHERE
While the game is mostly just simple fighting, it's environment and atmosphere gives you something the movie doesn't.
First thing first - the game is super violent. The X-Men movies hadn't got to this violent yet, so playing this game was surprising. It was actually brutal. It's probably closer to some of the comics.
Of course you know violence makes a game more intense, but I still have to say it - this game is pretty intense. You heal fast, but before healing you can actually see how brutal it is. I accidentally hurt Logan while he couldn't heal himself, and oh my god... You can see adamantium coated ribs if he gets hit in the right (or wrong) place, you can see flesh... Imagine seening that in a movie, it would be so freaking intense. The earlier movies are so tame! Of course Logan handles things different with the R-rating, but honestly, a Wolverine solo movies all need R-rating, a lot of F-words and this game level of gore!
Also while escaping the facility you go through several rooms with severed mutant bodies, everything covered with blood. You can assume all the things this environment points at, but holy shit it's gruesome to see.
CHARACTERS AND CAST
Only three actors from the movie also voiced their character in the game: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and will.i.am, and honestly, these three are enough. I don't miss any of the cast members of the movie, and some of the actors are good.
In the movie Kayla is played by Lynn Collins, who is looks beautiful but... I don't feel much personality there. In the game Kayla is voiced by April Stewart, and oh my god... It's like Kayla finally has a personality. She has only like two scenes, that's true, but Stewart is a good voice actress, and I've heard her roles in several video games. Yeah, she's a lot different from Collins, but I don't mind, like I said: her voice is good and has a lot more personality than Lynn Collins.
GAMEPLAY
The game itself doesn't have much replay value. I remember the story from the first playthrough, so the story doesn't make me want to replay it again. The playing style is just mindless violence, which can be fun sometimes, but since it's mostly just beating bad guys, it's like... What else is there? It needs something extra, but I can't really say what it is.
SUMMARY
The game itself is kind of boring but it's fun to sometimes just go slice some digital people. The graphics aren't the greatest but it still looks pretty good. But the best thing about this game is it offers more to the story of the movie. The movie sucks, but at least this game gives us something new to add to it.
Do I recommend it? Maybe play through it once if you're an X-Men fan, it's easy enough. But it's not the greatest game out there, and neither is the movie. Maybe one day we'll get a Wolverine game we really deserve.
There's a mystery afoot in Gotham City, and Batman must go toe-to-toe with a mysterious vigilante, who goes by the name of Red Hood. Subsequently, old wounds reopen and old, once buried memories come into the light.
Batman: Under the Red Hood differs a lot from the previous animated Batman movies I've reviewed. It has a different look, tone and sound. Unlike Mask of the Phantasm or Mystery of the Batwoman, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the animated series. The tone is much darker, and the cast is completely different.
The animation in this movie is beautiful, flows really well and it's even really impressive at times. I like the simple look of the series, but for a movie this style really works well.
Actually finding out about the cast was the point where I almost lost my interest. The cast is still talented, but I just adore Kevin Conroy and especially Mark Hamill. I like John DiMaggio in his other roles, but him as Joker? He did a good job, and so did pretty much everyone, but it just doesn't feel right.
The story of the movie is great, but the structure feels clumsy. The beginning just isn't that capturing, and the fact that it starts with a brutal torturing and death and then skips to five years later, it's just annoying. As the story went on, I managed to really get into it, and eventually I really, really like it. It's just a shame that a movie only lasts 75 minutes, and it just doesn't manage to capture the audience immediately. Also I'm glad the twist comes early because it's just too obvious, so no one has to pretend they don't get what's going on.
I also like about how this movie deals with philosophy and morals behind Batman. There are two views to how he operates, and neither one is wrong. We get why Batman doesn't really kill anyone, but I think everyone has at one point wondered, why the hell doesn't he just kill some of the most dangerous villains, who will just keep breaking out of Arkham Asylum and killing people. These are some aspects of Batman's character I'm never tired of exploring.
This movie is great when it gets great, and has interesting and cool things in it. With some fixing it could be even more amazing, but I'm kind of alright with what we got.
The Dark Knight must contend with a mysterious female vigilante who emulates him, but to a more ruthless degree.
The DVD box that contains Batman: Mask of the Phantasm also has four other movie, including straight-to-video movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. While Mask of the Phantasm was close to perfect and phenomenal, this one is just... ehh.
Don't get me wrong, the mystery part of this movie is amazing. It kept hinting that I was right, yet proving me wrong a lot, and I enjoyed every minute of it. But the thing is, that is the best part of the movie, everything else is just alright, mostly because there isn't much interesting in it, except the mystery of the Batwoman.
The main villain of the movie is Penguin, who's just super boring. I guess who we should be afraid of is who he hires, and in this movie he hires Bane. Freaking Bane! He's supposed to be interesting but I just found him odd. I mean definitely better than Bane in Batman and Robin, but different from the Banes I like: the one from The Dark Knight Rises and the one from the video game Arkham Asylum.
And nothing the villains are planning is interesting. Like sure, in Mask of the Phantasm didn't have a villain with a great plan. The movie had god damn Joker in it and he wasn't even the main villain, but it still was interesting because of other things. Here after the mystery of the Batwoman is solved, everything is just boring. I'm not really sure what Penguin did, probably sold guns or something... It just didn't really seem to matter.
