Showing posts with label X-Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label X-Men. Show all posts
Saturday, November 04, 2023
Cliffside Emma Frost
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Mutant Sunset
The New Mutants (Josh Boone, 2020) isn't the complete disaster I expected. Blending the superhero and horror genres makes the difference, transforming a generic superhero coming-of-age story into a mildly interesting, claustrophobic chiller. Tonally, the film is, at least, consistent; this time around, the mutant teens study not in a palatial mansion, but an abandoned ruin, and rather than the sympathetic Professor X, their mentor is, essentially, a mad scientist. It's all very gothic and rusty, with a few effective freakout moments.
That the characters feel true to their comic book origins also helps, as do the performances; the actors do pretty well with a bland screenplay, and their abilities are captured quite faithfully by the visual effects. It's also nice that this is the first mainstream majority-women superhero team to appear in film. (It would be nice to see more of that; there's no reason Disney or Warner couldn't assemble a mostly-women team of Avengers or Justice Leaguers.)
The plot, however, is by-the-numbers teen angst; there's a nice kid, a mean kid (good at heart, of course), a blossoming romance, rebellion against authority, awakening adolescent sexuality, and finally the necessary teen bonding, the resolution of their inner turmoil through the conquest of horror, and finally the promise of further adventures (a promise surely to be broken, now that Disney is taking over production of the X-Men films).
This is not to say that The New Mutants is good; merely that the filmmakers avoided a Dark Phoenix-level catastrophe. And so the Fox X-Men films go out with a reasonably dignified whimper.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
X-Men Black
In the last few days, an interesting rumor has started to circulate: that Marvel Studios, in an effort to differentiate their forthcoming X-Men films from the recently ended Fox X-Men films, might recast key roles with an eye on diversity: for example, Professor X, portrayed in the comics and so far on film as a white man, might be black, or Asian, or, presumably, a woman.
This is an interesting idea on its own, but imagine if Marvel Studios went one subversive step further: imagine if there were no white mutants at all in the Marvel cinematic universe. What if, in this new iteration, the X-gene was only expressed in peoples of colour?
I think this could be a potentially fascinating exercise in subversive filmmaking if handled correctly - handled correctly both in the world of the film and in the real world of marketing and publicity.
Imagine if Marvel Studios announced the cast with their usual fanfare, but without remarking on the skin colour of any of the actors. Just a normal studio blitz where they roll out, say, Idris Elba as Professor X, Mike Colter as Colossus, Celina Jade as Storm, John Cho as Wolverine, Adam Beach as Cyclops, Aishwarya Rai as Jean Grey, Aisha Tyler as Psylocke, etc. No white actors at all, just solid men and women who happen not to be white.
Much as I hate to admit it, the first question at the press conference would probably be "Hey...I couldn't help but notice there are no white actors. What's up with that?"
If I were Marvel, I'd probably say "I knew we'd get that question, but you know what? We just picked the best fit for each role, and these are the people we came up with."
If pressed, they could explain that once upon a time in Hollywood, it was not only common, but standard practice to have films and television shows with all-white casts. We still have the occasional film that features strictly men, or maybe one or two women of significance. Statistically speaking, a major film with a cast of no white people was inevitable...right?
As for the world of the film, imagine if the first two or three or four Marvel movies with these new X-Men contained no references at all to the colour of the characters. In universe, no one would notice that there were no white mutants.
Until, let's say, the fifth or sixth Marvel X-Men film, in which it is revealed that the X-gene only ever expresses itself in people of colour. In the comics, X-Men are already vilified for being strange and different; across comics history, in fact, the X-Men have been metaphors for the black experience, the gay experience, the trans experience. What if the films made that metaphor explicit? Imagine if the white characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hated mutants even more, out of a combination of fear and envy? What if white politicians put pressure on white superheroes like (most of) the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, etc., to enforce anti-mutant laws? How would non-mutant peoples of colour be impacted by a world where whites feared and hated non-whites even more?
