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After quite liking the first film, I was quite expectant of this sequel. Spurred on by good reviews, and promises that the first film was merely a trailer for the second, I ran to the cinema, to catch what would surely be brilliant. Sadly...
Good points dealt with first. As one could easily predict, the effects were pretty darn good. The action was full on, and the fights were done pretty well. The production design was very good, with good detailed sets, good Blackbird action, and so on.
Promised cameos from Colossus, Siryn, Shadowcat, and um, Gambit (sort of) materialised as well, which was fun for a old fan like myself.
On the subject of Gambit however, I am thoroughly against the way his place has been taken by Iceman as regards Rogue. It's not specifically because in the comics, Iceman is the complete polar opposite of his protrayal in the movie, or because I never really liked him much to begin with, or even that Gambit is one of my favourite characters, but very simply the fact that Wayne Rooney-a-like Shawn Ashmore turns in one of the dullest performances I've ever seen in my life. Easy to pick on the kids maybe, but he really numbed my brain. Ugh.
Next up for shooting down, which was one of the major reasons for my disappointment was the horribly choppy editing. In some places, it looked as if someone went a little mad, randomly throwing two second long scenes of Storm and Nightcrawler into the middle of other, continuous scenes, and the like. This got rather confusing and irritating after a while, as the film did not feel like it was flowing, which was one of the reasons I started fidgeting while watching it.
Also, another major stumbling block, there are simply too many characters. Which is a shame, because I'd really like to see 'em all! In any case, there is not enough time for all the characters to develop on screen, and someone somewhere decided they wouyld all get the same amount of screen time, which meant no one developed at all...
Another thing is that Mystique and Nightcrawler don't seem in any way connected in the films, which, well, there are lot of things I can understand did not turn up in the films the way they did in the comics, but this ignored/forgotten/scrapped thread is a bit strange. Maybe in a later film, though Mystique looks a little too young.
In general, the movie failed to hold my attention. If you haven't seen it, don't unless you love action, or an X-Men buff.
I did like the ending though. Cuts it off neatly, while still leaving possibility for a third film.
If there is a third film, I'd like to see, in order of preference:
X-Men:
1) Beast - Another "Blue" character and a really nice guy to boot. Not to mention the fact he was one of Xavier's original students.
2) Gambit - Because he is one of my favourites (though, because I wasn't entirely studious, I didn't quite catch if he was imprisoned for being a mutant or simply because he is a thief)
3) Psylocke - Because she's pretty cool
4) (Arch)Angel - Another original student.
5) Cable - Simply because he's incredibly cool. Though it probably isn't going to happen because it would involve time travel and a whole other load of confusing crap.
Villains:
1) Apocalypse - Ultimate evil, what?
2) Omega Red - Evil commie for Wolvie to try and slice up.
3) Juggernaut - feasible, I reckon, considering he is Xavier's half brother.
4) Sentinels - This is gonna happen, I reckon.
5) Sinister - I always liked this villain, and it looks as though the focus may shift to Cyclops and Phoenix if there is a next.
Good points dealt with first. As one could easily predict, the effects were pretty darn good. The action was full on, and the fights were done pretty well. The production design was very good, with good detailed sets, good Blackbird action, and so on.
Promised cameos from Colossus, Siryn, Shadowcat, and um, Gambit (sort of) materialised as well, which was fun for a old fan like myself.
On the subject of Gambit however, I am thoroughly against the way his place has been taken by Iceman as regards Rogue. It's not specifically because in the comics, Iceman is the complete polar opposite of his protrayal in the movie, or because I never really liked him much to begin with, or even that Gambit is one of my favourite characters, but very simply the fact that Wayne Rooney-a-like Shawn Ashmore turns in one of the dullest performances I've ever seen in my life. Easy to pick on the kids maybe, but he really numbed my brain. Ugh.
Next up for shooting down, which was one of the major reasons for my disappointment was the horribly choppy editing. In some places, it looked as if someone went a little mad, randomly throwing two second long scenes of Storm and Nightcrawler into the middle of other, continuous scenes, and the like. This got rather confusing and irritating after a while, as the film did not feel like it was flowing, which was one of the reasons I started fidgeting while watching it.
Also, another major stumbling block, there are simply too many characters. Which is a shame, because I'd really like to see 'em all! In any case, there is not enough time for all the characters to develop on screen, and someone somewhere decided they wouyld all get the same amount of screen time, which meant no one developed at all...
Another thing is that Mystique and Nightcrawler don't seem in any way connected in the films, which, well, there are lot of things I can understand did not turn up in the films the way they did in the comics, but this ignored/forgotten/scrapped thread is a bit strange. Maybe in a later film, though Mystique looks a little too young.
In general, the movie failed to hold my attention. If you haven't seen it, don't unless you love action, or an X-Men buff.
I did like the ending though. Cuts it off neatly, while still leaving possibility for a third film.
If there is a third film, I'd like to see, in order of preference:
X-Men:
1) Beast - Another "Blue" character and a really nice guy to boot. Not to mention the fact he was one of Xavier's original students.
2) Gambit - Because he is one of my favourites (though, because I wasn't entirely studious, I didn't quite catch if he was imprisoned for being a mutant or simply because he is a thief)
3) Psylocke - Because she's pretty cool
4) (Arch)Angel - Another original student.
5) Cable - Simply because he's incredibly cool. Though it probably isn't going to happen because it would involve time travel and a whole other load of confusing crap.
Villains:
1) Apocalypse - Ultimate evil, what?
2) Omega Red - Evil commie for Wolvie to try and slice up.
3) Juggernaut - feasible, I reckon, considering he is Xavier's half brother.
4) Sentinels - This is gonna happen, I reckon.
5) Sinister - I always liked this villain, and it looks as though the focus may shift to Cyclops and Phoenix if there is a next.