If something saves this movie, it's the nice animation and the fight sequences, which are something really cool, other times... just weird.
Of course you can't expect a direct to video movie to be as great as something that was released in the theaters and which was clearly paid more attention to. Still I would've liked this to be at least a little bit more interesting.
Written by: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko & Michael Reaves
Batman is wrongly implicated in a series of murders of mob bosses actually done by a new vigilante assassin.
I tumbled onto a video of this movie by Nostalgia Critic, and he did a damn good job talking about the movie, because I immediately wanted to watch it. What really won me over was how the movie has interesting character study without being too analyzing like some other movies filled with 'very important dialogue', and the fact that this story is actually a mystery. While Batman is a detective, the live action films don't really have any mysteries for him to solve.
The runtime for this movie is only 76 minutes, so there is no time to waste. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm starts immediately, and there are no scenes or moments unnecessary during the story. And the movie actually manages to be thrilling right when it starts.
The story is interesting. Of course the mystery is intriguing, and very well written. It keeps you invested and guessing. One negative thing I might point out is that it doesn't feel like there's anything to lose. Sure, people thing Batman is killing the mob bosses, but we know he isn't, and honestly, what could the police do about it? Clearly in the world of this story Batman sticks to the shadows and is rarely seen, so it doesn't seem like he could be caught, or that anything could happen to him. Also even if the killer of the mob bosses wasn't caught? It's not like the audience is interested in their lives.
Another great thing about the story is how we see a different version of Bruce Wayne in the flashbacks. He isn't exactly Batman yet, and he considers not even being Batman, since he's in love and actually happy. It's a new side to him, and it asks and answers the question, what if Bruce Wayne was happy? Could he still be Batman?
While watching the movie I was briefly annoyed by the amount of flashbacks, feeling that they might slow down the story, but they actually provided us with some time to breathe. And I won't lie, all those flashbacks were necessary in one way or another.
And I have to say it: one of the biggest reasons I wanted to see this movie was Mark Hamill, and I love how they tied Joker into the plot. He could've just been thrown in the mix since he's the Joker and people love to hate him, but instead he actually had an interesting role. And honestly, Mark Hamill is the only actor who has made me sort of afraid of the Joker.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an excellent Batman movie, and if I had to rank all the Batman movies I've seen - mostly live action - this one would probably be number one on that list. It's well-written, mysterious and while it's a family picture, it's thrilling to both kids and adults.
Written by: Simon Kinberg (screenplay) & Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris (story)
The world's first mutant En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac) awakens, and wants to cleanse the world by destroying it first and letting the strong survive. The X-Men must stand united against En Sabah Nur and his four horsemen of apocalypse - who include some very familiar faces.
I've only seen X-Men: Apocalypse four times, two of them at the cinema, two of them at home. My opinion of it hasn't changed: it's still awesome with so many powerful, well-paced, breath-taking scenes that are so incredible they melt my brain and actually made me sometimes shed a tear because, holy shit, it just is that awesome!
I think I've made clear what I love about the X-Men, and it's mostly how ethically complex they can be, especially when Magneto is the villain. Here however En Sabah Nur or Apocalypse is a typical villain, but still interesting. His motivation isn't complex, yet he isn't as bad as Stryker or Trask who are really easy to hate. He does few interesting things that really make you question if he actually did the world a service, and he's portrayed by Oscar Isaac, who is very charismatic, even with all that make-up (or CGI?) on his face. I actually have a friend who was on Apocalypse's side but I'm pretty sure it was only because of Oscar Isaac.
Still, when it comes to villains, En Sabah Nur had his four horsemen of the apocalypse. These are the more interesting characters. None of them are just "evil". Think about Ororo, who idolizes Mystique (she seriously is a really weird choice for a hero but I blame the movies and not Ororo) and probably thinks she's doing the right thing. Think about Erik, who once again has lost everything and feels like there is no other way. Think about Angel who was broken, physically and mentally too, and was restored by En Sabah Nur. The only one I can't really figure out is Psylocke. Still, these four are the ones who make the situation more complex.
Same things still annoy me to this day. Especially the way Charles Xavier first acts around Moira. Sure it makes him more human than just a typical mentor but also it's just ridiculous. He's a grown man, and this is just off-putting.
Another thing that I kind of feel like might be a plothole is that I always think that in the end of First Class Xavier doesn't erase everything from Moira's memory. From the way she talk at the end of that movie it feels like she remembers parts. I'd at least think she'd remember Charles. She remembers a kiss but doesn't remember the man who kissed her? This is why it feels so weird when she doesn't really know him, but still has read about him... What the hell?
I could go into detail why all those amazing scenes are so amazing, but instead I'll just tell you to watch this movie and really feel those powerful scenes. Alongside with X-Men; First Class, X-Men: Apocalypse is probably my favourite X-Men movie.
Story by: Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
Took a while until I managed to continue watching the X-Men movies. Mostly because after First Class I started watching The Wolverine, which I've seen so many times I realised I didn't really want to watch it at that point. So I decided I'd watch Days of Future Past first, then Apocalypse and then maybe focus more on Wolverine.
