“Fleece with Honor”
Loosely based on the Marvel comics franchise and the issues
by the same name, this entry tells the story of the X-Teams in two separate
time lines. One is the X-ElderstatesMen,
a team lead by an elderly Professor X and Magneto in a grim cataclysmic future
where their only hope is to send back Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman, natch) spirit
to the past to prevent their downfall.
The other are a young team of X-Babies (from 2011’s Xmen: First Class), now
living in an idyllic 1970s America that has just lost the Vietnam war and
retained a President Nixon.
Taking what worked from First Class (the fresh brood of
actors and fresh story ideas/period pieces) and mixing it with the best of rest
of the X-Franchise (Director Singer, high quality CGI, rock solid casting and
lack of Brett Ratner influence) results in a movie with unfortunately more good
ideas than good action. Highlights
include an underused Quicksilver’s rakish youth zipping through a room of guards
all the while listening to 70s arena rock, a surprising amount of death by
robot dismemberment and a rich tapestry of X-history enabling call backs to
nearly every film entry in the series, but most tellingly the biggest highlight
of the film is the blessed lack of a lowlight. However the Fox X-Men Cinematic Universe is a far shade of grey from the excellently treated and carefully planned Marvel Universe, even the bumpers here don't properly lead into the next movie.
Singer himself once again paves over plot holes with pageantry, over
explains with flash backs but nails the Funky 70s while also avoiding tired
clichés. Yet an undercurrent of
unfocused narrative and studio-driven emphasis pervade the picture. For instance the obvious fetishisation and
idolization of blue-meanie Mystique (a continuance from previous films) rises
to strange new heights. Now superstar
Jennifer Lawrence’s blood is the perfect weapon to be used against her own kind,
and all her amazing kung fu and near-onscreen nakedness aren't going to stop
both sides from fighting over her (just as we, the basement dwelling comic
geeks, surely must wipe our chins over her).
We are treated to even more true blue glimpses of Mystique’s physique, slightly
tempered by slipping in a sly Zapruder-film reference. This reliance on Star Power T&A trumps any
real plot development and feels like a real speed bump for the film’s ability
to evolve into something at the top of the food chain.
The X-Gang’s all here, both versions with good chemistry,
both anchored by Hugh Jackman’s fan favorite Wolverine. Yet all these metaphysical beings end up
doing is sitting on airplanes or darkened rooms and discussing the “well, whats
next?” exposition. They look good, they
feel good in the roles, and the action when it happens looks good. Yet where is the gravitas of the situation, the
tension should be a fear of extinction yet the only emotion the Old Team seem
to be able to drum up is an apparent fear of razors. The future is just a world that blew a fuse
and no one can find the flashlight, a dusty abandoned temple is 90% of our view
into this supposed “nightmare future”.
The past says it’s the 70s (remember ‘Nam and JFK???), but how about
showing the actual racial tensions that were rampant in that day and age, that
actually inspired creator Stan Lee to write this silly comic book that addressed
the taboo topic of racial prejudice by wrapping it in goofy mutated genes and
unlimited super powers yarn.
XM:DOFP ends up a completely unchallenging viewing
experience, slurped through a straw by an audience so thirsty for any decent
X-related material that it will gladly smack its lips at the treacle-y
high-fructose aftertaste, completely unperturbed by its empty caloric content. Mostly Adequate Soap Operatic Sci-Fi with
flashes of brilliance is built into its X-genes, being present in decades of
Marvel Comics continuity paradoxes, and it doesn't look like the studios are
going to break that mold anytime soon, even if they did just rewrite its entire universe a la the Star Trek reboot.
7 Where’s My Stan Lee Walk On??? out of 10 (GOOD)
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