Marvel Mania 2: The Wolverine

The Wolverine (2013)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima
Directed by: James Mangold


When news came out that they were planning another movie about Wolverine, I was terrified. We all knew that the last attempt at one was horrific, so was another one really a good idea? Not to mention, the X-Men franchise had some new life with the release of X-Men: First Class, so we were at a time for things to start fresh. If there was anything that made fans retract their claws (PUN!), it was the announcement that this film would follow Wolverine in Japan, a very popular setting for Wolverine in the comics. But for me, that only increased the amount of pressure that needed to be pushed on this film. This is a fan-favorite storyline, so they better deliver. Especially since they butchered another fan-favorite story arc when they tried to do the Phoenix Saga in X-Men: The Last Stand. The result was The Wolverine, a movie that was...just fine. Nothing overly memorable, but nothing deplorable. It was just fine. So let's look at what kinda works and what doesn't kinda work with The Wolverine.

The characters that are brought into the fold aren't overly memorable. I know I'm a casual X-Men fan, but I don't think there were a lot of characters in this film that fans were clamoring to see. The only real standout is Rila Fukushima as Yukio, serving as a semi-comic relief sidekick for Wolverine, who is able to impress in an action scene or two. Apart from that, the rest of the characters are pretty interchangeable, and I can honestly say is one of the more forgettable supporting casts I've seen in an X-Men movie so far.

One of the big factors to make this film exciting was the idea that it would follow the Japanese story in Wolverine's life. We get it all aesthetically: Japanese setting, yakuza, samurai, and more. Unfortunately, I think it's a good concept on paper but could use a little help in the execution. There's a lot of mystery and intrigue that could happen with Wolverine in Japan, but he's just kind of there for the ride. Dive into his psyche, give us a chapter of Wolverine's story that actually helps him become the mutant we know and love, or at least up the gore factor.

There's really a lot of potential for The Wolverine to be a fantastic, but it can be so boring that it's hard to sit through. Without a doubt, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine saves this film from being a disaster. He brightens any action scene, adds humor in many places, and gives us a character we love to follow and learn more about. There are some characters that are fun to see and the Japanese setting is at least unique, but not everything is coherent enough to make a memorable film. I mean, I sat through it, thought some of it was good, but couldn't really think of much to say or write about it afterwards. But I certainly didn't hate watching it. There's a bit of a grey area with this film. Not awful, but not great. It's fine. Just fine. But, with how many good X-Men movies there have been over time, this tends to tilt downward toward the lesser pile.

And to close, we have a mid-credits scene to talk about. And it's a pretty big one. Wolverine is walking through an airport when *SPOILERS* Magneto pops up behind him and has his powers again (something that was teased at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand). When Wolverine asks why he should trust or help Magneto, Professor Charles Xavier shows up alive (also teased at the end of The Last Stand). Xavier and Magneto on the same side asking for Wolverine's help? OH MY GOODNESS!!! Thankfully, fans only had to wait a year to see what would happen next because a scene like this can only have the fans hyped to see what happens next.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Japanese setting is interesting and there are a lot of scenes that are pretty good, but there's a minor cohesion issue with The Wolverine in trying to make sense of all of it. Add that it can be very boring at times, and you have an X-Men movie that isn't a necessity to check out, but would be a harmless effort if you did.

The Wolverine and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox

Marvel Mania 2: X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class (2011)
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn


After the absolute failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, plans for the next X-Men movie had to be altered. We were going to get a full-on Magneto origin story next, but when Origins: Wolverine proved to...suck, they altered the plot a little bit. Instead of continue the Origins franchise, the studio thought it best to go back to the beginning and tell the story of how the X-Men were originally formed, essentially rebooting the whole franchise. I remember being really excited for X-Men: First Class because I loved the tone of the original trilogy (at least the first two) and was very interested to see how that all got started. There were so many questions to be answered. How did Xavier and Magneto meet? How did their friendship turn sour? Who was part of the First Class? And on a filmmaking perspective, the biggest question I had was if a different generation of the X-Men story could work alongside the films we've already seen, as well as a film that can stand on its own, and as a first entry in a brand new series of films. All that in more will be answered in my thoughts on X-Men: First Class.