Anyway, Days Of Future Past is another proof that these movies get better the newer they are - if by better you mean better graphics and way more epic plotlines. Sure, the quality of the writing is better in these newer movies, I won't argue with that, but unfortunately this movie is not that good. It's mostly because it's trying to be two things at once: it's trying to be a sequel for the First Class and it's trying to be Days Of Future Past.
If you haven't read the original comic, Days Of Future Past is set in 2014 and Kitty Pryde comes back in time to prevent that grim future from happening. But because this movie wants to be a sequel for First Class, it has to happen in the 1970's for some reason, so they can't use Kitty, so of course they go with Wolverine. I'm a big fan of the character, but still it would be great if these newer films were focused on someone else, like First Class and Apocalypse are.
Days Of Future Past is trying too hard to be this really epic story with the younger professor and Magneto, but with Wolverine from the original ones.
One thing that they do well is that when in the future the X-Men are fighting the sentinels, there's real desperation there. It would work even better if there were more X-Men we know well, now there's only like five and unconscious Wolverine. But now it feels like the fights in the future - that basically don't matter because the whole point is that Wolverine is trying to change the future by travelling into the past - have more feeling to them than what's happening in the 1973.
There are so many great details in this movie. There are scenes that are amazing but then everything around those scenes isn't so great. That Quicksilver scene? Pure gold, yet he only has like two or there important scenes in this movie. I'm just glad they used him more in Apocalypse. Also with Magneto there are few amazing scenes but then all in all he feels pretty useless.
The thing I hate most about these new movies is Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique., and the role Mystique has now. She doesn't feel like the real thing. Here it's like one-dimensional X-Men version of Katniss, a fucking mutant saviour for some reason. She's like a female version of Magneto: a seemingly terrifying villain to human beings but a saviour to mutants. Why doesn't Magneto have that role anymore, why is it given to Mystique? If she was played by a better actress, and if her character was more like she's in the comics, and not naked all the time, I would enjoy it more.
Also the make-up is incredibly fake looking in this movie compared to First Class. It looks hideous and I hate looking at it.
There were so many great characters in First Class and this movie doesn't use any of them, apart from professor and Magneto. They use Mystique, who I already complained about, and Beast who is real fucking plain compared to the other students in First Class.
The thing is, Days of Future Past could be good. It has story and with some fixin' it would be so much better. You could take the good things about this movie and write something better around them. Now it's just an seemingly epic superhero movie that doesn't make sense when it comes to X-Men timelines. There are some scenes that are so emotionally raw it's amazing, especially with Professor X, but then for some reason it just gets lost here.
Screenplay by: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start World War III.
Those of you who've read the other X-Men reviews by me might remember that X-Men: First Class is the first X-Men movie I saw. So for that reason watching this movie is very nostalgic to me. Sure, I watched all the others around the same time, but still X-Men: First Class is very special to me.
I'm immediately going to tackle what's special about X-Men: First Class: it's so emotional compared to the other movies. Sure, there are some tragic deaths and pasts and everything there, but none of them are quite haunting as X-Men: First Class. Sure, in the very first movie we saw a glimpse to Magneto's tragic past but this is were we really feel it. We don't just see the gate-bending moment, we see what happened to him after that, we see what kind of young adult he grew into, and how exactly he became him.
And let's not forget the final showdown on the beach. The fight scenes are entertaining, but there are moment so emotionally raw nothing in the previous X-Men movies comes close.
I didn't realise how weird it was seeing young Charles Xavier after seeing him played by Patrick Stewart. There's something really strange about Xavier hitting on women in a bar, but seeing him young also shows something about the way he became the leader we all know. Here we see him slightly immature, yet trying to be responsible. He scolds Raven and the other youngsters about having fun even though merely few days before he had been so fucking drunk. But still, during these newer movies we really see Xavier's character development well.
There are some details that just make this movie amazing. Like whenever they are somewhere other than USA or UK, they actually speak the language: French, German, Spanish, Russian... I love that, and the message usually comes across stronger, like when Erik talks with the two ex-Nazis in Argentina. Another thing I like is how much more telepathy sounds like telepathy - and how amazing Emma Frost sounds like in her diamond form. The voice actually sounds like it's coming from inside a diamond!
Matthew Vaughn's hand print is clear on this movie, as it is on all his other movies, and it gives this movie a certain spice, making it stand out from Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner.
But unfortunately X-Men: First Class isn't perfect. It has the same fault all the X-Men movies I've reviewed had: too many cool characters who after this movie are killed off or disappear. And worst crime of this movie? Killing off a character that should not die. Like we're talking about a character who literally does not die because of his mutation and. His death is seemingly tragic here, but when you know, it's just fucking stupid.
In all the other X-Men movies it's stated how different Xavier's and Lehnsherr's views on the mutant issues are, but in this movie the whole thing is clearer than ever. We all see that Charles is living in the lap of luxury, and it's clear he's never had to hide because of his abilities. Then there's Erik. Sure, his mutation wasn't the reason for him to hide, but he had other reasons, being Jewish in Poland in 1940's. Erik's seen the worst of how some people are treated, because of his background and because Sebastian Shaw treated him after finding out about his mutation. Sure, Charles understands the plight of mutants, but he has never witnessed any hardship himself.