On the one hand, I'm kind of horrified by my own idea, because the Marvel films are very powerful cultural touchstones, and such a storyline could deepen rifts that already exist. And the films themselves would be pretty darn serious fare, and probably quite disturbing and unpleasant. Not exactly the generally lighthearted Marvel fare audiences have become used to.
On the other hand, in the hands of a sensitive, intelligent team of writers and other creators, such a storyline could be used to show the horrible error of our ridiculous prejudices.
It's completely possible that this is the worst idea in the world. I'm a white guy, with all the blinders of privilege that entails. But the notion of seeing such a strategy play out is pretty interesting, no? "Interesting," perhaps, in the Chinese curse sense of the word...
This is an interesting idea on its own, but imagine if Marvel Studios went one subversive step further: imagine if there were no white mutants at all in the Marvel cinematic universe. What if, in this new iteration, the X-gene was only expressed in peoples of colour?
I think this could be a potentially fascinating exercise in subversive filmmaking if handled correctly - handled correctly both in the world of the film and in the real world of marketing and publicity.
Imagine if Marvel Studios announced the cast with their usual fanfare, but without remarking on the skin colour of any of the actors. Just a normal studio blitz where they roll out, say, Idris Elba as Professor X, Mike Colter as Colossus, Celina Jade as Storm, John Cho as Wolverine, Adam Beach as Cyclops, Aishwarya Rai as Jean Grey, Aisha Tyler as Psylocke, etc. No white actors at all, just solid men and women who happen not to be white.
Much as I hate to admit it, the first question at the press conference would probably be "Hey...I couldn't help but notice there are no white actors. What's up with that?"
If I were Marvel, I'd probably say "I knew we'd get that question, but you know what? We just picked the best fit for each role, and these are the people we came up with."
If pressed, they could explain that once upon a time in Hollywood, it was not only common, but standard practice to have films and television shows with all-white casts. We still have the occasional film that features strictly men, or maybe one or two women of significance. Statistically speaking, a major film with a cast of no white people was inevitable...right?
As for the world of the film, imagine if the first two or three or four Marvel movies with these new X-Men contained no references at all to the colour of the characters. In universe, no one would notice that there were no white mutants.
Until, let's say, the fifth or sixth Marvel X-Men film, in which it is revealed that the X-gene only ever expresses itself in people of colour. In the comics, X-Men are already vilified for being strange and different; across comics history, in fact, the X-Men have been metaphors for the black experience, the gay experience, the trans experience. What if the films made that metaphor explicit? Imagine if the white characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hated mutants even more, out of a combination of fear and envy? What if white politicians put pressure on white superheroes like (most of) the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, etc., to enforce anti-mutant laws? How would non-mutant peoples of colour be impacted by a world where whites feared and hated non-whites even more?
On the one hand, I'm kind of horrified by my own idea, because the Marvel films are very powerful cultural touchstones, and such a storyline could deepen rifts that already exist. And the films themselves would be pretty darn serious fare, and probably quite disturbing and unpleasant. Not exactly the generally lighthearted Marvel fare audiences have become used to.
On the other hand, in the hands of a sensitive, intelligent team of writers and other creators, such a storyline could be used to show the horrible error of our ridiculous prejudices.
It's completely possible that this is the worst idea in the world. I'm a white guy, with all the blinders of privilege that entails. But the notion of seeing such a strategy play out is pretty interesting, no? "Interesting," perhaps, in the Chinese curse sense of the word...
Thursday, April 13, 2017
An X-ceptional X-perience
Logan transcends genre by embracing it and respecting - no, fulfilling - its potential. Expertly paced and scripted, with standout performances from Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart - who have never been better - Logan is the rare film without a single false note. Gorgeous in its epic tragedy, this is unquestionably the finest film of its type, and a great film in its own right. Its choices are courageous, its climax perfectly inevitable, its themes vital, its near-future setting utterly believable.
Most importantly of all, Logan is profoundly moving, and each incredible moment is earned.
Precious few films accomplish their goals as flawlessly as this. Logan reveals the inherent ugliness of humanity and civilization, while somehow managing to capture our fleeting moments of compassion and greatness, righteously exalting - x-alting - them. It is the perfect synthesis of hope and despair, failure and victory, love and hate - the forces that both curse and empower our troubled species.