Let's start with the character that has taken a number of re-watches to grow on me, James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier. It might be his youth, but this didn't rub me the right way when I first saw it. I just couldn't believe that this flirty, party boy could grow up to be Patrick Stewart. But, after revisiting this series a few times, I'm starting to see the value McAvoy brings to this part. It gives us the viewpoint of who Xavier was before the X-Men. He had a chance to have a life, to party, to have potential romances. And thanks to the threat of hostile mutants, that has to change for him. His focus needs to be on saving the world and keeping the morale of mutants on the positive side. McAvoy is certainly different from Stewart, but it's the journey to see him evolve into that character down the road that is the most engaging to see.

The REAL star of this series, however, is Michael Fassbender as Magneto. He goes through so much pain and torment, which the audience is able to feel every ounce of it. You understand how he could turn into the world's most famous X-Men villain. This film tells a revenge story for him, as he is out to kill the man who turned him into what he is. That man, Sebastian Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon, ironically plays a big part in turning Erik Lehnsherr into Magneto. Erik actually shares ideologies with both Shaw and Xavier, so the whole film is teasing the fine line his character is walking. The moral dilemma is so captivating and almost provocative because you're able to put yourself in his shoes and question what you would do. Fassbender made a really strong impression here as Magneto and he only gets better with every film in the series.

There are two more characters that play a pretty huge role in the grand scheme of this newer X-Men series. The first is Beast, played by Nicholas Hoult. I was really sympathetic to his story. Pretty much outed by accident as a mutant, Hank McCoy seeks a cure that will retain his abilities, while eliminating any noticeable features the human world would declare "ugly." It backfires and he's transformed into the blue, furry piece of awesome we know and love today. Thankfully, those effects get better as the movies go on, cause they aren't very well done in this film. And then there's Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence. I'm not on the whole J-Law bandwagon and I've never been big on what she's done with Mystique, but this is probably the time she's played her that's been the most interesting. The two movies she's been in since this one, she's playing Mystique as this semi-Katniss Everdeen type character and it doesn't remotely sync up well with the Mystique from the other movies. Here, she at least struggles with her identity and being deemed "beautiful" by society. Her big arc through the movie is whether she'll embrace her blue form and the relationships she develops with Xavier, Magneto, and Beast. Not overly bad in this film, but she gets a lot worse as these movies go on.

If it wasn't for a cameo from Wolverine, this could have easily been in its own universe and succeeded very well. Instead, the timeline is effected to the point where the universe this film is living in will eventually lead into 2000's X-Men. Not to say that it was a bad decision, but I'm very curious to see what could have happened had this been a full-on reboot, instead of a prequel. Like Bryan Singer did for the original movies, Matthew Vaughn did a great job in setting the tone for this new era in the X-Men universe. With other great comic book films in Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service, Vaughn has quickly ascended the ladder as one of my favorite modern directors. Add a number of memorable breakout performances from the main cast, and you've got all the makings of an extraordinary (PUN!) comic book movie experience.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The only thing that hurts this movie for me is that a lot of these characters aren't important by the next film in this series, but that could almost be considered a nitpick. X-Men: First Class is one of my favorite superhero movies to come out of this decade and a lot of that comes from the style of Matthew Vaughn and some key performances from the cast, an origin story is told that is compelling and insightful from beginning to end.