Their different views can be summarized in their short exchange on the beach:
Charles:There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men! They're just following orders.
Erik: I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.
While Charles's stand is of course understandable, he could've chosen better words, considering Erik's background. This is the sign of Charles' privilege, since he has never been fully oppressed because of who he is.
Sure, the original trilogy is good. The previous movies are alright. But X-Men: First Class is the first one that's absolutely amazing.
A look at Wolverine's early life, in particular his time with the government squad Team X and the impact it will have on his later years.
I thought I would only do one review per day but I'm super bored and depressed, so I went through two movies today. There's a chance I'll even watch First Class tonight, but we'll see.
Like The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also disliked among the fans. I'm having hard time trying to review the story, see what's wrong with it, mostly because I've seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine so many times back when I was sixteen and just discovering X-Men and falling hard for Logan. It was my favourite, so it's hard for me to be completely objective. But I'm going to try.
The biggest problem with this movie is that we don't need it. Like as one movie it offers something new to us, Logan's past. But when we're considering the big picture, hardly anything happens in X-Men Origins: Wolverine that we don't figure out from some other movie, and most of it is already in conflict with what we learn from other movies.
Of course continuity went down the toilet with the reboot.
However, here are some of the thing I noticed that are completely useless because of other movies.
A) Sure, Wolverine's past is new to us, since we've only seen bits of the procedure that put adamantium on his bones, but the past is discovered in pieces through other movies, and we don't necessarily need to know what happened exactly. I mean after X2, didn't Logan kind of... give up on his past? From what Stryker said he probably gathered that he didn't want to know what kind of things he used to do, who he used to be. Sure, it's tragic and hurtful and it's just a big puddle of pain for our hero, but still slightly useless when it comes to other movies.
B) Scott Summers. Yeah it's great to see a familiar face, except oh wait, now that we have X-Men: Apocalypse, everything that happens to Scott here is absolutely useless, and it's in conflict. And let's be honest, Apocalypse did the thing way better.
C) Emma Frost. Again, great to see someone like her, but again, in conflict with X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
D) Yeah, we get a lot of new characters, like Gambit... But we've never seen them after this movie and they barely played an interesting part here.
E) What was the biggest crime of this movie? Oh yeah, what they did to Wade Wilson. That was awful and didn't make sense. But then oh, Deadpool got his own movie. None of the shit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine never happened. So was it worth it? I doubt it. Only good thing here is we do get to see how amazing Ryan Reynolds is, before... you know.
There's only one thing in the other movies that would need you to see this one, and it's Kayla's voice briefly in The Wolverine. Seriously, that's everything this movie can give to you, since it's in conflict with the other movies and all that shit.
The story here is alright apart from all that. It just doesn't give you much. You know what gave me more? The video game based on this movie. There were some alterations, but it also gave us Raven Darkholme - you know, Mystique - and there was some interesting stuff with Trask and Sentinels... And it was generally a fun video game, where the only annoyance was how much platforming there was.
The only thing this movie gives us is angst. In a way, it can be enough to certain audience, but mostly the continuity errors (which necessarily weren't errors before the reboot came and kind of wrecked this movie) ruin it. The film is alright, but honestly, The Wolverine is way better as a Wolverine solo movie, and when it comes to Logan, it fucking destroys this movie.
An all-out war looms when the discovery of a cure for mutations draws a line between the followers of Charles Xavier and those of Magneto.
I'm starting to regret the complicated way I'm titling these reviews...
This review contains SPOILERS, so in case you haven't seen this 12-year-old movie, don't read ahead
Yesterday I ended my X2 review with the words "It still keeps you hooked, and you'll definitely want to see what's going to happen with the Phoenix storyline." Well, I'm not as familiar as the comics as I should be, but even I know that there are many things X-Men: The Last Stand got wrong.
I know the original Phoenix storyline was way more complicated in the comics, and that it was even explained to new readers in a very over-simplified way. I actually subscribed to X-Men when the comics were still published regularly here in Finland. The last thing they ever published was the Avengers vs. X-Men thing, with Hope Summers and another Phoenix Force storyline, and the original Jean Grey episode was explained very poorly. The only reason I somewhat know what really happened is because someone's letter got published in the magazine and they explained the whole thing, which was great for someone like me, who was fairly new and couldn't read every fucking comic book that had come out before that year.
Of course the movie shouldn't have to be exactly like the comics, but if I remember correctly there is no dual personality originally, and in the comics the Phoenix thing was like... The Dark Phoenix wasn't really Jean Grey, or something like that. I'd love to find a simple article or blog post or something explaining how it should've been done and what it was originally, but I can't and / or don't have the time to scour through the internet, so if someone has a link to something or can explain the thing in the comments, please do. Now I just know the storyline doesn't go well, but I'm not entirely sure why.
I'm mostly disappointed by what The Last Stand did to certain characters.
For me it seems like the writers fucked up certain characters. Firstly, Charles Xavier felt a lot different compared to the first two movies and for the newer movies. Something about him wanting to keep Phoenix "in a cage" just doesn't sit right with me, and his line "I don't have to explain myself, least of all to you" to Logan just didn't sound right. Where's the mentor, helpful and good person, here he is just... limiting people and being a dick to everyone. In all the other movies Xavier is amazing, a father figure, a character someone can really look up to, and now he's being weirdly mean.
