There was a point in my life where I was spending over $50 a week in comic books. At first, I bought anything that had a "gimmick cover" (glow-in-the-dark covers, covers with foil embossing, or worst of all, variant covers, which were different covers of the same book), but unlike many of my friends at the time, I outgrew the gimmick cover phase quickly, and left that to the "fanboys." It got REALLY bad when Image Comics' "Gen 13" #1 came out... it had 13 different covers. That's right, foolish boys and girls (okay, mostly boys) were spending money on 13 covers of the same comic at about $3 each. Pathetic. By that time, I was well into my arrogant comic book geek phase, where I made fun of fanboys and had no respect for them (I still don't). Those morons were too dumb to actually read the comics anyway. I read them, and loved them. Some were attracted to the art (the best artists worked at Marvel Comics and Image Comics). Me, I was more into the writing. At the time, DC Comics had some of the best writers in the business. I loved "Batman," "Justice League America" (back when it was funny, before it took itself too seriously), "Green Lantern," and several other superhero books. However, DC's Vertigo line was the cream of the crop. These were comics for mature readers (no, not porn... they were just very highbrow). My favorites were "Sandman, "Hellblazer," "Shade the Changing Man"... but typically, I followed the writers, not the comic title. When Garth Ennis left "Hellblazer" to do "Preacher," I seemed to be the only one who knew just how big it would be. Toward the end of my comic book phase, I left superhero books altogether (including my beloved "Batman" books), and stuck with Vertigo and independent titles (such as "Sin City," "Strangers in Paradise," and just about anything from Drawn & Quarterly Publications). I eventually got rid of all my comics with the exception of some great graphic novels.
By the way,
the best comic book story ever is Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns." It's a masterpiece.
As I'd mentioned earlier, Marvel and Image Comics had the best artists.
However, though there were some exceptions, the writing pretty much sucked
(especially at Image). The most popular titles in the Marvel assembly
line were the "X-Men" titles. Unfortunately, Marvel has oversaturated
the market by having about 10 different "X-Men"-related comics
released every month. I never got into the "X-Men" books, but
I worked at two comic book stores in the past, so I'd kept up with what
was going on.
To be fair, there was one "X-Men"-related comic book that I
read, mostly because those who knew me well swore I'd like it. It was
an issue of "X-Factor," and it was written by Peter David, who
was a very well-known writer at the time, and he deserved to be. He was
(and is) very good. In this issue of "X-Factor," each member
of the team visited a psychologist. There was no mindless fighting going
on in this book, it was a very tongue-in-cheek exploration into the psyche
of these characters... and it was brilliant. Unfortunately, this was the
only issue of it's kind.
Anyway...
Even though I wasn't a fan of the books, I was looking forward to the
"X-Men" movie. It had a great director attached, and besides,
comic book geeks always like to see a comic book become a good movie,
even if they don't like that particular comic book. Unfortunately, Marvel
wasn't doing well with their movies. While DC had hugely successful movies
like "Superman" and "Batman," Marvel offered horrendous
crap that no one saw like "Captain America," (so bad, it was
funny) "The Punisher," (so bad, it WASN'T funny) and a "Fantastic
Four" movie that was never released... neither theatrically or on
video.
After seeing a few trailers for "X-Men," I was pretty happy.
It looked like it might actually be a good movie! So I walked into the
Muvico Paradise theater, and saw an early showing of "X-Men"
this past Saturday. Sadly, I was wrong. It wasn't a good movie. As a matter
of fact, it was pretty damn bad. That's okay, though. I loved it anyway!
"X-Men" has 10 main characters, but no kinda plot to weave them
through. Also, almost all of 'em are terribly underdeveloped, and that's
a shame because there were so many interesting characters I wanted to
know more about. Then there are the relationships that are hinted at,
but not explored as much as they should be. Finally, this movie is nothing
more than the setup for it's obvious sequel. There are a lotta flaws in
this movie, but it's a lot better than it could be, a lot better than
it should be, and quite frankly, I was thoroughly entertained from beginning
to end. In the grand scheme of things, that's all I really care about.
There are a lotta differences between the movie and the comic book, but
for the most part, it's a good thing. For example, the costumes are different.
The "X-Men" costumes, as they are in the comics, would not translate
well on the screen, it's that simple. That point is alluded to at one
point when "Wolverine" is bitching about his costume, but it's
the next line, said by "Cyclops," that gets the laughs. You'll
know why as soon as you hear it. Unless you know nothing about the "X-Men"
comics.
"X-Men"
was directed by Bryan Singer, the director of "The Usual Suspects" and
"Apt Pupil." The story was by Tom DeSanto (his debut) & Bryan Singer
with a screenplay by David Hayter (his debut). Together they helped to
create a movie that's more mature than expected (it opens with a scene
during the holocaust) and loads of fun to watch, despite the many flaws.
I think that those flaws coulda been avoided if there weren't so many
cuts made. Hopefully, the DVD will be loaded with extras, in particular,
all the deleted scenes.
Fortunately, the cast is exceptional. Patrick Stewart is perfectly cast
as "Professor X." Hell, Patrick Stewart IS "Professor X."
Just look at the comic book if you don't believe me. Hugh Jackman was
cast as "Wolverine." There was a lotta controversy as to who
was gonna play this role. In the comic book, he's a short, stocky guy,
so I was thinking of Henry Rollins. When they cast Hugh Jackman, I was
dubious. I shoulda known better. Hugh Jackman is Australian, and judging
from the recent surge of immensely talented Aussies in Hollywood (Russell
Crowe, Heath Ledger, Guy Pierce, Toni Collette), there's no such thing
as a bad Australian actor. Hugh Jackman plays it perfectly, and he's gonna
be huge. Anna Paquin, who won an Oscar for her role in "The Piano,"
plays "Rogue." She and "Wolverine" are the only ones
whose characters are explored for any length of time. Anna Paquin is a
great young actress who coulda strolled through this movie with her eyes
closed, but she gave it all she had. I really like her a lot. Halle Berry
plays "Storm." I wanted Angela Bassett for the role, but "Storm"
is hardly in the movie, so it makes no difference, anyway. The very, very,
very sexy Famke Janssen plays "Jean Grey." She's good, but sorely
underdeveloped. I woulda liked to see more of her. I also woulda liked
to see more of "Cyclops," as played by James Marsden (the main
guy in "Disturbing
Behavior"). Also, the relationship between "Jean Grey" and
"Cyclops" needed to be explored much more than it was.
Then there are the bad guys.
Ian McKellen
(worked with Bryan Singer in "Apt Pupil"... played James Whale in "Gods
and Monsters") brought dignity to the role of "Magneto," already
adding to the dignity brought by Patrick Stewart. Tyler Mane (a wrestler
guy) plays "Sabretooth," but there isn't much for him to do but
grunt and beat people up. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (supermodel who was in "Austin
Powers 2") plays "Mystique," a very cool character I wanted
to see more of. I never
realized how great that woman's body is. My God! John Stamos is a very lucky
man. Stuntman turned actor Ray Park played "Toad." It was cool
to hear Ray Park talk. He played "Darth Maul" in "Star
Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace," but his voice was dubbed by
some other guy with a deeper voice. He was "The Headless Horseman" during
the fight scenes of "Sleepy
Hollow," but not only did you not hear his voice, you never saw
his head! I like Ray Park a lot, and I hope that his string of movies continues
on for a while.
I shouldn't like this movie as much as I do, but what can I say? I was entertained.
The end of this movie makes it very clear that a sequel is definite... and
I can't wait.
Scale of 1-10: 9