Steel X
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2003
- Messages
- 13,829
- Reaction score
- 55
Brett Ratner? Noooooooooooo!” screamed millions of fanboys all over the world last year. I wasn’t exactly ripping my hair out like they were, but I could more or less understand what all the fuss was about. I don’t know why, since Red Dragon proved that the man could direct as well as anyone, but something about his directing lacked polish and vision. Guess what… Ratner does an OK job on X-Men 3. Hell, I’ll even go as far to say that considering the time and means he had at his disposal, he does a pretty good job. Had he been given the scripts to X-Men 1 and 2, they probably would have been just as good. That’s right, I said it.
Unfortunately, the script to X-Men 3 is nowhere as good as the first two. Kinberg and Penn gave it their best shot, I’m sure they did, but having only a few months to develop the thing would cramp anyone’s creativity. And this is where the “vision” problem on Ratner’s part comes in, he probably didn’t really care. Unfortunately, that’s what separates the men from boys - Singer had a vision, Ratner has a script. He had a script that was serviceable, a great cinematographer, all the actors from the previous movies, a huge budget, but only a few months to do it. “F**k it, that’s enough, let’s make the thing,” he thought.
And while the gamble just barely paid off, I blame Ratner for not having the balls to stand up to the studio and say, “Listen, this is the end of the trilogy, we need to make this spectacular, and the schedule you’re giving me will only deliver a film that’s barely good.” This is a weak conclusion to such a trilogy, and while it’s not Matrix Revolutions disappointing, it commits the same unforgivable mistake – treating the characters like action figures instead of actual characters (remember the 20-minute Zion video game battle?). Yes, the first two movies got a lot of the character development out of the way, but that doesn’t mean that you should forget it all together.
Yes, I promised myself to not rag on Ratner’s directing too much, since it’s pretty good, but there are definitely problems. He certainly doesn’t know how to let a scene breathe and the editing is relentless. It’s all over in well under two hours and while the action scenes are nice, that’s not nearly enough. It’s not even a question of scale, it’s a question of investment. There are probably three times as many characters as in X2, and twice as much story, but it all happens so quickly that you can’t help but feel a little let down (Angel had such potential, but he’s in the movie for no more than three scenes). Take a look at Return of the King, that’s how you end a trilogy! And yet they could still find time for a quiet moment between Eowyn and Theoden. X-Men 3 seems to be too busy rapidly turning the pages of the script and blowing stuff up.
I watched the first two X-Men moves right before seeing X3, and that only made its anti-climactic nature only more apparent. It’s exciting and all, but it just doesn’t feel like where these characters needed to go. And don’t get me started on the whole “cure” thing. It’s a good idea and keeps the underlying themes of the first two movies alive, but the way it’s handled just left me scratching my head. Characters you know and love get a needle stuck in them and all of a sudden it’s “pow, you’re not a mutant anymore, thanks for playing.” Video game rules, man. And in Bryan Singer’s hands, these were comic book movies rooted in reality, not video game movies.
Unfortunately, the script to X-Men 3 is nowhere as good as the first two. Kinberg and Penn gave it their best shot, I’m sure they did, but having only a few months to develop the thing would cramp anyone’s creativity. And this is where the “vision” problem on Ratner’s part comes in, he probably didn’t really care. Unfortunately, that’s what separates the men from boys - Singer had a vision, Ratner has a script. He had a script that was serviceable, a great cinematographer, all the actors from the previous movies, a huge budget, but only a few months to do it. “F**k it, that’s enough, let’s make the thing,” he thought.
And while the gamble just barely paid off, I blame Ratner for not having the balls to stand up to the studio and say, “Listen, this is the end of the trilogy, we need to make this spectacular, and the schedule you’re giving me will only deliver a film that’s barely good.” This is a weak conclusion to such a trilogy, and while it’s not Matrix Revolutions disappointing, it commits the same unforgivable mistake – treating the characters like action figures instead of actual characters (remember the 20-minute Zion video game battle?). Yes, the first two movies got a lot of the character development out of the way, but that doesn’t mean that you should forget it all together.
Yes, I promised myself to not rag on Ratner’s directing too much, since it’s pretty good, but there are definitely problems. He certainly doesn’t know how to let a scene breathe and the editing is relentless. It’s all over in well under two hours and while the action scenes are nice, that’s not nearly enough. It’s not even a question of scale, it’s a question of investment. There are probably three times as many characters as in X2, and twice as much story, but it all happens so quickly that you can’t help but feel a little let down (Angel had such potential, but he’s in the movie for no more than three scenes). Take a look at Return of the King, that’s how you end a trilogy! And yet they could still find time for a quiet moment between Eowyn and Theoden. X-Men 3 seems to be too busy rapidly turning the pages of the script and blowing stuff up.
I watched the first two X-Men moves right before seeing X3, and that only made its anti-climactic nature only more apparent. It’s exciting and all, but it just doesn’t feel like where these characters needed to go. And don’t get me started on the whole “cure” thing. It’s a good idea and keeps the underlying themes of the first two movies alive, but the way it’s handled just left me scratching my head. Characters you know and love get a needle stuck in them and all of a sudden it’s “pow, you’re not a mutant anymore, thanks for playing.” Video game rules, man. And in Bryan Singer’s hands, these were comic book movies rooted in reality, not video game movies.
its your Opinion! but I really enjoyed the movie..
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