Review - Spoilers: As an Xmen film I'd probably rate it 3rd for now. Maybe repeat viewings will push it over. Far and away better than The Last Stand, honest question can Brett Ratner drive? The constant location subtitles kind of wore on. A lot of the locations they didn't even need, and some of them it was well known where they were. It also felt a little too CW to me at times, Smallville that's it, and maybe some Dawsons. Maybe because Havoc looked more like a whiny bitch, what was he in prison for skateboarding after 10? Fassbender clearly stole the show. He played it, dare I say, better than Sir Ian. I think fan boys can agree fassbender gave magneto that toughness that had been lacking before. Singer's Magneto came off more like a Hannibal Lector, capable of small bits of terrific evil. However his role was mostly of the evil genius, rather than a Evil General, someone that reflects the dirt of life well. A couple times in Singer I thought Magneto would bust out a nail file.
What to change: The coin scene. This scene was actually one of my favorites in the film. It got things kind of going, even though it turned out it was surrounded by a lot of slow, pointless character setup, and settings. In the movie Kevin Bacon asks Magneto as a boy to move a coin with his power or watch him kill his mother. The coin doesn't move after a good try I guess from Magneto, and Kevin doesn't flinch in putting down the mother. After witnessing this he goes into full on rage and everything metal starts shaking. The two guards who brought the mother have their skulls crushed with their metal helmets. An experiment room off the side incased in glass starts going shit canned. But something seemed a little off. It felt like a scene was missing. Would a young boy about his age go into full on rage just standing there if at all. You would think he would feel nothing but sadness and regret and rush over to her, but nothing. What they should have done is have Magneto move the coin a little bit. This is a boy who only moments before crushed a fence when he was just taken away from his parents. Now he know that if he doesn't move a coin she will die. You would think he could move it a tad. Magneto, thinking he passed smiles joyfully, but nothing is happening with his mum. Kevin wants to bring out his full rage for a full effect, so he cheats. He looks down and shakes his head then smiles, and the boy then seems confused and frightened by this. Kevin asks the soldiers "Did you see it move" and they both shake their heads no, because he is authority. This would have played more into the "following orders" theme throughout the movie. Also gives more impact to Magneto crushing the helmets of the two guards.without sorrow, because he believed them to be spineless for not being righteous and therefore only worthy of death. A characteristic that maybe Magneto should have in future segments.
Speaking of that time period, it might be interesting to see exactly what Shaw did to him to bring out his powers. He has that flashback and it seems to be his key to accessing his powers for awhile. Was it a marathon man/dr giggles scenario. I don't know.
You don't kill the rest of the team?: Shaw was the guys name. So Shaw and his goons storm the secret CIA location of the mutants kill everyone in site, even a guy who thought shooting a rocket launcher inside in a circle was a good idea. Did that guy think, someone is storming the building, I better go get the rocket launcher. He probably was a mutant who was a psychic and knew he was going to die, but didn't know how, so he figured might as well give it a go, shoot a rocket launcher in my life. Anyway Shaw says if you aren't with us you are against us, that stripper with wings goes with him, and everyone stands around. Finally havoc and the black dude they surprising kill off, darwin, telegraph their impractical hope of saving her. Darwin dies and the bad crew walk off. You just said if you aren't with us you are against us. Why does he let them live, they are CIA trainees, of course they will suck now but get really good. I think they wasted a chance for a good 10 minute mutant on mutant battle here. Shaw could have had one more bad mutant that he put up to the task with the devil guy and he walk off with gspot torando. Shaw figures they will handle them easily, his cockiness that will lead to his downfall eventually. The extra guy could have died, and the devil guy could have been maimed by Beast (see next paragraph). You could have shown a good action scene, along with developing character as they all use their power they get better and survive the battle but they lose. Good lesson in all. They could have had another good mutant too and have them die so it shows the movies crew aint playin. Are they going to really try and form a team with just these people? Look at how many mutants Charles was finding. But you got to try and kill them, at least try, they will survive but it will be a close call. Havoc loses it or something. Speaking of which why is the bad guy only rolling with a crew of 4. Add a couple fall guys just to take the edge off. Bigger, super strength fellows. One of the disposable guys or maybe both. A rocksteady beebop is what i'm going for.
Beast: I get it dudes a nerd, a geek, wimpy and more ackward with huge feet (why not hands too, wasn't that in comics), but by the end he is called Beast because of how he snaps, and amps his shit up. Just do it once when he was a human, that's all I want. Have him snap, have him show that flare of animal instinct beastiality, or alteredbeast. This could be shown in that battle above. He cuts off the arm of the devil guy. That gives their fight in the end more dynamic because it is the second duel. Maybe the devil guy has regenerative ability and the arm is a stub that he can use as a club though, it is all fat. But with the arm cutting off, the devil guy is about to hurt Raven and Hank snaps. He fashions a weapon out of a lamp, a coat hanger, and a piece of glass, like that guy macgyver. he figures out a way to cut the glass and makes essentially a surgical blade. and slices it off like butter. But before, he gymnastically battles a little. Also what the hell was up with his mouth and talking, it didn't move sometimes. Was that a $160 million movie quality?
Kevin Bacon - Was brilliant as always. Kind of pitter pattered towards the end, but evil work should be springing up down the line.
The wolverine cameo was pointless - give it to me after the credits or deleted scene. You travel all the way he says fuck off and that's it. It's like the Shaw scene. This whole movie seems to be characters that know they are limited by the script. If you are going to do the scene though at all at least have Magneto and him kind of jab back and forth. Magneto wouldn't walk away from that. A holocaust survivor probably wouldn't. Wolverine could have retracted his claws, and Magnet could say as he is being dragged out since they were about to fight "if those were made of metal you wouldn't be so tough". Boom.
Overall probably 6 out of 10. Fassbender/McCovoy/Bacon and last battle scene made up for a lot of shortcomings. The final battle although not a best, you can admit a lot of shit was happening at least, there was a goal at least talked about and accomplished. It went over a lot of things that have already been addressed in the previous ones. I hate when they have the power presentations to each other but that is just me. Things seem to happen only because they were in the script. They said they were going to start world war III, so they went to each side, said they were going to do it, and it happened. Seemed too dull for something that intricate. Will we ever see great mutant on mutant battle scenes in any xmen, ones that involve more than one on one, or two on one mutant. I want to see an orgy just once. What the hell was up with that thing Mystique said at the end with beast and then just them all holding hands.
mn