If the universe made any sense at all, this would be the last X-Men film, the perfect capstone on an uneven but more-satisfying-than-not extended narrative.
X-uberant.
Most importantly of all, Logan is profoundly moving, and each incredible moment is earned.
Precious few films accomplish their goals as flawlessly as this. Logan reveals the inherent ugliness of humanity and civilization, while somehow managing to capture our fleeting moments of compassion and greatness, righteously exalting - x-alting - them. It is the perfect synthesis of hope and despair, failure and victory, love and hate - the forces that both curse and empower our troubled species.
If the universe made any sense at all, this would be the last X-Men film, the perfect capstone on an uneven but more-satisfying-than-not extended narrative.
X-uberant.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Monday, October 24, 2011
Blazing Strings
It's Day Six of my cold and the only thing I can think coherently enough to post about is the realization that I love, love love the combination of string instruments such as the cello and violin with powerful electric guitars. I've been listening to Henry Jackman's rousing score for X-Men: First Class; there's a track called "X-Training" that exemplifies this kind of pulse-pounding, fast-paced, almost melodramatic music. Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica) does this sort of thing well, as does Ramin Djawdi on the Iron Man soundtrack.
I love this sort of music; it's powerful, bombastic, perhaps even a little macho. About ten years ago, while listening to an Internet radio station, I heard a electric guitar-based rendition of Jerry Goldsmith's main theme to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard. Alas, there was no announcement of the cover artist, and I've searched in vain for the track in the intervening years. Sometimes it feels like a figment of my imagination.
So, strings and guitars. Soundtrack composers, more of that, please - I can't get enough. Oh, and throw some heavy percussion in there too.
I love this sort of music; it's powerful, bombastic, perhaps even a little macho. About ten years ago, while listening to an Internet radio station, I heard a electric guitar-based rendition of Jerry Goldsmith's main theme to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard. Alas, there was no announcement of the cover artist, and I've searched in vain for the track in the intervening years. Sometimes it feels like a figment of my imagination.
So, strings and guitars. Soundtrack composers, more of that, please - I can't get enough. Oh, and throw some heavy percussion in there too.
Monday, June 06, 2011
First Class Entertainment
X-Men: First Class
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
20th Century Fox
(Mild spoilers below.)
The creative bankruptcy of Star Wars Episodes I-III has made many people reasonably leery of prequels. Fortunately, 2009's energetic and fun reboot of Star Trek helped redeem the concept; X-Men: First Class completes that rehabilitation. It's a smart, stylish, high-concept action thriller with something to say.
Set primarily during the events of the Cuban Missle Crisis, X-Men: First Class reintroduces us to younger, more swinging versions of characters we've come to know and love in Bryan Singer's original X-films: Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, Beast and others. Though engaging, these characters were somewhat staid in the first X-Men films, their attitudes set, their actions comfortably predictable. But here, the aftermath of the holocaust and fears of nuclear war, along with the freewheeling sexuality and social unrest that were the backdrop of the 1960s, each player reveals new depths; familiar motivations and character traits are just beginning to take shape.
The story is simple but well-crafted: holocaust survivor Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) wants revenge against the man that killed his mother, while an idealistic young professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) wants to find others of his kind and help them integrate with the wider culture. In the background, a cabal of - not racist, but rather "species-ist" mutants led by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon!) plot the downfall of humanity and their own ascension to the heights of power.
An engaging series of setpieces illustrates the growing friendship and ideological tension between Xavier and Lensherr, one man motivated by love and idealism, the other by rage and bitter cynicism. Along the way, they seek out other mutants, assembing an army of sorts to meet the threat of Shaw and his supporters. while all this is going on, each mutant character faces one central conflict: is it better to hide ones differences and therefore escape the prejudice and fear of the prevailing culture, or should one stand "mutant and proud" and celebrate his or her differences? Furthermore, how should the new species - Homo Superior - relate to Homo Sapiens? Is there room for both?