X-Men: First Class and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox

Marvel Mania 2: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds
Directed by: Gavin Hood


After the original X-Men trilogy wrapped up, the studio still wanted to milk that franchise for all its worth, so they idea came about for them to keep it going by doing origin stories. Naturally, the one they wanted to start out with was Wolverine, since so much of the trilogy was centered on the mystery of Wolverine's backstory. This could have really opened the potential for them to do a lot of interesting films that dived deeper into the stories surrounding our favorite characters, maybe even get another shot at handling some of the characters they'd mishandled in previous films. All they had to do was get this first film right and a whole bunch of other problems would have been green lit. There was just one problem. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the worst superhero movies I've ever seen. Heck, it's one of the worst overall films I've ever seen. And this is a thought that is shared with the majority of moviegoers. It's a turd and there's no way around that. It fails on nearly every level and I'm going to stay as far away from the positives as I can. They get one paragraph and that's it. Everything else is going to be about why this movie sucks the big one, so let's get right to it.

Getting this out of the way, there are a few characters I really liked seeing in this movie. Liev Schreiber doesn't necessarily have the build I expected to play Sabretooth, but his acting chops (and mutton chops) were appreciated. Ryan Reynolds was made to play Deadpool, so his early scenes in the film as Wade Wilson are one of the only highlights the film has. And seeing Gambit brought to life on the big screen, by Taylor Kitsch, was something fans had been waiting to see for a long time and his scenes were pretty cool to see.

But the big problem with all of this is that these characters are just there. There's not much of an actual plot or narrative that serves these characters to be useful, but there is tons of potential. There's a story between Wolverine and Sabretooth that could've been something compelling, but they sacrifice that by making Sabretooth (referred to more as Victor in this film) a killer that kills for the sake of killing. Gambit is really just there because fans wanted to see him and the studio probably thought they were doing us all a big favor. And what they do to Deadpool by the end of the film is one of the biggest sins that a major comic book film has ever committed. It's never been new to have a bunch of characters in these X-Men movies, but the better X-Men films are the ones that can make all those characters important to the plot. Here, they are just...here.

If there's one thing that didn't hold up from the start of the film, it was the special effects. There's way too much CGI going on that the film feels more like a crappy video game than an actual film. The biggest sin this movie had was how goofy they made Wolverine's claws look. They'd gotten it right in all the other movies, so why did they think that needed to be changed? Why did they need to make the claws bigger and more animated? A few months before the movie was released, I remember nearly everyone bootlegging the film with a version that had a lot of the major special effects not completed yet. Because of that, most people who were going to see the movie had already seen it. The filmmakers probably said "screw it" and phoned in the effects as revenge.

When I was all done with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I was not only disappointed, but underwhelmed. The origin doesn't give us anything the casual viewer couldn't already guess. The "twists and turns" are easily predictable and the most compelling part of the film (where Wolverine and Sabretooth fight through numerous historical wars) is told in the form of an opening credits montage. There are better films out there with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, a much better film to see Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and a film for Gambit on the way (starring Channing Tatum). So, there's literally nothing redeeming that should have X-Men fans coming back to this film. It's, hopefully, the weakest installment that we'll ever see in this franchise. If I ever live to see a worse X-Men movie come out, may God have mercy on all our souls.

Are the post-credits scenes worth our time? Minor *SPOILERS* for anyone who cares. The mid-credits scene has Stryker interrogated over the death of General Munson, which isn't really relevant after this film ends, so I couldn't care less. And the post-credits scene shows Deadpool start to pull himself together, with his severed head shushing the audience. Were they hinting that THIS Deadpool would be back? Yeah...ok, whatever. I'M FREE!!!! WOO-HOO!!! Thank God! Hopefully, I will never have to sit through another X-Men movie as horrible as this one. I pray I never have to eat those words.


