MAFUS REVIEWS:

If you're a comics fan from way back, like myself, you've long suffered the disappointment and aggravation of such comicbook film adaptions as BATMAN & ROBIN, TANK GIRL and, most aggregiously, Albert Pyun's monstrous CAPTAIN AMERICA. With few exceptions (THE PHANTOM, ROCKETEER, SUPERMAN), Hollywood has just never seemed to take the subject matter seriously. Even the good ones had their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks. After all, they're just comics, right? In return, these films are usually so poorly crafted they've reinforced the public's perception that comics are throwaway entertainment for children and if you read these things past the age of 12, well, you must be some sort of zit-ridden loser suffering from a Peter Pan complex. It's only recently, with the success of such films as DAREDEVIL, SPIDER-MAN and ROAD TO PERDITION, that comicbook films have gotten the respect they deserve. In the case of SPIDER-MAN, director Sam Raimi was a huge fan of the character and actually lobbied for the job. He brought a dynamic aesthetic to the film and a devotion to "getting it right." Comic fans no longer dread the next big adaption and have actually started to take them for granted (excluding the perpetually pesimistic nay-sayers posting on the AICN messageboards.)

When the first X-MEN (2000, based on Stan Lee's and Jack Kirby's comic series about a group of superpowered mutants and the world that hates and fears them) was announced, nobody held out much hope that it would be any good. After all, the comics themselves were so rich with backstory and convoluted character relationships that the idea of distilling 35 years of mythology down to 95 minutes while actually being a coherent film was, well, ludicrous. Fans were excited at the prospect of seeing their favorite characters come to life (especially when it was announced that the film would focus on Wolverine joining the team) but there was always the belief that the film would, well, suck. I had doubts myself when the characters were announced because it was obvious from the lineup that the producers would be playing fast and loose with continuity. Wolverine and Storm didn't come along until the series retooling in the 80's, and Rogue joined much later. And original member Iceman had but a cameo with no mention of founders Beast and Angel. Then everything changed when director Bryan Singer (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, APT PUPIL) was chosen to helm the project. Here was a guy of obvious talent and intelligence who had proven he could handle complex plotlines and ensemble casts. Fans started to get really excited. Still, rather than focusing on the man's credentials, some bigotted Internet dwellers groused about his sexuality, as if the fact that Singer is gay would have anything to do with the quality of the film. AICN founder Harry Knowles even threatened to ban posters who continued to attack Singer for being gay on his messageboard. (Go, Harry!) As it turns out, Singer's sexuality may have actually given him a unique perspective on the driving theme behind the X-Men: the persecution of those who are different. When the first trailer came out, the grousing stopped. Even the few brief minutes of footage, cut to an exciting techno soundtrack, were enough to show the doubters that the material was being taken seriously. The actors lost the baggage of their previous roles and actually became the characters. Patrick Stewart (long the fan-favorite pick to play Charles Xavier) ceased to be STAR TREK's Captain Jean Luc Picard and became Professor X. Halle Berry shook her airhead supermodel image and became Storm. And best of all, here was Hugh Jackman, a guy nobody had ever heard of. He wasn't short. He wasn't hairy. And he had matinee-idol good looks. But goddamn if he wasn't Wolverine!

When the movie came out in the summer of 2000, fans flocked to theaters. Nervous studio producers were pleasantly surprised by a record-breaking opening weekend. They had fully expected the film to flop and had cut both Singer's schedule and his budget halfway through production. It showed. Some of the FX were shabby and a lot of the sets were under-lighted, perhaps to cover up a lack of detail. But the story and performances never suffered. And that struck a chord with fans. They came away happy. And wanting more. (I myself saw it in the theaters 7 times. Yeah, I know.) When all was said and done, the film brought in around $150 million and a sequel was quickly announced. Hugh Jackman was an instant superstar and Ian McKellan (Magneto), a character actor for decades, finally got some much-deserved recognition. Halle Berry started getting more roles and won and Oscar for MONSTER'S BALL. The stakes for the sequel would be much higher.

X2: X-MEN UNITED picks up where the original left off. Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman) is searching for keys to his past, sniffing around an old military base at the Alkali Lake in Canada. Rogue (Anna Paquin) is starting to feel at home, easily fitting in with the younger mutant students at the Xavier Institute, particularly her new boyfriend Bobby/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore). And Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is continuing to notice a disturbing escalation in her telekinetic/telepathic abilities.