These questions lead the characters inexorably to the final showdown off the coast of Cuba, with Russian and American fleets facing off in the ultimate nuclear showdown - a perfect metaphor, of course, for mutants, the "children of the atom," their evolutionary change accelerated by the radiation of the nuclear age, a clever throwback to a concept that drove the plot of many 1950s and 60s B-movies.
Here the film lurches, quite like Quentin Tarantiono's Inglourious Basterds, into rather audacious alternate history. Both squads of mutants do battle before the stunned eyes of thousands of witnesses - the crews of the Soviet and American fleets. A freighter carrying Soviet nuclear warheads is destroyed. In other words, history is turned on its head, and the crisis plays out completely differently than it did in real life, flipping audience expectations upside-down. When the human fleet fearfully turns on all of the mutants, including those who saved the world from nuclear war, Xavier's idealism is wounded but unbowed, while Lensherr's rage and hate are, in his mind, utterly justified, setting the stage for the mutant schism seen in the later films.
The cast is uniformly excellent, with McAvoy and Fassbender particularly engaging and believable. The dialogue is snappy and the plot sensible (high praise in this day and age), supported by a thrilling score and excellent special effects from old master John Dykstra. And perhaps most importantly, it has a positive but far fromi naive message about the importance of diversity and acceptance. For a summer blockbuster, X-Men: First Class is ambitious and smart, and well worth a trip to the multiplex.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
20th Century Fox
(Mild spoilers below.)
The creative bankruptcy of Star Wars Episodes I-III has made many people reasonably leery of prequels. Fortunately, 2009's energetic and fun reboot of Star Trek helped redeem the concept; X-Men: First Class completes that rehabilitation. It's a smart, stylish, high-concept action thriller with something to say.
Set primarily during the events of the Cuban Missle Crisis, X-Men: First Class reintroduces us to younger, more swinging versions of characters we've come to know and love in Bryan Singer's original X-films: Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, Beast and others. Though engaging, these characters were somewhat staid in the first X-Men films, their attitudes set, their actions comfortably predictable. But here, the aftermath of the holocaust and fears of nuclear war, along with the freewheeling sexuality and social unrest that were the backdrop of the 1960s, each player reveals new depths; familiar motivations and character traits are just beginning to take shape.
The story is simple but well-crafted: holocaust survivor Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) wants revenge against the man that killed his mother, while an idealistic young professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) wants to find others of his kind and help them integrate with the wider culture. In the background, a cabal of - not racist, but rather "species-ist" mutants led by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon!) plot the downfall of humanity and their own ascension to the heights of power.
An engaging series of setpieces illustrates the growing friendship and ideological tension between Xavier and Lensherr, one man motivated by love and idealism, the other by rage and bitter cynicism. Along the way, they seek out other mutants, assembing an army of sorts to meet the threat of Shaw and his supporters. while all this is going on, each mutant character faces one central conflict: is it better to hide ones differences and therefore escape the prejudice and fear of the prevailing culture, or should one stand "mutant and proud" and celebrate his or her differences? Furthermore, how should the new species - Homo Superior - relate to Homo Sapiens? Is there room for both?
These questions lead the characters inexorably to the final showdown off the coast of Cuba, with Russian and American fleets facing off in the ultimate nuclear showdown - a perfect metaphor, of course, for mutants, the "children of the atom," their evolutionary change accelerated by the radiation of the nuclear age, a clever throwback to a concept that drove the plot of many 1950s and 60s B-movies.
Here the film lurches, quite like Quentin Tarantiono's Inglourious Basterds, into rather audacious alternate history. Both squads of mutants do battle before the stunned eyes of thousands of witnesses - the crews of the Soviet and American fleets. A freighter carrying Soviet nuclear warheads is destroyed. In other words, history is turned on its head, and the crisis plays out completely differently than it did in real life, flipping audience expectations upside-down. When the human fleet fearfully turns on all of the mutants, including those who saved the world from nuclear war, Xavier's idealism is wounded but unbowed, while Lensherr's rage and hate are, in his mind, utterly justified, setting the stage for the mutant schism seen in the later films.