Rating: 0.5 out of 5 stars

This movie's lucky I sort of like the scenes with Gambit, the early scenes with Deadpool, and Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is all kinds of wrong that throws way too many new characters into the equation, saturates the screen with way too much CGI, and fast forwards through all the interesting aspects of Wolverine's origin to give us something we could have easily predicted. It's wrong on so many levels and is not really recommended for anyone that values the X-Men brand.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox

Marvel Mania 2: X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen
Directed by: Brett Ratner


With two hits at the box office, the X-Men movies were one of the elite comic book franchises. But of course, you set a standard that high for yourself and it's only a matter of time before you have to be taken down a peg. We got that in the form of X-Men: The Last Stand. Continuing from where X2 left off should've been easy for Bryan Singer. But there lies the problem: this film was not made by Bryan Singer. Singer opted to go direct Superman Returns instead, and the studio decided to replace him with Brett Ratner. What follows is an X-Men movie that is lacking the component from Singer that I think made these movies work: attention to story and characters. Ratner's directing was focused more on making stuff look cool. It results in so many missed opportunities with getting these characters and story arcs where they need to go. There are a few performances that hold aspects of this film together, but there's way too much wrong with this film and the story it's attempting to tell to consider it a good X-Men movie. So let's look at what went wrong with X-Men: The Last Stand.

Let's get the one major positive out of the way for this movie. Kelsey Grammer is AMAZING as Beast. Just look at that guy and imagine Frasier delivering his lines. That IS Beast. Diplomatic at most times, but knows how to bring the goods in a physical fight. Beast also brings a bit of mythology with him, as he is a former X-Men that has since moved on to fight for mutant rights in a more political platform. Hmmmm...well isn't that interesting to see. The possibility that there have been other X-Men teams in the past, kind of makes you want to see what that would like like. With how their next two films were essentially origin stories, I can only imagine this was a clever way to plant those seeds and spark some interest in the concept. But anyways, let's give credit where credit is due. Kelsey Grammer, the makeup team, and effects crew really deserve a lot of credit for bringing one of the most popular X-Men characters to life in this movie. I just wish he was in a better X-Men movie.

Beast wasn't the only new character thrown our way, but he could've been the only one done right. Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde isn't too bad, but it's hard to get into a character like Kitty when she isn't really developed as a person beyond her mutant powers, and the fact that she was played by 3 different actresses within the first 3 films. Page is the most famous to play her and was treated as such when they brought Kitty back recently for another appearance. Ben Foster as Angel was a huge disappointment, simply because they used him in a total of 2, maybe 3 scenes. He doesn't get to fight alongside the X-Men and doesn't really get any major resolution to his arc. That's what stings. He's not treated like he's an ultimately important character and he's a freaking X-Men original in the comics. And then there's Juggernaut, played by Vinnie Jones. I'll give the writers some credit in defending their choice to make him a mutant, when he's definitely NOT one in the comics. But I can't get over the ridiculous lines he says, how silly his costume is, and how he gets taken out like a punk in the climax. What an embarrassment for one of the biggest fan favorite villains in the X-Men universe.

But where the movie really fails is in its adaptation of the Phoenix Saga. I always thought Famke Janssen did alright as Jean Grey, but she feels really out of place when she's playing the Phoenix. Making her a split personality seemed strange, having Wolverine show sympathy towards it felt completely out of his character, and the whole thing was tied together by Wolverine's love for Jean. I never really liked seeing the Wolverine/Jean/Cyclops triangle just because the Wolverine/Jean aspect of it felt really forced and they never gave Cyclops any traction to look like he had a shot of getting the girl. Speaking of Cyclops, the Phoenix Saga in this film is what wrote him out within the first act. Our wonderful leader of the X-Men folks, just completely wasted without a second thought. I'm not as into the comics as most people, so I can only imagine how much the hatred flows through the veins of must X-Men purists.

