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Why I Hate the X-Men Movies
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lands_of_magic challenge (Tell them Kat Lee of Team Winter sent YOU if you join!): You're Doing It Wrong!
There are many, many reasons why I hate the X-Men movies and very little that they, in my opinion, got right. The only actors who were the actual perfect selections for their characters, to me, were Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto, and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Many of the others I could let slide by as at least okay, but not Famke Janssen as Jean Grey and especially not Halle Barry as Storm. Both lack passion in their roles, and we don't even get a single cry of "Goddess!" from Storm. Many people might find it too controversial to make such a strong, lead character Pagan, but Storm's faith is a huge part of what she is. She isn't the Stormy we know and love without her passion and Spirituality.
They've played with the ages again with the X-Men, and whereas that's often seen in other sources, such as X-Men: Evolution, and doesn't tend to bother me as much, I don't like the fact that Rogue is a kid. She's been with the team so long now and had such a back story as a forced villainess before she became accepted on the team that it's hard for me to buy her as a kid who meets up with Wolverine when she's on the run for the first time. It's true Wolvy has a good bond with the kids he picks up, and theirs is a nice relationship, but you don't need Rogue being a kid in order for them to bond or in order to get that softer side of Wolvy; two of my favorites, Kitty and Jubilee, could have been used just as easily.
Speaking of my favorites, let's not forget the fact that they somehow make Kitty into a telepath and use her telepathy to send Logan back into time for the Days of Future Past film. It wasn't Wolvy who went back but Kitty who came forward in the comics (and sent her own self back), and I always loved that storyline. It shows so much of Pryde's development and growth and is really important for her. Plus the time traveling was done from a very dark future into present day, not from present day into the '70s. It was a neat choice, I admit, but don't mess up a classic, old storyline to get the storyline you want. Just get a new one! Surely, even with as much as has been written for the X-Men, the writers could have developed a new storyline, a new reason for traveling to the '70s, that would have been just as enjoyable, if not more so, especially for us "purists".
On the other hand, if you're going to use an old storyline, USE THE FREAKING STORYLINE!!!! Don't just assume that because everybody knows a character gets possessed, you don't need to show that part. We know that Jean went evil because of the Phoenix entity, but that was never made too clear in the movies. They try their best to make it look like Jean has the power to take down Charles on her own, and without the Phoenix force, that never would have happened.
Furthermore, there have been a plethora of times when Jean has stopped the Phoenix herself because of her love for Scott and others in her family. Even if she had somehow been possessed and blind sided into killing the Professor, she NEVER WOULD HAVE KILLED SCOTT!!! Her love for him sent the Phoenix packing many times. It was also brought to light that the Phoenix wondered about the strength of her affection and devotion for Scott and yearned for such herself. Jean killing Charles, the man who was always more like a father to her than her own father, was horrible, but her outright slaughter of Scott was something I could never -- and still can not -- accept! To be honest, it's kept me from watching most of the rest of the movies and completely made me despise the X-Men movie franchise.
And yet so many people love it and hate the one I really love, the simple made-for-television Generation X adaptation. Here, you have no mention of the X-Men, and Jubilee's just a normal kid with normal parents until her powers kick in, one of the few disagreements I had with the movie. I would have liked to have seen Jono and Paige in the mix, but I grew to love Refrax and Buff all the same. I often think of moments of this movie, and it remains one of my favorites to this day. I long for a day when they actually make an X-Men film that comes this close to accurately portraying the characters. I can handle getting the depths of their emotions right and getting a simple wig looking silly and wrong a lot better than I can handle so many of the great wrongs they've done with my beloved characters in the big blockbusters.
Every adaptation of the X-Men has had its faults. The '90s cartoon feels a little stilted now when I try to watch it, and I never liked the fact that Spike was supposed to be Storm's nephew when she was an only child left in the rubble after her parents were killed. She never had a sister to help her along her path. And again, you have a play with the X-Men's ages that I sometimes find aggravating, if not down right silly and pointless. (And don't forget Kitty's loss of her genius intellect and transformation into a Valley girl!)
