smeg_: I finally got around to seeing X-Men 3 t

Smeg, Esq. (

smeg_) wrote,
@ 2006-06-18 02:15:00

Current mood:	pissed off
Current music:	Orbital - Doctor?
Entry tags:	movies

I finally got around to seeing X-Men 3 tonight. I found it alternately breathtaking, disappointing, and bewildering. It suffers immensely from poor pacing and development, diminishing what would otherwise have been poignant, impactful scenes. I won't go into detail for the sake of anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but suffice to say my opinion is pretty mixed on this one.

Instead, allow me to gripe about my wonderful experience at The Belmont Drive-In Theatre. First, all of their showings are double features. As X-Men isn't the "new" film this week, this meant sitting through Cars. Let me tell you one thing about Cars: Cars fucking sucks. The only redeeming element is the character Mater, and the fact that I liked Mater only makes me hate the movie more because Larry the Cable Guy is seriously less than shit. Cars didn't start till nearly 9:30, so it was obvious we were going to be there pretty late.

As soon as X-Men started, it was clear things would not go well. The radio transmitted a constant noise that increased in amplitude along with the soundtrack. This wasn't the low level hiss of background interference; either the frickin' tape was damaged, or their hardware was borked. Regardless of the cause, it gets worse: they muted the audio and interrupted to announce the food stand's closing time.

Twice.

So after putting up with all that, and staying there till after 1 o'clock, we waited through the entire epic length credit roll as I'd been alerted not to miss the final epilogue. As the credits drew to a close, the first frame of the epilogue quickly flashed and then disappeared. And that's it. They played the entire near-ten minute credit sequence, and then cut off whatever followed.

Fuck you, Belmont Drive-In Theatre. Fuck you to Hell.

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Hm... I actually liked Cars...

richter_belmont
2006-06-18 09:12 am UTC (link)

ARGH. That does suck, dude. Stupid drive-ins.

Kinda reminds me of a story... it wasn't the drive-in's fault, but I think of this now whenever someone mentions them. I carpooled with some friends in college to a drive-in theater in the Iuka, MS area. Like the theatre you went to, this one showed double features. They were showing Elf and The Matrix: Revolutions.

Naturally, I didn't care much about seeing Elf, but I was dying to see Revolutions. I thought Elf might be ok since it had Will Ferrell, but no, it was a steaming pile of crap. I tried not to make a big deal in front of my friends though, since some of them liked it.

Then, they decided that we should just leave and not watch the second movie. I was pissed! I expressed my desire to stay and see Revolutions, but they were all "NAH, it's late, we're tired!". Unanimously outvoted, and not wanting to make a big stink, I conceded and aggravatedly rode back with them. And of course, instead of going home, we ended up going to this one girl's house for like an hour and a half. Time that I could have spent watching The Matrix. >:(

Anyway, that is my DRIVE-IN STORY.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	smeg_ 2006-06-18 04:23 pm UTC (link)
	Oh man, that is inexcusable! We're talking about penalty of death here. As for Cars, just do one thing for me: picture the movie with all the characters being people instead of talking cars. Now, tell me you think there's a worthwhile story there. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	richter_belmont 2006-06-19 06:38 am UTC (link)
	I know! Some friends, huh? ;) True... now that I think about it, with human characters, the NASCAR vibe WOULD seem more prevalent. Hrm. I think I still would have liked it though... Haha, I guess I'm just a big sappy kid. Oh well. I can see how other people might not be crazy about it though. I even thought it looked retarded from the trailers. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	smeg_ 2006-06-19 02:06 pm UTC (link)
	I didn't get a Nascar vibe at all, really. Most of the movie had little to do with racing. I just thought there was no story to speak of. (Reply to this)(Parent)

omnihilos
2006-06-18 07:49 pm UTC (link)

Sounds rough, but I hope you don't let the bad theatre experience color your opinion of the movie too much.

I agree that X3 was not perfect. I could go on at length with my issues with it, but instead I should like to point out the various ways in which it was good. First, it's the most palatable "superhero" series I've seen brought to the silver screen. I could never quite buy into Superman, Batman, Spiderman, The Hulk, DareDevil, Punisher. X-Men at least pretends to have some tiny shred of scientific realism (genetic mutation). Also, I applaud them for ditching the traditional Halloweenish costumes in favor of something more professional looking. Second, for a trilogy, I think it does well. I've been very disappointed in most of the recent action-adventure trilogies. I mean, come on... StarWars, Matrix, LOTR? I could pick those apart so much it's not even funny. Third, what other movies are out right now that are better? MI:3, Da Vinci Code, Cars,? Hahahahaha. RIGHT. I've heard nothing but bad stuff about all of those.

Given all of that, I was immensely satisfied with X3. Yes, it's a lesser of multiple evils argument, but I'm sticking to it.

