Release Date: May 26, 2006
Watch Date:
“Killing Xavier and liberating evil mutants, Magneto uses the resurrected Jean Grey — now Phoenix, the most powerful mutant of all — against the X-Men. While Logan recruits members of Xavier’s original team and confronts an emerging relationship with Storm, Rogue and Iceman come into their own as the X-Men’s future.”
Things I hate about this movie:
Cyclops is barely in it, and we don’t even see his death. Also, if Phoenix is all joy and rage, why on earth would she murder her boyfriend? Feels like you’d want to keep that guy around.
The mutant son of the guy who invents “the cure”. Why? Could have just been some guy who invented the cure. All the kid did was be scared to be a mutant cause of his father, then refuse the cure, and then go back and save his dad. He had maybe 5 lines of dialogue and somehow he’s on the poster? He didn’t even get a mutant name.
The relationship between Rogue and Bobby. I guess there’s meant to be sort of tension caused by Kitty, but Bobby spends more time in this movie with Kitty, Rogue is barely in the film, and whether or not he’s actually interested in Kitty or if he repairs things with Rogue isn’t really mentioned at the end of the film. So why do it?
Rogue giving up her powers. She was a main character, a major character, for two films. And she gets the cure vaccine and we don’t even see her do it? We barely focus on the way she was feeling that led to it.
The fact, and the movie couldn’t have known this, that the main plot about the film is a debate over whether or not people should or should not get a type of vaccine and whether the government is using it to control a portion of the population. Doesn’t age well.
The way this movie takes itself too seriously. Everything is dark and grey and somber. Future Marvel movies will find a way to strike a balance between levity and action, the way, you know, comic books do. And maybe it’s unfair to judge this film based on the types of movies I know that we’ll get in the future, but I can’t help it. Also, I thought the X-Men movies were too serious and boring when they first came out, so there.
A post credit scene for a sequel that was never made that makes no sense. Jean didn’t just kill Xavier, she obliterated him. So how is he lying on a hospital bed being treated while someone acts like he’s in a coma? That’s kind of way more important of a question to me than, oh wow somehow he woke up.
Magneto’s story arc. Look, it was going really good for Magneto and Xavier this movie. We’re reminded that they’re friends and that ultimately they want the same thing for mutant kind, they just have different life experiences and therefore different ways of achieving it. Neither wishes the other dead. So Magneto trying to talk Jean down from killing Xavier, and the way that he reacts immediately following, that feels genuine and good. The way he is when he loses his power, also very good. His fear of the cure being used as a weapon, honest and makes a lot of sense. His power coming back in a post credit scene? Bad. Why give us all of that story then if you’re just going to immediately erase it.
Plus, you’re just trying to make it so Rogue has her power back and Mystique. Some things have to have consequences. Don’t write a story if the characters aren’t going to be affected by the actions that occur in that story long term. What’s the point of making multipart films if you’re just going to keep making everyone start back at square one every single time. Characters won’t develop or get better or more relatable as time goes on. Just. Ugh. It’s bad story telling.
Things I like about this movie:
Wolverine has some funny lines.
I always like Magneto.
I liked the Hank McCoy, because I like his actor, and also I just like his concept as a character.
That’s it really.
So we’ve done this movie, and we get to move on to some bad X-Men movies, and also some that I like. But that’s a few movies down the line. The year of 2007 is up next, and it’s a good one. All I can say is I’m glad we’re drawing ever closer to the traditional, and more accepted MCU cannon.
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