enigmatic_alex44
Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
Saw X-men Apocalypse on opening weekend and liked it, but certainly didn't love it. The best thing I can say is that Cyclops and Storm were a big improvement from the older films, and that it was better than The Last Stand. It did make me question if the oldest X-men movies, in particular X2, were ever truly great or if they're just a product of their time, seeing as how X2 was my fave CBM for quite a long time.
Rewatched X2 on the weekend and it's a relief to find it's still a fantastic film that feels fresh (even the CG has aged well, minus the Mystique in the toilet stall transformation). I've been torn since seeing Days of Future Past (and the Rogue Cut version of DOFP too) on which movie would be my favorite X-flick, I've had them locked in a "tie" for fave since 2014.
Curious what the consensus is between these two movies, as I think the general consensus online seems to be that X2 and DOFP are the two top films in the franchise.
X2:
+ Jean, Magneto, Xavier, Nightcrawler, Mystique and Wolverine were all perfectly cast and were clearly comfortable in their roles (after the slightly rough X1)
+ Great soundtrack
+ Special effects still look really good minus a few scenes where Mystique transforming is very "2003 CG". X2 gets props for being a massive improvement from X1 which looks almost budget cosplay in comparison
+ Feels like a movie anyone can enjoy, not just a superhero flick for "comic book fans" that some older CBMs fall into. X2 is the movie that kind of set the grounded tone for the series, improving on X1 in every way
+ "Have you tried not being a mutant?" Being able to equate the struggles of mutants with real life issues that LGBT people face makes the film resonate with people more than your average CBM
- The pacing of the movie is an issue. It never feels like the film is building up to a grand finale, it feels like each scene just kind of happens.
- The finale teasing Phoenix was such a huge cliffhanger to end on, and seeing how enormously Last Stand botched that (among many other things), it kind of lessens X2 for me a bit
- Killing all mutants was kind of a dumb, generic motive for Stryker. Then Magneto rearranging a few panels in Cerebro somehow changes it to kill all humans? A mess
- Storm is such a let down. She's my favorite Marvel character and the new girl in Apocalypse was a slight improvement, but the watered down Halle Berry version is my biggest pet peeve with this franchise
- Cyclops and Mystique were barely characters. Rebecca Romijn was fantasic as Mystique, but she is given almost nothing to do except hack into a computer, oh and flip the bird while sliding under a door I guess
DOFP:
+ Incredible job done with Bishop and Blink. Their actors, looks, powers, everything with these two was flawless
+ Ramping up the on screen powers was a good decision despite being earlier in the timeline for some parts, everybody felt too nerfed in X2
+ The JLaw haters are very vocal but I've always enjoyed her as Mystique. Whew, that scene where she leads the Vietnamese general on to get some intel and he tries getting her clothes off in the hotel after calling her "baby" and she transforms "what's the matter, baby? You don't think I look pretty like this?" before putting the smack down on him
+ Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Right on par with Ian Mckellan imo and every scene with Fassy in DOFP is just gold
+ Quicksilver (I don't think he's overly broken either as Apocalypse somewhat addressed that issue)
+ Maybe unfair, but seeing both the old and new cast on screen was a huge bonus if you've watched these from the start, especially as the ending
is legit the only time I've ever teared up in an X-men film
+ The ending. It's a pretty definitive ending for the most part if you stop watching the movies here and can leave feeling satisfied. Doesn't feel like sequel bait the way X2 kind of did when it ended
+ The stakes in the film felt a lot higher but also a lot more personal than X2 or any of the other movies (including Apoc)
- A ton of focus on Wolverine again. Not as bad as X2, and I love Hugh as Wolvie but after so many "Wolverine and Friends" films PLUS two solo movies, it's gotten tired
- Magneto using train track metal strips to control the Sentinals REALLY requires a massive suspension of disbelief. Since the rest of the film is laid out so well, I don't know why they couldn't come up with a better solution for that
- Kitty suddenly having the power to send someone's consciousness back in time out of nowhere was a bit ridiculous, as was Logan suddenly having metal claws again with no on screen explanation. It highlights how little they care about continuity in the X-flicks *sigh*
- The 70s sentinels were a bit goofy looking, and way too small (the future ones felt like a legit threat though thankfully)
DOFP > X2 since DOFP feels like it'll age just as well, but it has better pacing, better action scenes with really cool use of powers, and it builds up to a great finale plus the "main threat" in the film is better realized.