Another thing I don't like is how Mystique gets treated. She gets depowered and therefore abandoned my Magneto. Okay, so from everything we've seen, Mystique's loyal to the end. So why would this one instance make her betray Magneto and reveal his plans etc. to human beings? Sure, she's one of them now, but she was always oppressed because of her mutation - her family even tried to kill her, like she says. So why would this one thing make her change her whole ideas? Sure, I don't know what she would've done, but this just doesn't feel right. It would've been more believable if we knew something else about her. I mean in the movies the only thing we know is that we see her on Magneto's side - when they're apart she's planning on saving him. Maybe that's the problem - maybe the writers didn't give her any other personality than being Magneto's... girl? Maybe they thought that hey, should she lose everything she'd turn against Magneto. I have no idea but it's just fucking weird choice to make with the character.
Another character who gets unfair treatment is Rogue. She's an amazing, badass character in the comics, but in the movies we just see her as a teenager, who then gets depowered. I see why, I understand that, and I'm going to talk about that later, but... Why, though? Why don't we get that awesome Rogue?
There are a lot of new mutants introduced... and killed off just as fast. We don't even get the names of all of them. Why are all these cool characters here if they don't really do anything? It's a shame.
One good thing about the writing of this movie is, that even though there are those cheesy lines I hate so much, they mix well. They don't stand out like those annoying little one-liners in Avengers movies, for example.
Also this movie looks amazing. Colours are magnificent, the effects are stunning, and everything with Jean Grey's powers is just... It looks spectacular and I really want these powers for myself, holy fuck, she's cool. The lighting bothers me partially, because it's so dark most of the time, and then the lighting is super strong and just burns characters out, it's so white and as a film student makes me nervous.
I can't talk about X-men without going on to the philosophical things. In X-Men: The Last Stand the cure for mutants gives us enough to ponder.
At first glance you'd agree with Storm, that there's nothing to cure. But think about how easy that is for Storm to say. Storm is a goddess, avatar of storm. She can hide her powers, and she can fully control it. Now think about Rogue. She's the one Storm tells "there's nothing wrong with us" or "nothing to cure". Rogue can't touch anyone without draining their powers and near killing them. Rogue represents those to whom the cure would be useful.
But of course since the cure is also used as a weapon, which is where it gets ruined. Sure, cure would be useful to some, but when it's used on anyone without their consent, it's not "a cure" anymore.
There are lot of great things about The Last Stand, but also many things wrong. And while I know what's wrong I like watching it. Why? Because how incredibly cool it is sometimes. Still, it's amazing visually, but the writing is awful most of the time. Continuity is fucked up and people die just because they can with little to no affect on anything else that's going on.
Screenplay by: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris & David Hayter
The X-Men band together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the President's life, while the Mutant Academy is attacked by military forces.
I've heard many people say that X2 is the best one of the original trilogy, and I have to agree, the first one being a little tame and the third one just being wrong on all accounts.
What I mostly like about X2 is it gives hints to Wolverine's past, which was a mystery in the first one, apart from few quick flashes. I also like the new characters we get to meet, even though this might be the last time we see them, apart from a game that takes place between X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. (I have that game, but didn't get to finish it: it was old and the computer didn't like it. But that game would've explained why Nightcrawler is not in The Last Stand.) And one thing I really, really like about X2 is that it finally has that epic theme music. Unfortunately the next time it's in a movie it's during X-Men Days of Future Past.
This time the story is a bit more epic, because the stakes are high: it's not just some people that are in danger, it's... Well, everyone.
William Stryker is an easy-to-hate villain, but he's great. It's not hard to understand why he hates mutants and why he has so many issues with them, but you won't agree with him, which is something I appreciate about how a villain is written. Also Stryker as a villain creates wonderful conflict when it comes to Logan - since apparently Stryker knows him and knows more about him than Logan himself does.
Another thing I like about this plot and some others is the way Charles Xavier is manipulated and / or used as a weapon. Those plotlines are terrifying mostly because... We all know what Xavier is like. He's a leader: calm, wise, with high morals, but when him and his talents are used against everything Xavier believes in... It's just something so horrible, and I really enjoy watching those stories.
X2 is still a little bit... Boring. It' an OK superhero movie, but it's not perfect and something's missing. It still keeps you hooked, and you'll definitely want to see what's going to happen with the Phoenix storyline.
Written by: Tom DeSanto, Bryan Singer & David Hayter
Two mutants come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.
Since I brought my X-Men movies home with me I've been planning to watch them all again. Also since I've been inactive due to projects at school I've decided I'd write about each of them. I've written some reviews of some X-Men movies but I thought after studying films for almost a year and since I haven't seen all of them for a while, I could maybe offer something new to these. I'm not sure if that's true with all the movies, but I'm giving it a go.
The first X-Men movie I actually saw was actually X-Men: First Class. Still, when I watched the very first one for the first time, it had the same haunting, effective start. As I get older I start understanding Magneto's background more and more, which is why the whole Hydra thing was weird. I tried to find more information on that but it's not clear to me if there actually was a comic or at least a storyline with Magneto working for Hydra. So because I don't know where to find clear information about this, I won't go into it much, just say it would be the worst idea ever, just like making Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver work for Hydra in Avengers Age of Ultron, but let's be honest, that movie was bad.