The opening scene, however, centers around a new character, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming.) In a spectacular FX-action sequence, Nightcrawler teleports (an ability represented in the comics as a smokey BAMF!, followed by a pungent sulfurous stink left out of the film) his way through the White House, taking out secret service agents as he works his way toward the Oval Office...and the President. He is stopped just short of driving a dagger into the President's chest. This sets off a chain of events leading to the attack on the Xavier Institute forshadowed in the first film.

This entry in the X-MEN franchise is much more layered than the first one. There are more elements to keep track of. But Singer does an admirable job of giving every character something to do while focusing on his obvious star-attraction, Wolverine and his quest to discover just who he is and where his adamantium-laced skeleton came from. A lot of the relationships introduced in X-MEN are explored further: the love triangle between Cyclops (James Marsden)/Jean/Logan and the young love between Rogue and Iceman. New relationships are also introduced. Storm's fear and hatred of "normal people" is contrasted with Nightcrawler's devotion to his Christian faith. And Wolverine's past is somehow connected to the villain of the film, William Stryker (Brian Cox.)

Overall, X2 is an improvement on the first film. The FX are better. The characters have already been, for the most part, introduced and Singer is able to let them loose and just tell a story. All the characters are given "cool" moments to showcase their abilities (including a breathtaking dogfight scene in which Storm attempts to shake a couple of bogies using a barrage of tornadoes.) And Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are back, and more chillingly diabolical than ever. There is a scene on the X-Jet between Magneto, Mystique and Rogue that was almost as perfect as you could ask for. Usually, when moments from a previous film are referred to in a sequel, it just feels gratuitous. Here, the scene is deftly handled and we see that Rogue has grown and become more confident. All the performances are dead-on. Romijn-Stamos turns what could have been flashy eye-candy into a creepily compelling character study. McKellan's Magneto, even when humbled and sedated, exudes a forceful presence and the viewer never doubts for a moment that he is a deadly man to be feared and dreaded.

There are also some nice moments in the film designed just for us comic fans. The brief scene where Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) gets to strut his metallic stuff was cheer-worthy. And sharp-eyed fans will catch brief glimpses of Beast/Hank McCoy, Archangel/Warren Worthington and even Franklin Richards from the Fantastic Four. Good stuff, baby.

One of the only disappointments of the film is related to the only real cheesy plot device, something that, once the glow fades over time, will stand out as a real shortcoming. SPOILERS FROM HERE ON: Cyclops and Professor X are virtually taken out of the action for the majority of the film, robbing us of one of the great things about the first film: the ongoing love/hate between Xavier and Magneto. The two have a scene or two together, but early on, Cyclops and Xavier are captured by Stryker and put under the influence of an unnecessarily gross and silly method of mind-control: spinal fluid taken from Stryker's son, a telepathic mutant ten times more powerful than Professor X.

Another disappointment is that Deathstyke (the gorgeous Kelly Hu) is pretty much wasted, having only one line, until her final, brutal fight scene with Wolverine.

Yes, nearly everyone agrees that X2 is an improvement. Reviewers have compared the fact that this sequel is better than the first film to the relationship between STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE and it's sequel STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. Which brings me to something I only noticed after repeated viewings. A good deal of the plot of X2 feels like the writers were subconsciously influenced by TWOK. For instance, the villain's (Kahn/Stryker) main motivation seems to be a falsely perceived wrong done to him by the leader of the group (Kirk/Xavier). The villain's main weapon in obtaining his revenge is a nasty mind control device (Ceti Eels/spinal fluid) that turns trusted members of the hero's inner circle against him (Chekov/Cyclops). And finally, the second-in-command (Spock/Jean Grey) sacrifices him/herself to "save the ship" at the end when a malfunction almost causes a catastrophe (Genesis wave/wall of water) to overtake it. Taken together, the similarities are a little too close to ignore. There's even a final fly-by sequence of the scenery around Grey's "final resting place" complete with James Horner-ish music and a "she's not really dead"-like voiceover possibly forshadowing a "Search for Dark Phoenix" storyline for X3.

And make no mistake, there will be an X3. It's doubtful all the characters will return. Halle Berry has made no bones that she's not happy with the fact that, as an Oscar winner, she hasn't been given much to do in the films. Hugh Jackman's contract is up. And Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is understandably sick of that blue makeup. But Singer has said he'll return after doing a smaller project and that, along with a good script, may be enough to lure back the essential cast members. Well that, and the oodles of money they'll make.

Overall, a really good movie that, like the first film, leaves you anxious for the next installment. The source material is treated respectfully but is not followed so closely as to alienate casual viewers. And while the magic of seeing these characters come to life for the first time has been lost to a certain degree, the X-Men universe is so rich with characters and concepts that the occasional new tidbit like Colossus and Nightcrawler will help keep things fresh and exciting for a long time to come.

 

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