Indulgence

Happy with X-Men 3

Henry David Thoreau
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.

Considering my father and my literary education and my elitist views on art and the human experience -- I do know how to watch a film. There are movies that insists you take it seriously and you do and you tend to judge that film based on the standards it sets for itself. Then there are movies that insists you sit back, relax and just enjoy and then you base your standards on that. I judge a movie by what it tries to do. While Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy insists you sit back and watch the cinematic presentation of that great work of literature, I was awed and amazed by how much of the book he was able to bring out, how much of the intentions of the book he was able to reveal and how much of the joy of reading that book he was able to evoke. When Peter Jackson made King Kong, I watched it and I began to see that he did not want to try and make a powerful, moving piece as he did with J. R. R. Tolkien's literary work; he wanted to make a really good version of an old film. And so, I decided not to look for depth or, as the newspaper critic would call it, a story and instead just allow myself to be brought into this journey. And with such expectations, I enjoyed King Kong greatly. I had fun watching the giant gorilla fall in love with the enchanting character played fantastically by Naomi Watts.

As such, I can enjoy movies like the first Charlie's Angels, wherein it is an action/comedy that defies traditional reality in exchange for the surreal and the humorous. On that level, I was not expecting logic or a grounded sense of reality. What they presented was fun and I enjoyed myself. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the sequel, which I found too "over the top," as they say, and the actors were having too much fun at our expense. They created a groundwork for the surreality in which they existed in the first movie and then proceeded to take 3 steps further without regard for our own enjoyment.

The point I really want to get to, really, is to say that I just watched X-Men III The Last Stand with Datu and Kristi and I enjoyed this movie very, very much. Yes, it has its flaws, but the good parts outweighed the bad. From the first scene, I was glued to the spot, huge smile on my face and shouting deep inside, All right, Brett Ratner, I like what I see! Bring it on!

For the first part, this is much, much bigger than the first 2 X-Men movies. Not only in locations, where everything seems like a real location and not a set but the characters use their powers in normal situations. For me, these people have powers and they use it, it is part of their lives. It wasn't like the Brian Singer films where the powers were used in conjunction with the story-telling or to emphasize a character. This is the true super-hero movie I have been waiting for all my life.

You have to excuse me, I'm a super-hero geek, deep down inside. I grew up reading and collecting X-Men comics as a kid. I watched cartoons religiously. I read every super-hero genre comic that was available to me. I was (and maybe still am) a comic geek. I can recount to you the history of the X-Men from The Dark Phoenix Saga until the first few issues of Joe Kelly's run of the X-Men. That's from the early 80s until the late 90s, if I'm not mistaken. That's 10 years of X-Men history, for you.

I was growing up thinking of what my super-hero name would be and what I could do and what my costume would look like. I grew up thinking of my super-hero team and what was our angle, what made us different. And truth be told, there are days when I don't think about the great book or movie that I'd be writing, or the great love story of my life. Yes, there are still days when I day dream of having super-powers.

And everytime a movie comes out with super-powers in it, I was always sort of, kind of disappointed. Because of budget constraints, it never really reaches the point where it gets really messy and everybody is using their powers. I loved The Incredibles because that's what a movie about super-heroes should be like. X-Men and X-Men 2 was fine, but it didn't have that bigness. Everything felt contained. The Mysery Men was funny but it wasn't your true blue super-hero movie. The old Superman films suffered from poor special effects. Batman Begins is fantastic and one of my top 10 favourite films but Batman Begins is not a super-hero movie. Batman is extra-ordinary but not superhuman.

Funny, but the closest thing to a super-hero film that really made me excited was Sky High. While I enjoyed the film greatly and satisfied my super-hero fantasies, it was written for younger audiences. Hellboy was fun too, but it was mostly Hellboy that we got to see. League of Extraordinary Gentleman was fun and cool too, but they were bordering on the mystical and the extraordinary (Duh!) but not really super-powered. No, I'm sorry... None come to mind now except for The Incredibles, Sky High and, of course, X-Men III The Last Stand.

Let me start, first, of course, by saying that every comic fan of the X-Men will probably be throwing hissy-fits at the creative licenses Brett Ratner took to making his X-Men film. Let me continue by saying, I don't care! At this point, there is no way they could make a fun, believable and tight 2-hour film by following the canon. That's over 20 years of history that they have to put together, after all and not everyone read the comic book. So he's allowed to play around, and let me tell you, he played around a lot.

But the movie was big, action packed and continues to move on in every scene. Not one point was I bored and I was excited by everything he throws at us. Let me say, no one is safe and I was jumping in my seat with every new surprise coming my way. Wolverine loses his fierceness 80% of the movie but is given his due in one scene. Magneto proves why he is one fearsome mutant and not one to trifle with. Jean Grey is given her due, as well as Kitty Pride and Juggernaut. Ian McKellen had a blast as did Famke Jansen and Rebecca Romijn. Anna Paquin is as lovely as ever but lovelier still is Famke Jansen, who, I think, really gets to shine. I'm very happy with what they did with Juggernaut and was totally thrilled by what they did with The Beast and, ultimately, was absolutely blown away as each scene led to a fantastic climax.

I also salute him in lessening the screen time of already developed characters to make way for new ones and for his directorial vision to use certain characters as metaphors for the message of the movie. They might not have done much, but in truth, they helped spread the message of the movie. Some people will be wanting more and yes, I do want more, but for the 2 hours that I was sitting in that theatre, I enjoyed every minute. He was courageous as a director and I applaud him for that. It was a great, fun, summer blockbuster film. It didn't change my life, but it did affirm the inner comic geek in me. Just like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy of Peter Jackson brought a teen-age fantasy to life for me in the big screen, Brett Ratner's X-Men III The Last Stand brought a childhood fantasy to life. Thank you for that!

I so enjoyed myself that I'm going to watch the film again with my friends on Friday (which I am supposed to but I couldn't wait when Datu offered to watch it last night) and I'm sure to enjoy it again.

posted by wanggo @ 5:03 AM