Catching Up and Geeking Out
May. 12th, 2003 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ealgyldenI spent all yesterday playing tag with electrical storms, until the lightning won (as it will) and I ended up without power. Very irritating. Even that couldn't wreck my happy mood, though, because on Saturday...
I got a DVD player! Woooo! At last!!
Heh, sorry about that. But I finally got one! And it's so shiny and silver and pretty pretty pretty... Now all I need is the time to set it up and the money to go on a DVD buying spree. At the moment, my selection consists of both versions of FotR, the National Geographic special on FotR, and Stargate (I have an unwholesome attachment to that movie.) No Princess Bride, no Ghostbusters, no Grosse Point Blank... If my shiny, silver, pretty pretty pretty DVD player and I were exiled to a desert island in this state of movielessness, we'd be sad. Eventually. After I'd absorbed every atom of all those FotR extras (eeeeee!).
And I also (finally) saw X2. My movie-watching brain was pleased- it's not incredible, but it's hella entertaining. I preferred it to the original, since the effects are mostly better, it has the benefit of being able to lose the "X-Men for Beginners" weight, and it has some nice anger and angst (essential to anything X). As sequels go, it's definitely more Empire Strike Back than Temple of Doom.
My "longtime X-Men cultist" brain, of course, was thrilled by the whole thing (I turned from the faith years ago [boo, farcical "Trial of Gambit"! Boo!], but you can never really get free). I need the DVD (eee!) now, so I can get all the easter eggs that I missed. 'Cause dayum. This is a flick for geeks.
Wolverine- comicswise, he's a huge fan fave, arguably the fan fave. But I've never really cared for Wolverine. He's always kind of annoyed me with his lost-past-lost-Mariko-lost-Silver-Fox-Weapon-X-Madripoor-adamantium-best-at-what-he-does shtick. Whatever. Movie-Wolverine, though, is a bit more insecure, a bit more tender, a bit more quiet, while not losing the essential scary/savage element, and that really works for me. Hugh Jackman is way too tall, but he's perfect in every other way. One aspect of comic-Wolvie that I prefer to the movie version, though, is his love for Jean. He has a courtly devotion to her and a respect for her love for Scott that fits well with the samurai aspect of his character, and we've seen their relationships develop over the years in ways that make sense. Movie-Wolvie (and Scott and Jean) lack that kind of time, and so the love triangle plot seems a bit random and abrupt.
Still, Jackman does a fabulous job. Too much Weapon X stuff for my taste, but the Wolvie fans were probably thrilled. The fight with Lady Deathstrike was overedited, but nicely stylish yet savage. But one thing- how come he could smell Mystique in the tent scene? He had no problems recognizing her by scent in the first movie, after all.
Cyclops- so, what, did James Marsden wander off to Craft Services and not come back to the set for a couple of weeks? Because he sure as heck wasn't in the movie very much. I don't really mind- Cyclops is generally pretty dull. A couple of nice snarky bits with Wolverine, and his scene after they lost Jean (the "no! no!" stuff) really worked for me (hey, I was surprised too), but overall, not so interesting.
Storm- speaking of not interesting... I love Storm in the comics. She's gorgeous, powerful, tranquil but with a serious violent streak... how does Halle make her so boring? Much nicer wig this time, I'll give her that.
Jean- I know lots of people aren't fans of Jean or Famke, but honestly I thought she was great. Jean is the perfect girlfriend/perfect wife/perfect mother-figure of the comics, and yet... the girl is deeply unstable. That came across nicely, I thought- even in her non-Phoenix moments, Movie-Jean is a bit twitchy, like she's seeing things out of the corners of her eyes all the time. The Phoenix Rising elements have been changed from the comics, but the changes worked well in the format- the scene with the TVs in the museum had a nice "alien movie" feel to it (bit like Independence Day, I thought). And her big "death" scene was cheesy, yeah, but it still choked me up. We really need X3, because I can't wait to see how this version of the Phoenix Saga plays out (I wonder if they can do it with no Shi'ar. Sure hope so).
Xavier- not a lot of him, but Patrick Stewart is perfect in this role. He and Ian McKellan have beautiful chemistry. Two movies in row he's been knocked out of the action because of Cerebro, though. You'd think he'd be gun-shy.