To piggyback off that thought, I'm sure a lot of purists detest this film simply because it had the potential and just felt rushed. There's always the lingering thought of what could have happened had Fox let Singer take the time off to do Superman Returns, then come back and do X-Men: The Last Stand. It may not be the greatest idea in terms of making money, but as far as making a faithful adaptation is concerned, it needed that extra touch of care from the director to the project. This was not the way you do a movie like this. Style over substance can't work in an X-Men movie and you would hope Fox would've learned from the mistakes they made from this movie. But NO, it still took one more stinker for them to finally get their act together and realize that a well developed story and characters are what make us like these movies. And while THAT sinful picture still gets a lot of hate from yours truly, I'll say that I've simmered on X-Men: The Last Stand. I still think it isn't great, but if you watch the whole trilogy, it has the quality of the first 2 movies to keep it on life support. Speaking of which...

Since X-Men: The Last Stand has a post-credits scene, I'll put a *SPOILERS* over this paragraph to talk about it. Earlier in the film, Xavier is having a classroom discussion on planting your subconscious into another person's body. After the credits, we cut to a comatose body that was being researched earlier and we find out Xavier has put his mind in the body, thus keeping him alive. It's definitely a head-scratcher at first watch. But trust me when I say it'll play a much larger role about 3 or 4 movies from now.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Definitely a disappointment, but I think enough time has gone by to the point where I can forgive and move on. X-Men: The Last Stand does have a few shining moments, but suffers from way too much crammed in and a noticeable change in directing styles. When Singer dropped out to do Superman Returns, they should've put this on hold. Instead, they rushed it out and we were given an unsatisfying conclusion to an otherwise enjoyable trilogy of superhero movies.

X-Men: The Last Stand and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox

Marvel Mania 2: X2: X-Men United

X2: X-Men United (2003)
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen
Directed by: Bryan Singer


X-Men was that movie that really revitalized the superhero genre. Fans flocked to theaters to see their favorite heroes come to life, showing Hollywood that we would definitely turn out for the X-Men and many other heroes for years to come. 16 years later and things really haven't changed. So, it was only a matter of time before we got a sequel to the 2000 hit, leading us to X2: X-Men United. Turning X-Men into a franchise is a brilliant move because there are so many stories and characters you can explore. X2 knew how to do this the right way, by building on the characters we knew and introduce a bunch of new characters we haven't seen on film yet. I used to own the first two X-Men movies on DVD (one of the first two DVDs to ever be in my collection) and I always recall watching X2 more than the first movie. I think the story was a lot richer in this film and the characters provided a lot more memorable moments that left an imprint on me. It has since garnered much praise as being one of the all-time greatest superhero sequels and is considered the best X-Men movie to date. Let's see why...

The first major plus for the movie is Alan Cumming as fan favorite Nightcrawler. From the opening scene, fans were happy to see how they were able to bring Nightcrawler to life. He's not too saturated in the plot, but he gets the job done whenever he is on screen. I really liked his look and his role as the team's conscience in this movie. I just wish he would've stuck around for another movie or two. But, from what I've heard, they didn't have a whole lot for him to do character wise for any sequels, so it really doesn't justify the multiple hours Cumming would have had to sit in the makeup chair to do so little. Such a shame. Oh well, at least we'll get to see another interpretation of Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse.

We also get a chance to further develop some players from the first movie that were kind of in the background. Like Iceman, played by Shawn Ashmore. The big developing moments for him are in his relationship with Rogue, played by Anna Paquin. Their big struggle is obviously over being in a relationship with Rogue's powers playing a huge factor in a lack of intimacy. It's a compelling stuff and you also are getting a peek at the next class of X-Men. These are the rookie players, the ones that are still developing who they are and mastering their powers. They will play key roles in the X-Men team down the road, but not today. It adds a nice barrier of the teens and the adults that plays very smartly with two of the major age demographics watching the film.

Another big highlight for the film is the scene where Pyro, played by Aaron Stanford, fights the police in a huge effects spectacle of fire and destruction. I found Pyro one of the most compelling characters of the film, following his downward spiral from potential X-Men member to member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. We got to develop a lot more of the Brotherhood by getting in-depth looks at characters like Pyro and Mystique, played by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. They aren't just stereotypical villains, they are living people and have complexities to them. We get to see a lot of that and learn about their motives and morals in the humans vs. mutants debate.