The story here is solid. It's not as epic as the plots seem to be nowadays, but I don't think they all need to be like the most awesome thing ever. Sometimes something simple is enough, especially when the movie is the start for a series. And when it comes to X-Men, it came out before superhero movies were the big deal they are these days. The plot works, it's still thrilling and action packed even though they aren't dealing with end of the world or some other huge threat like that.
X-Men has two weaknesses in my opinion. One I can forgive, due to the age of this movie: special effects. They just look awful in this movie, but you're able to look past them. The other thing is something that bothers me with every fucking superhero movie: the writing just happens to be so fucking cheesy at times. It's mostly dialogue, which has cheesy one-liners that make you roll your eyes or just lines that feel really insecure: not because of the character but because of the writing behind it. But the thing is, you can't blame that on the year since superhero movies keep doing that. It annoys the hell out of me.
The first movie doesn't offer as much philosophy as other X-Men things. Usually the philosophical pondering comes from Magneto, because sometimes you just have to wonder if Magneto's right. And I think there are a lot of people reading X-Men comics who can admit that sometimes Magneto has a point. Human beings don't seem to accept mutants at all, so sometimes it's like yeah, maybe Magneto should get rid of them all. ... Well, not exactly like that, but you get the point.
But here the thing is you know the fault in Magneto's plan before he does, so there's no "so who's right?"
Another philosophical thing about the X-men is that the mutants are a symbol for oppressed groups, but... there's the same problem as with Zootropolis. Why are oppressed groups in these movies more powerful than humans who oppress them? The symbolism doesn't work because it's not the case in the real world. In real world there's no real reason to hate / be afraid of, say, LGBTQ+ people, but then there's X-Men... These people have the reason to be afraid of mutants because like isn't there always some threat with them like oh shit, the world's going to end, and it's because of mutants.
I'm not saying "yeah human beings are right, mutants are bad" because... well, they aren't real. I'm just saying the symbolism doesn't necessarily work.
But I'm saying that now so I don't have to say it with every X-men I watch.
The first X-men movie is a solid superhero movie, definitely worth watching and definitely a great start. It leaves you wanting more, because you don't know everything about characters, and of course there will be another movie. I don't know if it was that clear when it came out but these days, if there's a superhero movie, there's going to be a sequel.
Story by: Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg & Jason Fuchs
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.
Wonder Woman is now the first movie I've gone to see in this new town. I wanted to go see it already while I sill lived at home, but it was in the theaters for like two weeks, which is unbelievably weird, considering it has had good reviews, like, even compared to some earlier DC films.
Wonder Woman is an amazing superhero movie, and this comes from someone who's a bit tired of superhero movies already, and is really picky about which ones they're going to see. It stands out for several reasons, one of them being that there are more elements from fantasy than science fiction in this movie.
First and most important and obvious thing has to be the fact that it has a female lead. It's ridiculous that it has taken this long for DC or Marvel to actually make a movie with a woman playing the main role, considering there are amazing heroines in the comic books. Diana is an amazing character, because while she's being a hero and kicking ass, she can still be a woman. There are tons of characters who are "strong female characters" while strength being their only defining characteristic. But Diana actually has feelings and is feminine without being just eye candy for the male viewers, while still looking absolutely stunning, though.
One thing that bothers me is the excessive use of CGI and slow motion and all that, but Wonder Woman definitely isn't the only movie guilty of that.
Storywise this movie is enjoyable, and I felt amazing after I saw that. Is that how men feel all the time when they see other men in superhero movies constantly?
Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers
Several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture, emerges.
Ugh, I've been so inactive since I started my internship, I apologise for that. I finally managed to watch something. It was actually easier to just force myself to a movie theatre since if a ticket's already bought, what would be an excuse good enough to avoid going?
I actually would've preferred to go see Baby Driver, but it's not here yet. Another movie I was interested in is Wonder Woman, but it was here already and left the theatres quite quickly. Huh! So it came down to Spider-Man or the new POTC movie, and that has grown old already. And there's no way I'm giving my money to Johnny Depp. A co-worker went to see Spider-Man: Homecoming earlier this week and recommended it warmly, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
One of my biggest issues with these Marvel movies is the fact that if I want to keep up I have to watch every single thing they produce because everyone has cameos and every movie is connected to another. There are no stand-alone films anymore, and that can suck, if you're not into every superhero. I don't care for Captain America, so I haven't seen Civil War, where this new Spider-man, played by Tom Holland, made his first appearance. However, this film quickly recaps the important bits of Civil War, and by important bits I mean what Spider-Man did. Still there's a lot of stuff you need to remember from other Marvel movies.
What's interesting in this new version is that there doesn't seem to be origin story the way Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man had origin stories. You could ask where the hell Peter Parker came from, but hey, I think we all know the thing with the radioactive spider and Uncle Ben getting shot, so we can safely assume that's still the case here.
And of course there's an issue with Peter Parker as Spider-Man: aren't we all bored to death? What about Miles Morales, or any other Spider-Man? What about Gwen as Spider-Girl?
