The "X-Men" Franchise

[StevePulaski]

X-Men (2000)
Directed by: Bryan Singer

Storm and Wolverine.

Rating: ★★★

X-Men has been the sole Marvel franchise to exist during the campier and less serious times of the superhero genre and the more serious, ubiquitous times of the genre. In a way, it's difficult to believe the film is fourteen years old, but the franchise it spawned is still going strong to this date.

For a fourteen-year-old film revolving around mutants, genetic modifications, and including seven superheros it needs to acquaint audiences with, X-Men is still much better than anyone probably would've initially imagined. In a shockingly short one-hundred and four minutes, the film manages to give all seven of its heroes some time to shine, while offering us some seriously contemplative political drama on the ethical ideas of allowing mutants and genetically-modified humans to coexist with traditional humans. The result is a pretty intriguing endeavor.

Set in the not-so distant future, we see that the idea of mutants - or those who possess special powers as a result of DNA modifications/mutations - being able to declare themselves through the means of public registration has surpassed issues of gay marriage, abortion, and immigration in the United States Congress. Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) is the leader of this movement, using Congressional hearings as his opportunity to stand on his soapbox and sermonize about how mutant registration needs to exist for the safety and well-being of America.

Meanwhile, Professor X (Patrick Stewart) is busy constructing his merry-band of X-Men, or, mutants, in order for them to bring about their own line of vigilante justice. We have Cyclops (James Marsden), with his laser-eyes, Dr. Jean Greay (Famke Janssen), whose telekinetic powers prove limitless in size and scope, and Storm (Halle Berry), who lives up to her name with powers that can manipulate meteorology and weather.

Professor X runs a school called the "School for Gifted Children," where those with unforeseen powers can go and still have their own free will and dignity intact. Two new students with incredible potential arrive at X's school one day; Rogue (Anna Paquin), a shy recluse who discovers that she cannot touch another being without the life of them being literally sucked out of them and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a muscular individual with retractable claws that sprout from his knuckles. Both contemplate whether or not they should join X's band of X-Men and make an attempt at defeating Magento (Ian McKellen) and his band of loyal comrades.

For a film that works to assemble a barrage of different heroes and utilize them in creative ways, it's sort of admirable how X-Men doesn't get lost in the shuffle. While not each hero bears a great deal of personality, each is humanized to the point where you feel you could at least recognize and find yourself acquainted with them on a basic level. Then there's the fact that despite bearing a lot of heroes in the film adaptation, X-Men had enough heroes for multiple different franchises when it was confined to the captivating, colorful pages of a comic book.

For what it has, and for what writer David Hayter and director Bryan Singer choose to do with it, X-Men manages to be a surprisingly solid, especially given its cluttered array of characters. The film avoids the pitfalls of a dry origin story by not only giving each character time to showcase their powers and utilize them accordingly, but usher in biting political debate about the ethics and value of having a world with known mutants. Toss in some uniformly strong acting, especially by the likes of Jackman, Paquin, McKellen, and Stewart, and you have a strongly-constructed package deal.

X-Men really marks the drastic change in tone superhero films of the 2000's ushered in. The genre that was once looked at as a piece of escapist camp ultimately became one to show people that things aren't forever and that genres can undergo a drastic change overtime. What became of the superhero genre is something to praise and commend, albeit critique in aspects, and this particular pictures serves as a winning time capsule to that enormous revitalization.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, and Ray Park. Directed by: Bryan Singer.

[StevePulaski]

X2: X-Men United (2003)
Directed by: Bryan Singer

Rating: ★★★

X2: X-Men United plays, feels, and consistently moves with the grace and charm of a comic book, and that's about the highest compliment one could pay to a film of the superhero genre. Riddled with sublime special effects, some characters we can further invest in, and drama and subtext that is further elaborated to provide for a viewing that requires us to keep our brains on, if you catch my drift.

The story reacquaints us to Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and his team of loyal X-Men, who fight for the idea that humans and mutants, those with extraordinary, life-altering powers, can live harmoniously together. However, there has been a great deal of anti-mutant ideology being peddled by Congress and the general public, specifically lead by Col. William Stryker (Brian Cox). Stryker pushes for a mutant genocide, believing that humans shouldn't have to share their planet with mutants in any way.