The villain on the human side of that debate is Col. William Stryker, played wonderfully by Brian Cox. Stryker's that villain you just wanna punch out, and he knows how to piss off every mutant around. He's just absolutely despicable in everything he does and Cox does it with a grin on his face. How can you not love to hate that? He also holds the key to Wolverine's memories, making it a constant struggle on whether Wolverine will be able to focus on his mission or if he'll seek out Stryker for answers instead. In the world of comic book movie villains, I always hold Stryker as one of my all-time favorite baddies to watch.

There's so many aspects of X2: X-Men United that I haven't even scratched the surface on. The home invasion scene at the school, Magneto escaping his plastic prison, the fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike, Jean Grey fighting off the dam breaking, and so much more. It's just a movie that is packed to the brim with amazing cinematic moments and is an absolute favorite for so many. 13 years later and the movie is still considered by many to be the point when the X-Men movies peaked. It sets the standard for all other X-Men movies to live up to, and unfortunately, not many can live up to the awesomeness of X2. We'll soon see where a lot of these movies went wrong, but for now, let's celebrate what a good X-Men movie looks like by embracing this film for all it is.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Raising the bar at every possible level, this is one of the best superhero sequels ever. I'll add one better and say X2: X-Men United is one of the best superhero movies ever. There are so many iconic moments in this movie, that you'll lose count. If you call yourself a comic fan and you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favor and seek it out immediately. You won't regret it.

X2: X-Men United and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox

Marvel Mania 2: X-Men

X-Men (2000)
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman
Directed by: Bryan Singer


We've got another X-Men movie coming out this year (this month, in fact), so there's no time like the present to give my thoughts on all the previous X-Men movies (not counting Deadpool, because I already reviewed that earlier this year when it came out). By the time the first X-Men movie was released in 2000, Marvel had already received a modest amount of critical and financial success with Blade in 1998. However, X-Men was really the first major success story Marvel had at adapting a globally known comic book franchise to the big screen. People knew X-Men through the comics or the '90s animated series, so when it was announced it would be a movie, it was a big deal. And Marvel movies from a decade earlier were horrible, so the pressure was on to make sure this was a success. With how the landscape is for comic book movies, it comes as no surprise that the film struck a chord with its core audience at the time. But that was 16 years ago when all the concepts felt new. With how saturated the genre has become, can one of the originals still hold strong all these years later? Well, I'm going to look at X-Men and base my thoughts on two playing fields. The first is the directing style of Bryan Singer and the second is looking at the early 2000s style decisions (I'm already assuming the latter is going to show some serious signs of aging). And of course, I'll take a look at those iconic characters and how many were (and some weren't) adapted properly in the original X-Men trilogy. So for now, let's focus our attention to the one that started it all, 2000's X-Men.

Let's start with the character that has become the icon of this series: Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman. It's almost impossible to separate the two in today's society. Hugh Jackman IS Wolverine and has been for quite some time. It's a shame that's all coming to an end next year, but we can look back on his debut performance in this film and smile. Wolverine was the fresh set of eyes the audience needed to be introduced to this strange world of mutants. Wolverine is that proper blend of attitude and humor that works really well in all the scenes he's in and I honestly couldn't see anyone else play him at this point. Once Jackman is done as Wolverine, retire the character for at least a decade and maybe then we can find an actor who would be willing to fill out those claws.

Another iconic performance in the X-Men trilogy is Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier. Not much else needs to be said. Watch the films, look at that guy and tell me that isn't Professor X. It's a perfect casting. He can be a compassionate mentor, but knows how to get serious when it's towards the proper objective. When he speaks, I'm glued to the TV. Maybe it's not an act. Maybe Patrick Stewart really has mutant powers to control my mind. With how good he plays Xavier, I'd believe it.