Rogue- not much of her this time either. Like with Wolverine, I prefer movie-Rogue to comics-Rogue (who will never be forgiven for the "Trial of Gambit". Never!). Anna Paquin has a nice mix of flirtiness and pain that seems very Rogue-like, and her sweet little romance with Bobby was... sweet (where's Remy?! I want my Remy!). Her powers in the movie must be under better control than they tend to be in the comics, though, since the kissing wasn't that much of a problem. Hell, when she kissed Gambit before the Age of Apocalypse started, she put him in a coma. Lucky Bobby.
Oh, and the "Ooh, the glove is coming off!" bit with Magneto and Mystique? So, so funny. That's the southern spitfire that Gambit loved.
Bobby- cute, kinda dorky, not much screen time. His coming out scene was fun though. I can't believe they had his mom ask the "have you tried not being...?" question. Has there ever been a movie coming out scene where that wasn't asked?
Pyro- very different intro from the comics, but a good version of the character. He practically had "I'm going to be trouble!" written in neon over his head, but the fire effects in the standoff with the cops were well done (although why didn't they shoot him? They were so trigger-happy with Wolvie and they didn't shoot John?), and the "god among insects" scene with Magneto was great.
Lady Deathstrike- really, really different from the comics version, Yuriko's the Sabretooth of the movie- not really one with the witty banter, but on a physical level? Very, very cool. I like the knuckle-cracking bit. Nice touch. But her death, gah. That was brutal. The adamantium tears were a great image, but was anyone else bothered by the fact that she was a mind-controlled lackey (likely not evil on her own) who dies with a belly full of molten metal? I found that... unsettling. Still, as baddies go, she was a neat one.
Hm, this is really long. I think I'll split it in half. Mas geekery to come!
Heh, sorry about that. But I finally got one! And it's so shiny and silver and pretty pretty pretty... Now all I need is the time to set it up and the money to go on a DVD buying spree. At the moment, my selection consists of both versions of FotR, the National Geographic special on FotR, and Stargate (I have an unwholesome attachment to that movie.) No Princess Bride, no Ghostbusters, no Grosse Point Blank... If my shiny, silver, pretty pretty pretty DVD player and I were exiled to a desert island in this state of movielessness, we'd be sad. Eventually. After I'd absorbed every atom of all those FotR extras (eeeeee!).
And I also (finally) saw X2. My movie-watching brain was pleased- it's not incredible, but it's hella entertaining. I preferred it to the original, since the effects are mostly better, it has the benefit of being able to lose the "X-Men for Beginners" weight, and it has some nice anger and angst (essential to anything X). As sequels go, it's definitely more Empire Strike Back than Temple of Doom.
My "longtime X-Men cultist" brain, of course, was thrilled by the whole thing (I turned from the faith years ago [boo, farcical "Trial of Gambit"! Boo!], but you can never really get free). I need the DVD (eee!) now, so I can get all the easter eggs that I missed. 'Cause dayum. This is a flick for geeks.
Wolverine- comicswise, he's a huge fan fave, arguably the fan fave. But I've never really cared for Wolverine. He's always kind of annoyed me with his lost-past-lost-Mariko-lost-Silver-Fox-Weapon-X-Madripoor-adamantium-best-at-what-he-does shtick. Whatever. Movie-Wolverine, though, is a bit more insecure, a bit more tender, a bit more quiet, while not losing the essential scary/savage element, and that really works for me. Hugh Jackman is way too tall, but he's perfect in every other way. One aspect of comic-Wolvie that I prefer to the movie version, though, is his love for Jean. He has a courtly devotion to her and a respect for her love for Scott that fits well with the samurai aspect of his character, and we've seen their relationships develop over the years in ways that make sense. Movie-Wolvie (and Scott and Jean) lack that kind of time, and so the love triangle plot seems a bit random and abrupt.
Still, Jackman does a fabulous job. Too much Weapon X stuff for my taste, but the Wolvie fans were probably thrilled. The fight with Lady Deathstrike was overedited, but nicely stylish yet savage. But one thing- how come he could smell Mystique in the tent scene? He had no problems recognizing her by scent in the first movie, after all.