The Amazing Spider-Man also took place in high school, but this time it actually feels like high school. Sure, Tom Holland is actually 21, but he's closer to a teenager than Andrew Garfield was, considering how fresh-faced Holland looks. (I thought he'd be younger tho, even if he's my age! This is how badly Hollywood has fucked up our perception of age on-screen!)
Tom Holland is great as Peter Parker, as great as Garfield was, and definitely better than Tobey Maguire (though that we can all blame on bad writing). Spider-Man: Homecoming has amazing young actors, such as Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori and Zendaya. But one of the biggest reasons I wanted to see this movie was Michael Keaton. He is great as a superhero (Batman) and as a villain (Vulture) and everything in-between.
But apart from the fresh cast and new technology from the Avengers movies, Spider-Man: Homecoming isn't anything special. It's fun to watch, but not actually funny, apart from the typical Avengers humour. Plots in these are pretty much the same thing over and over, but then again, was anyone expecting anything else? Marvel is becoming a one trick pony.
So if you love superheroes, then of course go see it, but if you want something new from Marvel, then this movie isn't for you I mean third version of Spider-Man? They have so many superheroes and they go with Spider-Man, again?
Hancock is a superhero whose ill considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when the person he saves helps him improve his public image.
Hancock has been on my watchlist since I really started liking Will Smith, which was about a year ago. When I finally managed to watch it, I didn't know much about it, apart from it being hopefully a different kind of superhero movie.
At first the movie feels refreshingly simpler compared to the epic superhero movies we keep getting. It felt like most of the idea came from how in those epic superhero movies the heroes cause a lot of damage to the city and its people. But as the story goes forward the story does become richer and, even if I hate the word, more epic.
It's refreshing to see a character like Hancock. He is like an asshole, clearly an antihero (it's already refreshing not to see a brooding white man antihero, mind you), but there's more to him. And what's important we actually can see how he feels about the people kind of hating him, even if he tries to save them. It's not just superficially shrugged off.
I also love how the music is used so well with the story. When the movie becomes more like a superhero movie the soundtrack feels more like a classic score for that type of movies.
Hancock is an entertaining and a surprisingly good superhero movie. I think I would've preferred something simpler, something more refreshing, but Hancock is good for what it is. Of course it's a bit typical, but it has several new elements, and it has great cast. And while the story is not great, there are a lot of things I like about it. Hancock definitely is worth seeing whether or not you are tired with the typical Marvel or DC movies we get.
Screenplay by: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay & Paul Rudd
Based on the comics by: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby
Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
Ant-Man? Marvel isn't making movies about the actually interesting heroes, but we get a movie about Ant-Man?
I was very suspicious when Ant-Man was announced. Who actually gave a chicken-shit about Ant-Man? However my mind changed once I learned Edgar Wright was one of the writers. I've liked his style so, you know, even if Ant-Man had been total rubbish, at least there was some skillful writing - not just from Wright.
The most distinct thing about Ant-Man is how much simpler it is compared to the massive Avengers franchise. The story is simple, mostly revolving around a heist instead of some huge, epic fight that will cause millions of dollars worth of damage to the cities. It's simple, yet still interesting enough to watch.
Another special thing about Ant-Man is how much more relaxed it seems. There's no giant need to make it super serious and stuff a lot of philosophical pondering in there, which usually does go to total waste when it comes to superhero movies. Ant-Man is an action comedy, and it usually manages to make even the most important fights quite funny in rather easy ways. Ant-Man does a way better job at making the situation lighter than, say, Avengers: Age of Ultron, where they just zing kind of cheesy one-liners here and there to get cheap laughs from the audience. Could it be because writers of Avengers are working under this huge pressure and they can't really enjoy themselves, while reaction to Ant-Man being announced was pretty much "Why the fuck would you make this movie?"
Of course there are annoyances, which are too common with any superhero movies, and they get recycled over and over again. There's that unnecessary romance, predictable structure, but what's most annoying to me is you can't really watch a Marvel movie unless you've seen like at least three others. I'd love to be able to watch Ant-Man as Ant-Man, because it's actually funny movie, but there's hint to movies I haven't seen, and I don't want to watch. This is the biggest problem with the franchise system - you can't just watch movies individually. Like sure I wouldn't watch Iron Man 3 without seeing the first two, but like this is the first Ant-Man movie and still I have to know so much? It's a buzzkill.
All in all Ant-Man is a very entertaining movie, but it has the same flaws every superhero movie has. Thankfully though it's hilarious and way more relaxed than any other superhero movie I've seen - apart from Deadpool, of course.
Written by: Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green
In the near future where no new mutants have been born in years, old man Logan cares for an ailing Professor X. His plan to hide and escape changes when a young mutant Laura arrives, being pursued by men who are similar to those who made Logan Wolverine.
I've been waiting for this movie for so long, but also I've been really nervous. The movie hasn't been hiding what it is: the last one about Logan, or at least the last one with Hugh Jackman as Logan, and let's be honest... It's not like they're going to cast a new actor to play Wolverine any time soon, eh? He's been in every single one of the X-men movies for 17 years. Hugh Jackman is iconic in this role, so why would they be in a hurry to replace him? Especially when now's the chance to make movies without him and maybe focus on some of the other characters.
But personally, am I sick of seeing Wolverine in every X-men movie? No.