The third major staple of the X-Men series is Magneto, played expertly by Ian McKellen. It's already a plus that Magneto has awesome powers, but where McKellen really gets to shine in the role is through Magneto's motivations and rules. When he gets a chance to speak, you really understand where he's coming from and you know what his objective is. You may not agree with it, but there's not a whole lot you're gonna do to be able to stop him. I recently heard a critique of the performance saying McKellen felt too old and wasn't as physically imposing as other villains, but I kinda liked that. He's not supposed to be like the other villains. He should have his own style and flavor that makes him stand out as one of the greats, and I think McKellen helps make that very possible as these films go on.

For all the iconic performances we had in the original X-Men series, we had a few that fell a little flat. The first major one is Halle Berry as Storm. Berry is a good actress when she wants to be, but something fell flat when she was Storm. I didn't get this strong and empowered vibe with her, but more of a '90s "girl power" vibe. And that was the problem. Berry as Storm felt more like she was playing up to the girls, rather than play the dignified woman she is in the comics. Her performance is especially awkward in this first film due to an accent that comes and goes throughout the entire film. It's entirely dropped with the sequels, but listening to her talk in this first film is very confusing. The other character that disappointed was Cyclops, played by James Marsden. However, I don't blame Marsden. I actually didn't think he was bad at Cyclops in his performance. The problem throughout the entire trilogy was that I don't think the writers knew what to do with him. He was always the noble character, almost a boy scout, which doesn't lead to the most interesting opportunities for a character that's supposed to lead this team. Because of that, he always feels in the background and he doesn't deserve that. Mardsen could've shined as Cyclops had they just figured out his purpose to the main plot.

When Bryan Singer was selected to direct X-Men, he hadn't really paid any attention to the comics or the animated series. Not that he hated the idea of comic books, as he has stated he values the art of storytelling and has a passion for science fiction. With how we perceive his movies today, it's hard to see anyone else direct an X-Men movie because he's so good at it, yet he's not an expert on the source material. I think Singer is a great filmmaker for the reason that he isn't necessarily a fanboy. He takes in the source material and finds an opportunity to adapt it into a story that makes sense on film. That's why I didn't mind the costume design for the film. People were probably holding out for the yellow and blue spandex, but at the time, it probably wouldn't have translated as well as we think it would. We needed a good, but serious superhero movie at the time so the genre could have some faith and credibility restored. Where the story needed to succeed on was in the story and the characters, something Singer knows how to do very well. Because of that, the movie was a huge success, opened the door for other superhero movies to get the green light, and left the door wide open for this successful film to turn into a franchise.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

X-Men holds up very strong as a superhero movie thanks to many standout performances, as well as the storytelling and directing style of Bryan Singer. Sure a few of the major characters aren't handled the best and this film is teeming with filmmaking tropes from the late '90s and early 2000s, but I still think this is a crucial point in the history of superhero films that deserves to be watched by all comic book fans.

X-Men and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox

Marvel Mania 2: MCU Phase 3- Captain America: Civil War Review

Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson
Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo


There I was, sitting in the movie theater waiting for all the hype to be over. I was beyond nervous. The MCU has been around since 2008 and we've arrived at the 13th installment. Adapting a big comic book like Civil War could result in something utterly disappointing. Having groups of superheroes fight each other could come off as underwhelming. Trying to get so many things in one film could have been catastrophic. Insert your own joke about Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Anyways, I knew heading in that Captain America: Civil War had a lot to live up to. It needs to be a good adaptation of the Civil War comic, be a successful sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and needs to get Phase 3 of the MCU off to a good start with the introductions of new characters in Black Panther and Spider-Man. The deck was stacked against them and they didn't flinch for a second. I sat there for 2 1/2 hours absolutely mesmerized by their efforts. By the end of it, I wanted to see it again right away. It's the same kind of feeling I had with Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ant-Man. Marvel had done it again for this comic book fan, and I'd argue that with repeat viewings this could go down as the best movie the MCU has given us thus far. But for now, let's look at my first impressions for Captain America: Civil War.