Of course this calls for some form of combat, which is where our uncanny X-Men come in. The clawed-Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the easily-underestimated Storm (Halle Berry), the telekinetic Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), and the shy but imitable Rogue (Anna Paquin) attempt to lay to rest these ideas, and also, once again, stop Magneto (Iran McKellen) from yet another bout of attempting to have mutants control the universe

Much of X2's success is attributable to the talent of director Bryan Singer, who pulls most of the same punches he used to get the first film off the ground. The only difference is with X2 is that he does things a little bit bigger in size and scope, with larger action setpieces, new characters to meet, and the characters we already met being further expanded for stronger character depth.

The special effects, for me, are what stood out more in this second installment. Singer never missed a beat when it came to filming large, grandscale action in the original X-Men and never does he misstep here. Singer's action, combined with the strong editing work of John Ottman and Elliot Graham, possesses a rare fluency to it, where action exists as something to look forward to and utilize in addition to character development, plot, and thematic resonance. Too often is it utilized and exploited in place of those things rather than working harmoniously with the additional devices - like humans and mutants should.

It also helps that the look of the film is crisp and clean thanks to cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel. Sigel captures everything Singer wants to include in X2 with a beautiful look and style, effectively mirroring the camaraderie on screen with the aesthetic, appeal, and kinetic movement of a comic book. The film doesn't go for the similar, more blatant style of comic book mimicking as seen in Ang Lee's Hulk, which would release theatrically about a month later than X2, which attempted to create the feel by using the picture-in-picture method. Yet, both films find ways to succeed using their own style, with Singer and Sigel's route to a comic book providing for consistent fun and enjoyment.

On a film note, one cannot neglect the performances at hand here. Jackman, once again, works well at playing a character we find it difficult to have sympathy for at times, while at others, being effortlessly fun and likable. Paquin still nails the subtle facial and body communications of Rogue, while Berry and Janssen continue to fit well in their assigned roles. Throw in Ian McKellen for good measure and you have a complete package for X2

After watching the first two installments of the X-Men franchise, the sole word I can conjure up is "impressive." Who would've thought that two films concerning mutants, bearing a heavy emphasis on special effects but not neglecting the human element of the story nor the thematic ideas of discrimination, would live up even after a decade? The fact that the first two X-Men films possess more elements than incredible, bombastic special effects ensures a longer lifespan than your average blockbuster, many of which have a hard time bringing much else besides their looks to the table.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Alan Cumming, Brian Cox, and Bruce Davison. Directed by: Bryan Singer.

[StevePulaski]

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Directed by: Brett Ratner

Rating: ★★

A facility by the name of Worthington Labs has announced that it will now look to suppress the X-gene, the gene that gives their special, superhuman abilities, and is trying to get as many mutants to forgo their special abilities as they can. Any fan of the X-Men knows this will upset the series' main villain Magneto (Ian McKellen), who works to establish a world where mutants have complete control over traditional humans. This leap in science, however, has concerned Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and his band of X-Men, and this is their cue to investigate. On the case are mainly the clawed anti-hero Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and the unpredictable Storm (Halle Berry), who work to, once again, stop Magneto and try to convince that humans and mutants can indeed coexist.

X-Men: The Last Stand immediately turned heads for the sole purpose that, for the first time in the franchise's history, it was not directed by Bryan Singer, who didn't quite have a third film in mind. Singer left to direct Superman Returns, which was released the same year as The Last Stand. Instead, the studio hired director Brett Ratner, whom was one of the many in talks to direct the first X-Men. Ratner has publicly proclaimed his lack of knowledge when it came to the comic book series, but was optimistic that 20th Century Fox's writers - Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn - knew enough about what they were doing in order to make a successful and loyal adaptation.

Learning of Ratner's ignorance of the series fuels one of the more lofty complaints I have about this third installment, and that is the project feels very insincere and lacking in the similar grace and charm of a comic book on screen. What Singer and the film's writers had built, up until then, was a film that existed in respect to the franchise it was blowing on the big screen, not simply to exist. With Ratner on board, and Singer's quips nowhere to be found, X-Men: The Last Stand feels like an advertisement for the series.

For one, there is much more action in this particular film than in any other film in the franchise. After watching the gleefully kinetic and wonderfully stylized violence in X2: X-Men United, it's a shame we have now retraced our steps to incorporate tiresome, listless battles that go on for several minutes at a time, sometimes ten or maybe even fifteen minutes. Because of this, the effect of the series' enticing setpieces has dwindled from creative and something to anticipate to something that causes little else besides exhaustion. Things explode, characters fall, some of them die, most characters move out of the way just in the nick of time, and so forth.