Another thing that made a bit worried was how I had realised I'm not at all into dark superhero movies, at least not the ones I had seen before Logan. They were a bit boring and miserable, trying to be all gritty and edgy. But when wasn't Logan an gritty, miserable, edgy character? And at the beginning this movie was exactly what I feared it might be - gritty, miserable, dark world with no happiness in it for Logan. Luckily that changed. It changed slowly, but the world did change into something a tiny bit happier, tiny bit more hopeful.
Also at the beginning something felt so wrong to me, and soon enough I was able to place that feeling. It was Charles. I understand he had some kind of disease affecting his brain, so naturally that would also affect his personality, but at first he just didn't feel like Charles, and Charles has always been a very, very important part of the X-men universe. He's that one good spark of hope even in the middle of the worst moments. So when he's clearly not well, it's just awful to look at, to listen to. Clearly that was the intention for the writers, though. It was just really rough to see Charles that way.
Visually this movie was so beautiful, the cinematography was amazing. Also the composer, Marco Beltrami, did an amazing job. I like how the score sounds just a bit like the one in Wolverine (2013), but not too much, not like they were trying to do that same score again.
X-men movies have always been barely violent so they can be PG-13, but finally we get a Wolverine movie that is just as violent as it needs to be. Usually Wolverine stabs and slices and there's barely any blood. Ever since I played X-Men Origins: Wolverine videogame I've been waiting for that kind of movie. And now we have it! And it's not just like full on violent content without anything else. The fight scenes are beautifully coordinated, and of course there's so much more to the story than just Wolverine and Laura fighting folks.
The story just is so beautiful I can't get over it. And while the movie wasn't perfect, and I didn't like everything about it, at the end of the day I don't know what else I would've needed. This is the perfect even if sad ending for wonderful 17 years Hugh Jackman has been our Wolverine.
Screenplay by: Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern & John Whittington
Story by: Seth Grahame-Smith
Batman created by: Bob Kane & Bill Finger
Superman created by: Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
(wow that's the most credits I've ever had to type)
Joker plans his revenge trying to get him to admit his Batman's number one enemy, while Batman struggles with his greatest fear: clown snakes being part of a family again.
Guess what movie I've been super excited about for a few months? That's right, The LEGO Batman Movie! And I liked this movie so much I didn't even feel ridiculous when I met another film fanatic who was going to see La La Land. Also I met few friends who were going to see Fifty Shades Darker, then I was truly happy with my life choices.
I hate Batman. There, I said it. I hate the movies because they are either completely ridiculous (when Joel Schumacher was directing) or annoyingly dark and brooding (Nolan's trilogy and also the Batman V Superman blah blah). The only live action movie I kind of like is Tim Burton's Batman movies. Burton's movies were dark but not like brooding dark, more like, well, Burton dark.
The first time I ever liked Batman was in The LEGO Movie. He was clearly Batman, but he was also so much fun. Also the first time I saw The LEGO Movie I was like "holy shit that's GOB!!" because I didn't learn Will Arnett's name until the end credits.
Michael Keaton is the perfect live action Batman - and Bruce Wayne. To me he has always looked like the right Bruce Wayne. And Will Arnett will always be my favourite Batman. He has the perfect voice for it, and while he nails the voice he can also be silly with it. Like I can't imagine Christian Bale doing that. Yikes!
Anyway that's how I feel about Batman in general. You know, to give you a little context about how much I don't like Batman movies.
But I loved this one! It is so good! The LEGO Movie is one of my favourite films, and The LEGO Batman Movie is just as good! Of course the universes are a bit different. The LEGO Movie is a mix of, well, every possible universe, while The LEGO Batman movie is mostly DC universe - with a mixture of different villains released by Joker. Also that certain meta feeling is not there, that was in The LEGO Movie, but that might've been good. The difference between the two is that The LEGO Movie was, in a way, about Legos. Now the characters in The LEGO Batman Movie are made of legos, sure, so are buildings and all that, but it's not addressed so much. We don't have to think about it. It could be just another superhero movie, apart from few jokes that require Legos.
This was so much fun! Since I obviously went to see this in English (and since the subtitles didn't work), the audience was mostly grown ups, and every one of us was laughing. And there were so many kind of jokes. One of my favourites is Batman saying it would be stupid to have villains fight villains.
And of course The LEGO Batman Movie isn't just action and fun, even though that would've worked too. There's some pretty deep and important stuff about Bruce getting over his fear of intimacy and all that. Of course all that is kind of sappy, but hey, when isn't stuff like that sappy? It's still really nice to see Bruce Wayne / Batman actually have more character development in The LEGO Batman Movie than in the whole Nolan trilogy. Also there are probably a lot of adults out there who might actually see their own issues in Bruce Wayne, who is not going to just be dark brooding Batman and never let anyone close. And also I mean it gives children a nice lesson about family as well. Altogether all the life lessons in The LEGO Batman Movie were so nice, and even if they were sappy, even someone with cynic's traits might melt a bit. I know I did.
Right now I can't think of anything wrong with this movie. It was a great experience! It has the best parts of a children's movie and a superhero movie. It's an excellent movie, better than any other Batman movie, and the only Batman movie I've given a full 10/10.