Let's start with the Civil War aspect. The two sides are very split and it was very easy for fans to be split heading in. But I found that I was constantly changing sides as the narrative was unfolding. You can see the ideologies of both sides. See where they're in the right and when they're in the wrong. You can see how the others are able to pick a side and stick to it. This doesn't feel like a minor squabble. Stakes feel real, political, and physical. And then when they got to the big fight at the airport, I'll say that there's probably no other scene that'll keep me THAT entertained this year and maybe for a few years. As a comic book fan, seeing Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Spider-Man all fighting at one time was a dream come true.

But, if people are going in expecting this to be another Avengers movie, I think they'll have the wrong idea. This should be, first and foremost, a sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. A good focus in the plot has to do with progressing the storyline between Captain America and Bucky. And one of the highlight performances in the film is Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes. You can see the amount of torment and grief he is putting himself through during all of this. You feel the pain he feels and you want to see him overcome all this. The best friendship that he has with Steve Rogers is something that most audience members can identify with and serves as a building block that'll help cement what initial side of this battle you're on. For me, it was really easy to be on Team Captain America thanks to the story that was being told.

Gravitating over to Team Iron Man is a bit more on the surface and materialist. It's the unveiling of new characters that brought a lot of intrigue for Civil War. The first is Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman. I'm a tad unfamiliar with the folklore of Black Panther, but this movie did a great job of giving me the general idea. I had no idea how vengeful Panther could be and I loved seeing his motivations play out on the side of rage and revenge. It's a different side to a mainstream Marvel character that I've seen in the MCU and I hope that carries over into his own movie. If the Panther we saw in Civil War is the same we'll see in the Black Panther movie, I'll be a happy customer. But the thing I think most comic book fans were anxious to see was Tom Holland portray Spider-Man in the MCU. While not in the film entirely too long, I got the impression for Spider-Man that I was hoping for. He had that wit to him when he was in the suit, but had that braininess to him when he was playing Peter Parker. This left a permanent smile on my face, as I had seen the best version of my favorite superhero come to life on the big screen in as little as a half hour. The fact that they were able to do all that in that short of time, I'm beyond excited for him to get his own full-length movie franchise.

With how much they put in this film, you'd think it would end up like all the other messy comic book movies we've had in the past. Yet, Captain America: Civil War feels like the exception to that rule. For 2 1/2 hours, it's nothing but quality. We're seeing our favorite characters faithfully adapted for film. We're given fantastic writing, as well as a captivating and thought provoking plot. The action is off the charts for the amount of choreography and fun that goes into it. All I can say is that if you even remotely value comic book movies, this is a necessity for you to see in theaters. It's THAT good. The Russo Brothers continue to show me why they're a pair of directors I trust most to adapt comic books to film. This film validated to me that if they can tackle Civil War and succeed, then Infinity War will be in good hands.

And now I'm going to flash the word *SPOILERS* so I can talk about the post-credits scenes. In the mid-credits, we see that Bucky has chosen to be frozen again. Interestingly, it is T'Challa who has chosen to keep him protected. We get a small glimpse at Wakanda, which is sure to make any fans anticipating the Black Panther movie very happy. In the post-credits scene, Peter is at home nursing a black eye he received in the fight, when he tampers with his web-shooter and the Spider-Signal flashes on the wall. Not much, but it guarantees Spider-Man will be back, and that made me really look forward to seeing him again in Spider-Man: Homecoming.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Marvel continues to amaze me with how many great movies are constantly being churned out by them. Captain America: Civil War is a phenomenal endeavor for Marvel that works as both a sequel to Winter Soldier and an adaptation of the Civil War comic. It might take me one or two more viewings to say for sure whether this is my favorite film in the MCU, but I can safely say the bar has been set very high for Phase 3. Let's hope they can keep it going.

Captain America: Civil War and movie images are copyrighted by Marvel Studios