X-Men Class 2:2
Sep. 7th, 2011 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marysutherlandMost of my f-list have now seen X-Men First Class and some have even written fics about it, so I seized the opportunity of being alone in London to go and see it as well. And it was an experience. Assorted unconnected comments follow: those who fear spoilers or who really enjoyed the film should look away now.
First of all, I'd better say: I've seen short bits of the first X-Men film, but none of the others and I've never read the original comics. So I don't know all the constraints that the film makers were under. On the other hand, that also means I wasn't conscious of whether or not the film missed the point of the story entirely (as I felt was the case with both Robert Downey's Sherlock Holmes and the Star Trek reboot). Not to mention the deeply annoying trailer I saw for a version of the Three Musketeers that included flying battleships. Alexandre Dumas does not need to be steam-punked, and it's stupid to think he does.
I thought overall that there was about 30 minutes or so of a decent film in XMFC. In no particular order:
As for the weaknesses, there were some that were probably inevitable in a film of this kind, and particularly the plot holes. I was especially conscious of the way that the usefulness of the mutants' powers varied greatly, that some of the combinations appeared purely arbitrary (why did Hank get scientific brilliance and prehensile feet?) and how Charles' mind-control ability wasn't put to its logical use of stopping Shaw's manipulation of both sides in its tracks.
What did irritate me considerably, however, was the reactionary sexual and gender politics of the whole thing, though I don't know how much of this just reflects the original comics. Of the non-white characters, Angel is the first to go over to the baddies, and Darwin is killed off. It's particularly noticeable how much weaker the female mutants' powers were than the male ones. Raven/Mystique can change her appearance, but almost never uses this to achieve anything than be angsty. Angel is just an angry fairy. Emma Frost, who actually had some impressive powers is a) a villain and b) carefully kept out of the final fight.
Meanwhile, the staggering unsubtle liberal message of why can't we all just be ourselves and get along is completely undermined by Charles' treatment of Moira at the end, when he carries out a non-consensual mindwipe. (I'd have accepted a consensual one, as at the end of the first Men in Black).
The combination of James McAvoy doing nothing for me visually and Charles being a jerk (and specifically a jerk towards women) means I can't be enthusiastic about him as a character at all. I can see how you can extract some slashy goodness from the film if you resolutely focus on the bits of Charles/Erik interplay - which are also largely the scenes in the film where Charles isn't being a jerk - but I can't say I felt inspired to go and search out XMFC fanfic (unless it's by authors I particularly like and trust already). On the other hand, the one fic I would like to see is time-travel stuff in which Magneto gets sent back to the Stone Age and promptly gets finished off by a bunch of hunters with flint-tipped arrows. Teach him to be so snarky about the inferiority of non-mutants and Neanderthals.
If anyone wants to convince me how I have misinterpreted the film or failed to appreciate it, feel free to argue in comments. Currently, however, I feel yesterday counted more as 'vague attempt to get up to speed with popular culture' than anything I'd want to see again.
First of all, I'd better say: I've seen short bits of the first X-Men film, but none of the others and I've never read the original comics. So I don't know all the constraints that the film makers were under. On the other hand, that also means I wasn't conscious of whether or not the film missed the point of the story entirely (as I felt was the case with both Robert Downey's Sherlock Holmes and the Star Trek reboot). Not to mention the deeply annoying trailer I saw for a version of the Three Musketeers that included flying battleships. Alexandre Dumas does not need to be steam-punked, and it's stupid to think he does.
I thought overall that there was about 30 minutes or so of a decent film in XMFC. In no particular order:
- Erik as Nazi hunter (and yes, Michael Fassbender is extremely handsome), although I find it slightly worrying that my dental health is so bad that my sympathies temporarily switched over to the nasty Swiss banker who was getting his fillings extracted by willpower alone.
- The special effects were good, and I particularly liked how they visualised the reading and manipulating of minds.
- Charles rescuing Erik from the sea was touching.
- The young mutants partying was a nice note, and I liked their confusion in the sequence of the attack on them.
- Most of the training camp sequence was neatly done (though I could not help giggling at the only stately home with its own radio dish).
- The final confrontations between Erik and Shaw, and Charles and Erik were excitingly unpredictable.
As for the weaknesses, there were some that were probably inevitable in a film of this kind, and particularly the plot holes. I was especially conscious of the way that the usefulness of the mutants' powers varied greatly, that some of the combinations appeared purely arbitrary (why did Hank get scientific brilliance and prehensile feet?) and how Charles' mind-control ability wasn't put to its logical use of stopping Shaw's manipulation of both sides in its tracks.
What did irritate me considerably, however, was the reactionary sexual and gender politics of the whole thing, though I don't know how much of this just reflects the original comics. Of the non-white characters, Angel is the first to go over to the baddies, and Darwin is killed off. It's particularly noticeable how much weaker the female mutants' powers were than the male ones. Raven/Mystique can change her appearance, but almost never uses this to achieve anything than be angsty. Angel is just an angry fairy. Emma Frost, who actually had some impressive powers is a) a villain and b) carefully kept out of the final fight.
Meanwhile, the staggering unsubtle liberal message of why can't we all just be ourselves and get along is completely undermined by Charles' treatment of Moira at the end, when he carries out a non-consensual mindwipe. (I'd have accepted a consensual one, as at the end of the first Men in Black).
The combination of James McAvoy doing nothing for me visually and Charles being a jerk (and specifically a jerk towards women) means I can't be enthusiastic about him as a character at all. I can see how you can extract some slashy goodness from the film if you resolutely focus on the bits of Charles/Erik interplay - which are also largely the scenes in the film where Charles isn't being a jerk - but I can't say I felt inspired to go and search out XMFC fanfic (unless it's by authors I particularly like and trust already). On the other hand, the one fic I would like to see is time-travel stuff in which Magneto gets sent back to the Stone Age and promptly gets finished off by a bunch of hunters with flint-tipped arrows. Teach him to be so snarky about the inferiority of non-mutants and Neanderthals.
If anyone wants to convince me how I have misinterpreted the film or failed to appreciate it, feel free to argue in comments. Currently, however, I feel yesterday counted more as 'vague attempt to get up to speed with popular culture' than anything I'd want to see again.