It's not that Ratner's direction and the camera work here is subpar, it's just there doesn't seem to be a method to Ratner's madness here in terms of excessive amounts of special effects and chaotic fight scenes. The nail in the coffin, however, is the writing, which is some of the most atrocious I've ever witnessed in a screenplay for a superhero film. Character development and connections are halted greatly when they were expanded throughout the first and second film, characters speak heavily in goofy puns and inexcusably poor jokes, and Wolverine is given speaking lines that leads one to believe the intent was to make him the most unbelievable character in the mix.

What we have with X-Men: The Last Stand are undeniably good special effects, a further, if half baked, expansion on the idea of mutants and how the themes of this franchise potentially reflect society's discrimination of race, sex, and orientation, direction that clearly lacks the heart of what its predecessor managed to conjure up, and downright awful writing.

While the first two X-Men films were definitely not two of the superhero films I cherished the most, they exercised their ideas and themes of discrimination and individuality to the fullest degree. With that, they took numerous heroes with the common attribute of being physically unique and possessing different powers and a wide range of talents and turned it into a complete two-part film. X-Men: The Last Stand shows what the series would've been like had its ideas been shortchanged and action would've taken prominence; perhaps it was a necessary miscalculation for us to see how lucky we had it for two films straight.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, and Vinnie Jones. Directed by: Brett Ratner.

[StevePulaski]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Directed by: Gavin Hood

Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Rating: ★★★

I'm not sure mainstream audiences realize how massive the X-Men library of characters really is. I am informed by my close friends, many of whom are enthusiasts in early comic books, that the X-Men character roster stretches a mile wide and one cannot watch a few films of the X-Men franchise and expect to know all the characters of the series, let alone a select few in great detail.

It is precisely this reason why I feel that the idea of an X-Men Origins series being made is not such a bad idea, although with the middling reception and box office returns that Wolverine managed to recoup, I feel the studios are thinking differently. The X-Men film franchise has a sizable job of introducing a variety of new characters and villains along with giving them some sort of identification past their superpowers and throwing a conflict at them that they need to solve (or attempt to, at least) in the course of a film. Just the latter obligation is so heavy that it distracts from the other two points. Giving several X-Men characters their own film showing their beginnings and their development on a more personal basis would allow for more character resonation and depth, but also allow the films to spend more time developing stories and villains rather than trying to cram (or completely disregard) the film's core heroes last minute.

Gavin Hood's X-Men Origins: Wolverine has a few missteps in terms of CGI, but on a story basis, it is wholly interesting and easy to sink into. Opening in 1845, it tells the story of Wolverine's beginnings as James Howlett, a young boy who sees his father killed right before his eyes. These combined feelings of anger and sadness that wash over him activate his mutation of having long, metal claws that extend out of his knuckles, killing the man who killed his father only to realize that the man he killed was his father.

James flees his home with the man's son Victor Creed who grows up to be Liev Schreiber, while James grows up to be Hugh Jackman. The two wind up being dedicated soldiers for the next century, fighting in the American Civil War, both World War I and II, and the Vietnam War, before killing their senior officer and being sentenced to death, which they both survive. Together, they are approached by William Stryker (Danny Huston) to work for Team X, a mutant organization, to which they both accept before James leaves after six years being disillusioned with the entire process.

To go on ruins the fun of watching Wolverine's life unfold, which is interesting in itself. Jackman has gone from embodying the aura of Wolverine to quickly becoming the character, portraying him in many different lights, from emotional, to strong-willed, to violent, to uncontrollable, to vulnerable, and so forth. Jackman is assisted here by Schreiber, who manages to work with him to create an entertaining partnership that is less about buddy-buddy charisma but more about two men stuck together and bound by what seems to be a curse.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine lacks the clear love and affection for the material that director Bryan Singer delivered, along with being burdened by some poor CGI/green-screen work here and there, but the film is also missing the downright awful dialog that was present in X-Men: The Last Stand. Writers David Benioff (who wrote Troy and went on to write several episodes for HBO's breakout hit Game of Thrones) and Skip Woods forgo the abundance of useless one-liners for drama, and director Gavin Hood changes pace from directing South African dramas (including the incredible Tsotsi) to a film that allegedly has more depth than one initially would think.