I do agree that the pacing and development were rushed, but it was kept under three hours and had enough action and story to satisfy. I think maybe it could have been edited better, shortening some scenes in favor of lengthening others and maybe it could have been made longer overall. I don't see how you can make everyone happy, though, as there are too many subplots and characters to do justice to in such a brief time. Seriously, even three hours wouldn't be enough.

By the way, the epilogue was not long. It consisted of a single line. Probably lasted all of five seconds, if that. You didn't miss much. I cannot tell you what it was about without revealing a huge spoiler, though.

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smeg_
2006-06-18 08:02 pm UTC (link)

I went ahead and downloaded a video of the final scene. Actually there are three lines in about 30 seconds, but who's counting? :P

I agree with you on the comparisons to other superhero movies (I liked Spiderman 2 and Batman Begins, but I understand and agree with your point). While the Star Wars prequel trilogy was dismal, I don't know that I'd say that the X-Men movies as a whole stand up to The Matrix or The Lord of the Rings. X-2 was absolutely phenomenal, but this one felt lacking and the first wasn't nearly as intriguing to me. I'm not even going to compare the film to what else is in theaters right now as that's even more irrelevant.

I really can't agree with your argument of virtue by way of comparison. There's always something worse you could compare a film to. At least it isn't xXx! The important thing is whether the movie stands on it's own. I'm going to have to see it again in a better environment before I can say for sure what I think about that.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

I liked Batman Begins too
omnihilos
2006-06-18 09:16 pm UTC (link)

Ok, so I exaggerated some. I still thought the scene with Magento playing chess was more artful than the scene in question, but that's just my personal preference.

LOTR has good production values, but even though the story was well told, it never gripped me like it obviously did to the people who read the books. I think it's just a bit dated, and I hate saying that because I know how much some people love it but that's honestly how I feel.

Matrix seemed to get progressively worse. Of course, it gets props for being a breakthrough action movie, the special effects and trademark green filter use, but it seemed to trail off into too much of an incoherent acid trip in the later movies. I know everyone loves it, though, so I'll STFU now.

I also concede my argument isn't the best, but it should be pointed out that there is a bit of a difference between saying something is the best movie playing and saying it isn't the worst movie. Anyway, sorry for being so relativistic!

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smeg_
2006-06-18 09:45 pm UTC (link)

I never read Lord of the Rings. As with Harry Potter, I don't feel like I need to after seeing the movies. It's enough for me. It absolutely is a dated story though, because it's archetype of all the D&D-esque fantasy that followed it. I agree that that works to the movies' detriment, but I still think the trilogy is much more consistent than the X-Men films.

You know the thing about the Matrix movies is that everyone doesn't like them. The first one is mostly untouchable, but the sequels are popular targets for criticism. What's more is that there seems to be a sort of popularity backlash, wherein viewers who enjoyed the movies at first later chose to hop on the naysaying bandwagon. I do love it though, so you are talking to a bit of a brick wall. I didn't find the movies to be that incoherent, but they do punish you for not paying attention. Further, the sequels don't add to the philosophical concept of the original.

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	smeg_ 2006-06-18 09:50 pm UTC (link)
	Also, regarding the scene of Magneto playing chess (highlight this shit for the sake of those allergic to spoilers): Was Magneto able to move the chess piece without touching it? That seems to be what people online saw, but I didn't see the piece move. Just wondering. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	SPOILER WARNING omnihilos 2006-06-18 10:38 pm UTC (link)
	I thought I saw it move and it would make a lot more dramatic sense if it moved, but now you're making me doubt myself... but even if it was an illusion, I think it's neat he was playing chess without a partner so to speak and being reflective and shit (Reply to this)(Parent)

Side Rant
omnihilos
2006-06-18 08:00 pm UTC (link)

Also, I'm very scared to see how the Superman turns out. I get the feeling they want to embrace tradition (and the cheesy costume). I think I will enjoy Kevin Spacey more as Lex Luther than the new Clark Kent character. I think the most updating they've done is to have Lois Lane be married with a kid. Oooh, SO MODERN! Way to push the envelope! Give me a break. 21st century audience is too sophisticated to identify with boring old wholesome Superman. I'm sick of all the one-dimensional wholesome superheros.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Side Rant

smeg_
2006-06-18 08:07 pm UTC (link)

You know, I never really did get into Superman but I do find myself enjoying the Smallville show from time to time. It relies too strongly on its own formulas often (especially "monsters of the week" caused by mutation from exposure to Kryptonite) but I can say with some confidence that it's easily the best Superman story I know of. And of course at the very least, the chicks in Clark Kent's life are dynamite hot :)

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Re: Side Rant
omnihilos
2006-06-18 09:31 pm UTC (link)

I have no problems with Smallville. I don't watch it all that much and I really wasn't thinking of that when I made my comment. I still suspect it may be a tad more wholesome than I'd prefer, but at least they're trying.

I think the movie, though, is hoping to preserve the original feel as closely as possible. I respect it as an artistic decision, but it seems the least risky decision to make and I personally don't think I'll enjoy the outcome as much as something more experimental. Then again, the movie isn't being made for me.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

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