Which of the two films do you think is the better X-flick? Can't go wrong either way honestly.
Rewatched X2 on the weekend and it's a relief to find it's still a fantastic film that feels fresh (even the CG has aged well, minus the Mystique in the toilet stall transformation). I've been torn since seeing Days of Future Past (and the Rogue Cut version of DOFP too) on which movie would be my favorite X-flick, I've had them locked in a "tie" for fave since 2014.
Curious what the consensus is between these two movies, as I think the general consensus online seems to be that X2 and DOFP are the two top films in the franchise.
X2:
+ Jean, Magneto, Xavier, Nightcrawler, Mystique and Wolverine were all perfectly cast and were clearly comfortable in their roles (after the slightly rough X1)
+ Great soundtrack
+ Special effects still look really good minus a few scenes where Mystique transforming is very "2003 CG". X2 gets props for being a massive improvement from X1 which looks almost budget cosplay in comparison
+ Feels like a movie anyone can enjoy, not just a superhero flick for "comic book fans" that some older CBMs fall into. X2 is the movie that kind of set the grounded tone for the series, improving on X1 in every way
+ "Have you tried not being a mutant?" Being able to equate the struggles of mutants with real life issues that LGBT people face makes the film resonate with people more than your average CBM
- The pacing of the movie is an issue. It never feels like the film is building up to a grand finale, it feels like each scene just kind of happens.
- The finale teasing Phoenix was such a huge cliffhanger to end on, and seeing how enormously Last Stand botched that (among many other things), it kind of lessens X2 for me a bit
- Killing all mutants was kind of a dumb, generic motive for Stryker. Then Magneto rearranging a few panels in Cerebro somehow changes it to kill all humans? A mess
- Storm is such a let down. She's my favorite Marvel character and the new girl in Apocalypse was a slight improvement, but the watered down Halle Berry version is my biggest pet peeve with this franchise
- Cyclops and Mystique were barely characters. Rebecca Romijn was fantasic as Mystique, but she is given almost nothing to do except hack into a computer, oh and flip the bird while sliding under a door I guess
DOFP:
+ Incredible job done with Bishop and Blink. Their actors, looks, powers, everything with these two was flawless
+ Ramping up the on screen powers was a good decision despite being earlier in the timeline for some parts, everybody felt too nerfed in X2
+ The JLaw haters are very vocal but I've always enjoyed her as Mystique. Whew, that scene where she leads the Vietnamese general on to get some intel and he tries getting her clothes off in the hotel after calling her "baby" and she transforms "what's the matter, baby? You don't think I look pretty like this?" before putting the smack down on him
+ Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Right on par with Ian Mckellan imo and every scene with Fassy in DOFP is just gold
+ Quicksilver (I don't think he's overly broken either as Apocalypse somewhat addressed that issue)
+ Maybe unfair, but seeing both the old and new cast on screen was a huge bonus if you've watched these from the start, especially as the ending
when the camera finally reveals Jean being alive and well
+ The ending. It's a pretty definitive ending for the most part if you stop watching the movies here and can leave feeling satisfied. Doesn't feel like sequel bait the way X2 kind of did when it ended
+ The stakes in the film felt a lot higher but also a lot more personal than X2 or any of the other movies (including Apoc)
- A ton of focus on Wolverine again. Not as bad as X2, and I love Hugh as Wolvie but after so many "Wolverine and Friends" films PLUS two solo movies, it's gotten tired
- Magneto using train track metal strips to control the Sentinals REALLY requires a massive suspension of disbelief. Since the rest of the film is laid out so well, I don't know why they couldn't come up with a better solution for that
- Kitty suddenly having the power to send someone's consciousness back in time out of nowhere was a bit ridiculous, as was Logan suddenly having metal claws again with no on screen explanation. It highlights how little they care about continuity in the X-flicks *sigh*
- The 70s sentinels were a bit goofy looking, and way too small (the future ones felt like a legit threat though thankfully)
DOFP > X2 since DOFP feels like it'll age just as well, but it has better pacing, better action scenes with really cool use of powers, and it builds up to a great finale plus the "main threat" in the film is better realized.
Which of the two films do you think is the better X-flick? Can't go wrong either way honestly.