Hood comments on X-Men Origins: Wolverine's possible political side by saying, "Any movie that is simply about good versus evil...is in my view putting out into the world and certainly into a mass audience and young audience's mind a rather dangerous philosophy, which is that there is good and evil in the simplistic and easily defined way. I think that for the last eight years, we've had that philosophy very much prevalent in the Bush administration that if you're on the side of good, at least as you perceive it, then you can do no evil. That's what's so great about this character or about this movie for me and why I wanted to do it. This is a guy who recognizes his own capacity for evil and I think that's exciting in a sort of popular culture kind of way." Because Hood recognizes Wolverine's deeper side and delivers it in a way that is critiquing of age-old philosophy, we get a film that subsequently gives us a more enriching endeavor than your average superhero film.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, and Ryan Reynolds. Directed by: Gavin Hood.

[StevePulaski]

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Directed by: Bryan Singer

Rating: ★★★

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is the strongest, most complete "X-Men" outing since the first two films of the franchise, unsurprisingly so given the return of director Bryan Singer, producer Simon Kinberg, whom now serves as the film's writer, and a hefty budget increase to show off the film's special effects work beautifully. The film also manages to provide the same dramatic leverage as its first two entries, and make the films more about themes and overarching political ideas rather than your simple, interchangeable superhero outing.

Faithful readers of mine will consider how disappointed I have been with this year's, and last year's crop of superhero films, citing disappointment in some way, shape, or form with "Iron Man 3," "Man of Steel," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." My tolerance level for this genre has far past been exceeded and, rather than feeling like I haven't seen it all anymore, I feel as if I've seen everything a few times too much. This is the last superhero outing I care to indulge myself in until August with the release of "Guardians of the Galaxy" and, even with that film ostensibly tackling convention and pre-conceived Marvel quips, I could easily wait till like November if the studio had second thoughts.

The film opens in the future, where a gaggle of mutants, led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and his nemesis Magneto (Ian McKellen) try to save the world from killer robots by the name of Sentinels. In order to stop the Sentinels from being used as government weapons, the X's team of mutants send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back to 1973 to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing the Sentinels' creator Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). In addition, Wolverine meets younger versions of people like Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and learns how their personalities came to be in the future.

First and foremost, we need to talk the film's special effects, which feel more prevalent and intricate than other Marvel outings. For one, the film doesn't feel so much a candy-colored parade of the color wheel, but instead a collection of very intriguing special effects and linear battle-sequences that do not provide for confusion or lack of clarity. Singer manages all of these through a lens that is perfectly competent rather than chaotic, and after recently enduring the mediocre "X-Men: The Last Stand," where Brett Ratner's direction lacked all grace that was implemented by Singer, it was a pleasure to see the man who birthed the franchise and gave it the life it had return to his baby to help it along after four films where he was absent that weren't met with the same considerable praise.

A great scene that shows off the fluidity and flare of the special effects is when Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), a mutant with super-strength, super-speed, and super-agility, tampers with a bunch of enemies aiming guns at him and the numerous X-Men by slowing down time and tampering with their positions and movements while in a slow-motion haze. Hoult - who was effective to a degree in last year's "Jack The Giant Slayer" and "Warm Bodies" - has finally fund a role he can sink into, and is given a plethora of smug lines to recite for good measure.

Second of all, Singer and Kinberg work to resurrect the themes that the original two "X-Men" first presented, which was the question of whether or not humankind and mutantkind could coexist? We can see that seven films later, whether they take place in the past, present, future, or alternate dimension of reality, this question still has difficulty being answered, and Singer doesn't leave "Days of Future Past" to present itself with easy conclusion and simple, cookie-cutter wraparound stories. He genuinely has a fondness for the characters of Wolverine, Storm (Halle Berry), X, and Magneto, and wants to see them portrayed in a respectful light; that's all fans wanted with their "X-Men" adaptations and, after a little chronological confusion and uncertainty, this is what they have with "Days of Future Past."

The question all "X-Men" fans will be asking after this film is "where does it leave the franchise that is now seven films deep with no sign of ending?" The answer is the same as it was when all the film's predecessors ended which is "open for more ideas." We still need to see a sequel to "Origins," the most-recent "Wolverine" endeavor, and a follow-up on this timeline. If we have another game of "musical directors" for these future adaptations, I will be a bit worried. If Singer is in the driver's seat, then it's as if Jesus took the wheel at this point. Right now, I'm just happy I'm not writing another middle-of-the-road review on a superhero adaptation, and even happier this will be my last review of a recent superhero film until August.

[StevePulaski]

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Directed by: Bryan Singer

Rating: ★½

Read the full review on The Baconation, thebaconation.com/review/x-men-apocalypse/