Still, all in all, I think I could have handled the poor character portrayals, including Halle's/the writers' butchering of Ororo's passion and faith, (especially for the Charles/Erik moments we do get and the bonding of Charles, Raven, and Erik together, another change from the comics that set a great deal easier with me) if only they had not had Jean Grey, of all people, kill Charles and Scott. I'll always stand firmly by my belief that this never would have happened!! Jean would have found a way to stop the Phoenix before she killed Charles, even if it had meant killing herself, and had she failed to protect Charles, there is still simply no way she would have so easily and thoroughly slaughtered the man she loves and has proven time and again she would stop at nothing to save.
lands_of_magic challenge (Tell them Kat Lee of Team Winter sent YOU if you join!): You're Doing It Wrong!There are many, many reasons why I hate the X-Men movies and very little that they, in my opinion, got right. The only actors who were the actual perfect selections for their characters, to me, were Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto, and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Many of the others I could let slide by as at least okay, but not Famke Janssen as Jean Grey and especially not Halle Barry as Storm. Both lack passion in their roles, and we don't even get a single cry of "Goddess!" from Storm. Many people might find it too controversial to make such a strong, lead character Pagan, but Storm's faith is a huge part of what she is. She isn't the Stormy we know and love without her passion and Spirituality.
They've played with the ages again with the X-Men, and whereas that's often seen in other sources, such as X-Men: Evolution, and doesn't tend to bother me as much, I don't like the fact that Rogue is a kid. She's been with the team so long now and had such a back story as a forced villainess before she became accepted on the team that it's hard for me to buy her as a kid who meets up with Wolverine when she's on the run for the first time. It's true Wolvy has a good bond with the kids he picks up, and theirs is a nice relationship, but you don't need Rogue being a kid in order for them to bond or in order to get that softer side of Wolvy; two of my favorites, Kitty and Jubilee, could have been used just as easily.
Speaking of my favorites, let's not forget the fact that they somehow make Kitty into a telepath and use her telepathy to send Logan back into time for the Days of Future Past film. It wasn't Wolvy who went back but Kitty who came forward in the comics (and sent her own self back), and I always loved that storyline. It shows so much of Pryde's development and growth and is really important for her. Plus the time traveling was done from a very dark future into present day, not from present day into the '70s. It was a neat choice, I admit, but don't mess up a classic, old storyline to get the storyline you want. Just get a new one! Surely, even with as much as has been written for the X-Men, the writers could have developed a new storyline, a new reason for traveling to the '70s, that would have been just as enjoyable, if not more so, especially for us "purists".
On the other hand, if you're going to use an old storyline, USE THE FREAKING STORYLINE!!!! Don't just assume that because everybody knows a character gets possessed, you don't need to show that part. We know that Jean went evil because of the Phoenix entity, but that was never made too clear in the movies. They try their best to make it look like Jean has the power to take down Charles on her own, and without the Phoenix force, that never would have happened.
Furthermore, there have been a plethora of times when Jean has stopped the Phoenix herself because of her love for Scott and others in her family. Even if she had somehow been possessed and blind sided into killing the Professor, she NEVER WOULD HAVE KILLED SCOTT!!! Her love for him sent the Phoenix packing many times. It was also brought to light that the Phoenix wondered about the strength of her affection and devotion for Scott and yearned for such herself. Jean killing Charles, the man who was always more like a father to her than her own father, was horrible, but her outright slaughter of Scott was something I could never -- and still can not -- accept! To be honest, it's kept me from watching most of the rest of the movies and completely made me despise the X-Men movie franchise.
And yet so many people love it and hate the one I really love, the simple made-for-television Generation X adaptation. Here, you have no mention of the X-Men, and Jubilee's just a normal kid with normal parents until her powers kick in, one of the few disagreements I had with the movie. I would have liked to have seen Jono and Paige in the mix, but I grew to love Refrax and Buff all the same. I often think of moments of this movie, and it remains one of my favorites to this day. I long for a day when they actually make an X-Men film that comes this close to accurately portraying the characters. I can handle getting the depths of their emotions right and getting a simple wig looking silly and wrong a lot better than I can handle so many of the great wrongs they've done with my beloved characters in the big blockbusters.
Every adaptation of the X-Men has had its faults. The '90s cartoon feels a little stilted now when I try to watch it, and I never liked the fact that Spike was supposed to be Storm's nephew when she was an only child left in the rubble after her parents were killed. She never had a sister to help her along her path. And again, you have a play with the X-Men's ages that I sometimes find aggravating, if not down right silly and pointless. (And don't forget Kitty's loss of her genius intellect and transformation into a Valley girl!)
Still, all in all, I think I could have handled the poor character portrayals, including Halle's/the writers' butchering of Ororo's passion and faith, (especially for the Charles/Erik moments we do get and the bonding of Charles, Raven, and Erik together, another change from the comics that set a great deal easier with me) if only they had not had Jean Grey, of all people, kill Charles and Scott. I'll always stand firmly by my belief that this never would have happened!! Jean would have found a way to stop the Phoenix before she killed Charles, even if it had meant killing herself, and had she failed to protect Charles, there is still simply no way she would have so easily and thoroughly slaughtered the man she loves and has proven time and again she would stop at nothing to save.