The cast is uniformly excellent, with McAvoy and Fassbender particularly engaging and believable. The dialogue is snappy and the plot sensible (high praise in this day and age), supported by a thrilling score and excellent special effects from old master John Dykstra. And perhaps most importantly, it has a positive but far fromi naive message about the importance of diversity and acceptance. For a summer blockbuster, X-Men: First Class is ambitious and smart, and well worth a trip to the multiplex.
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
34 Years Old
Looks like I have some catching up to do. I went out to Pete's birthday party on Saturday night - well, he calls it a "re-birthday," since his real birthday was back in January and this was simply the first chance we've had to celebrate. A dozen or so of us gathered at Hokkaido on 124th street. The food was good - I ordered teriyaki chicken - but I still fail to see the appeal of tempura. Thick, greasy yellow batter surrounding a tiny bit of shrimp or (gak) eggplant or yam. No thanks. Sushi kind of escapes me, too. I have a timid palate.
I caught up on some movies over the weekend...finally saw Sunset Blvd. To me, it's a bizarre mix of Gothic and noir elements, with some old-fashioned melodrama tossed in for good measure. Great film, particularly the opening sequence.
I also watched Undercover Brother, a far less accomplished film, but it was sincere, and had many moments of genuine hilarity. Oh, and my X-Men 1.5 DVD came with a free pass to see Daredevil, so I went to see that, too. Not bad; certainly better than I was expecting.
Hmm - it's February 25th, and now that it's after 7:37 PM, I guess it's my birthday. My 34th birthday, to be precise.
When I was five or six, I saw the Star Trek episode "The Deadly Years" for the first time. In the episode, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy start to age at an accellerated rate, growing old and decrepit before our very eyes. Naturally, Kirk's advancing senility calls his ability to command the Enterprise into question, so the senior crew members call a hearing. An emotional Kirk cries out at one point, in defiance of his condition: "I...am...thirty-four...years...old!"
When I watched that episode for the first time, on the CBC up in the tiny northern town of Leaf Rapids, I thought to myself, "One day, I'll be thirty-four, just like Captain Kirk."
That day has come. Captain Kirk isn't thirty-four anymore, of course, except for the 52 minutes of time preserved in "The Deadly Years." Captain Kirk died on a mountaintop a few years ago - or a few centuries from now, depending on how you count these things.
From a very early age, I've always been keenly aware of my own mortality. Maybe that's why I've always been an atheist. The great void waits for each of us, lacking even darkness, for even that would be something...a presence defined by an absence.
Pretentious enough for one evening? Lighter news tomorrow.
I caught up on some movies over the weekend...finally saw Sunset Blvd. To me, it's a bizarre mix of Gothic and noir elements, with some old-fashioned melodrama tossed in for good measure. Great film, particularly the opening sequence.
I also watched Undercover Brother, a far less accomplished film, but it was sincere, and had many moments of genuine hilarity. Oh, and my X-Men 1.5 DVD came with a free pass to see Daredevil, so I went to see that, too. Not bad; certainly better than I was expecting.
Hmm - it's February 25th, and now that it's after 7:37 PM, I guess it's my birthday. My 34th birthday, to be precise.
When I was five or six, I saw the Star Trek episode "The Deadly Years" for the first time. In the episode, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy start to age at an accellerated rate, growing old and decrepit before our very eyes. Naturally, Kirk's advancing senility calls his ability to command the Enterprise into question, so the senior crew members call a hearing. An emotional Kirk cries out at one point, in defiance of his condition: "I...am...thirty-four...years...old!"
When I watched that episode for the first time, on the CBC up in the tiny northern town of Leaf Rapids, I thought to myself, "One day, I'll be thirty-four, just like Captain Kirk."
That day has come. Captain Kirk isn't thirty-four anymore, of course, except for the 52 minutes of time preserved in "The Deadly Years." Captain Kirk died on a mountaintop a few years ago - or a few centuries from now, depending on how you count these things.
From a very early age, I've always been keenly aware of my own mortality. Maybe that's why I've always been an atheist. The great void waits for each of us, lacking even darkness, for even that would be something...a presence defined by an absence.
Pretentious enough for one evening? Lighter news tomorrow.
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