Cyclops- so, what, did James Marsden wander off to Craft Services and not come back to the set for a couple of weeks? Because he sure as heck wasn't in the movie very much. I don't really mind- Cyclops is generally pretty dull. A couple of nice snarky bits with Wolverine, and his scene after they lost Jean (the "no! no!" stuff) really worked for me (hey, I was surprised too), but overall, not so interesting.
Storm- speaking of not interesting... I love Storm in the comics. She's gorgeous, powerful, tranquil but with a serious violent streak... how does Halle make her so boring? Much nicer wig this time, I'll give her that.
Jean- I know lots of people aren't fans of Jean or Famke, but honestly I thought she was great. Jean is the perfect girlfriend/perfect wife/perfect mother-figure of the comics, and yet... the girl is deeply unstable. That came across nicely, I thought- even in her non-Phoenix moments, Movie-Jean is a bit twitchy, like she's seeing things out of the corners of her eyes all the time. The Phoenix Rising elements have been changed from the comics, but the changes worked well in the format- the scene with the TVs in the museum had a nice "alien movie" feel to it (bit like Independence Day, I thought). And her big "death" scene was cheesy, yeah, but it still choked me up. We really need X3, because I can't wait to see how this version of the Phoenix Saga plays out (I wonder if they can do it with no Shi'ar. Sure hope so).
Xavier- not a lot of him, but Patrick Stewart is perfect in this role. He and Ian McKellan have beautiful chemistry. Two movies in row he's been knocked out of the action because of Cerebro, though. You'd think he'd be gun-shy.
Rogue- not much of her this time either. Like with Wolverine, I prefer movie-Rogue to comics-Rogue (who will never be forgiven for the "Trial of Gambit". Never!). Anna Paquin has a nice mix of flirtiness and pain that seems very Rogue-like, and her sweet little romance with Bobby was... sweet (where's Remy?! I want my Remy!). Her powers in the movie must be under better control than they tend to be in the comics, though, since the kissing wasn't that much of a problem. Hell, when she kissed Gambit before the Age of Apocalypse started, she put him in a coma. Lucky Bobby.
Oh, and the "Ooh, the glove is coming off!" bit with Magneto and Mystique? So, so funny. That's the southern spitfire that Gambit loved.
Bobby- cute, kinda dorky, not much screen time. His coming out scene was fun though. I can't believe they had his mom ask the "have you tried not being...?" question. Has there ever been a movie coming out scene where that wasn't asked?
Pyro- very different intro from the comics, but a good version of the character. He practically had "I'm going to be trouble!" written in neon over his head, but the fire effects in the standoff with the cops were well done (although why didn't they shoot him? They were so trigger-happy with Wolvie and they didn't shoot John?), and the "god among insects" scene with Magneto was great.
Lady Deathstrike- really, really different from the comics version, Yuriko's the Sabretooth of the movie- not really one with the witty banter, but on a physical level? Very, very cool. I like the knuckle-cracking bit. Nice touch. But her death, gah. That was brutal. The adamantium tears were a great image, but was anyone else bothered by the fact that she was a mind-controlled lackey (likely not evil on her own) who dies with a belly full of molten metal? I found that... unsettling. Still, as baddies go, she was a neat one.
Hm, this is really long. I think I'll split it in half. Mas geekery to come!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-12 02:16 pm (UTC)So much so that I actually can't love SG1 the way my friends can and do, out of loyalty to the movie.
As for Jean, as I rewatched X-Men on FX last night, it occured to me that in the movieverse, they have a built in explanation for Phoenix.
She used Cerebro. That could have kick-started the second wave of her mutation.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-12 03:33 pm (UTC)Re. Cerebro- good lord, I'm an idiot. I totally forgot about that! I was sort of wondering what had jumpstarted her in this continuity, but I just shrugged and went along with it. But that's a great explanation, considering what a big deal they made about how she wasn't strong enough to use it, she didn't have enough control yet, blah blah blah. How very neat! I did like that they used her electromagnetic wigginess in the museum as an excuse to get her off the plane at the end. Wow, Cerebro. Really good explanation, that. Cool.