X-Men 3 - Spoilers Thread

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

By popular demand -- discuss the latest X-Men movie in all its goriest details.

Let the spoilers commence.

-Augie

[Sleeper]

From PCR #468: (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=pipeline&article=2474) I'm sure some were crying that Colossus can't cover up some other person in steel as he touches them, but I let that one go. It's not completely faithful to the comic, but so what?

Didn't he cover up Rogue though? She could have taken on some of Piotr's powers to turn herself all metal.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Yes. The volumes of e-mail I've received this morning all point that out. heh

It's the one thing I missed that everyone else saw. CRAP!

Although someone did point out one thing I didn't mention, but should have, "Oh my stars and garters." Kelsey Grammar is the perfect actor to read that line, and it was a great X-moment. I loved it.

-Augie

[pmpknface]

I totally dug it. Lots of explodo. It moves real fast and didn't seem to take itselt too seriously, or any more than it should. Worked for me! :)

[roach04]

I liked it too - was super surprised when Cyclops and Charles were killed, but the thing that stunned me the most was when Beast stuck that "cure" into Magneto. That stunned me.

Overall, I've got the same feelings as others it seems - enjoyable film that had tons of action, and enough plot to keep it interesting.

Bullet points!

(1) Kitty was cute.
(2) Vinnie Jones, while awesome in everything, was not that hot as the Juggernaut. And it really bugged me that he was apparently a mutant - his powers are magical dammit!
(3) Frasier was a really good choice as the Beast.
(4) Ian McKellen still steals every scene he's in. And his one-liners were almost on par with Logan's..."And she used to be so beautiful..."
(5) Rebecca Romjin...honestly, if there was a movie with her just walking around for 90 minutes, it'd probably gross 50 million.
(6) Famke Jansen - still not much of an actress. At least Rebecca has picked up the trade somewhat. Probably a good thing that the Phoenix storyline was only a one of many subplots, b/c she couldn't handle much more screen time than she got.

I didn't notice any glare or softness in the scene with the younger Stewart and McKellen Augie, but when I rent it on DVD I'll keep an eye peeled for that. (Honestly, I didn't even really notice they looked that much younger...LOL)

[pmpknface]

(2) Vinnie Jones, while awesome in everything, was not that hot as the Juggernaut. And it really bugged me that he was apparently a mutant - his powers are magical dammit!


Yeah, I try not to get bothered by changes made when characters go from the page to the screeen. Marrow is a woman in the comics and it was a guy in X3.

Kitty was awesome.

The Beast whooping @$$ in the fight scene was so cool.

I was convinced we'd see Scott again before it was over. O well...

[derrickfish]

Yeah, I try not to get bothered by changes made when characters go from the page to the screeen. Marrow is a woman in the comics and it was a guy in X3.

Technically, I think we can point to the X-Men: Evolution 'toon for THIS change... That character was named Spyke and was based on the Marrowish character from there.

And YES, I loved Beast saying "Oh my Stars and Garters". NOBODY else in the theater knew why I was laughing and I didn't care.

One of my favorite scene was the VERY extended exchange of signifigant looks between the X-Men when they realize they could shut Magneto down with the cure-darts laying at their feet. No words were needed, as all the actors involved put their indecision and turmoil across perfectly with expressions.

[Brother Zag]

Auggie,

Didn't the death of Jean in the movie remind you of Grant Morrison's X-Men run, when Wolverine Kills Phoenix? It did me... and the scene was almost lifted right out of Morrison's run ('cept that Wolvie gets his skin burned away afterwards, 'stead of before). Many of the visuals were from Morrison's run... twisting bridges included, although they were NYC bridges in the books.

[pmpknface]

Auggie,

Didn't the death of Jean in the movie remind you of Grant Morrison's X-Men run, when Wolverine Kills Phoenix? It did me... and the scene was almost lifted right out of Morrison's run ('cept that Wolvie gets his skin burned away afterwards, 'stead of before). Many of the visuals were from Morrison's run... twisting bridges included, although they were NYC bridges in the books.
I was thinking of the same thing about Morrison. I was joking around yesterday saying that he should get a cut of it. ;)

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Would it shock anyone to learn that I still haven't read the last third of Morrison's run? Was the Phoenix stuff in the last hardcover? Or have I read it and just forgotten it already? Wolverine decapitating a Sentinel reminded me of the start of Morrison's run. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

HA! No, I'm not shocked. And yeah, that stuff was in the last section of Morrison's run. That's where Jean died most recently, and that is the death that she hasn't woken up from (yet).

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

OK, that's what I figured. I knew she died during his run, but I didn't remember if I had read it or not. What a bad comic geek I am. . .

I think I'm still annoyed that the murder/mystery story thing got split up between the second and third hardcovers. Stupid stupid Marvel.

-Augie

[pmpknface]

That was split up! :eek: Sorry man. So you still don't know who did it? Ever think of reviewing that 3rd HC now that X3 is out? It'd give you a reason to read it! :) Just an idea...

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

It's a brilliant idea. I'm trying to shy away from so many Marvel reviews for the next couple of weeks. The problem is, I have a small stack of Marvel HCs I've read and not reviewed yet. (DEFENDERS and two CAPTAIN AMERICA volumes come quickly to mind, for starters.) They're about to be completely forgotten. UGH

And, no, I don't know anything about who killed Phoenix. I just know that she died.

I need to quit my day job to write three columns a week to cover everything I've caught up on in the past couple of months. That ain't happening anytime soon. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

I know how you feel. I have 2 Lady Snowblood's and the Firestar digest with me at this moment - along with a stack of a dozen or so books and the Previews that arrived yesterday!

I've got I think 5-6 other trades waiting to be read. Just got Loveless, a new Y the Last Man, and others. My busy weekend certainly cut into my reading time too.

For every Marvel review, back it up w/ something else. :D

I'll have to post new pics of my comic room. 5+ long boxes of unreads!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I started reading LOVELESS, got so lost about an issue and a half into it that I put it back down. I'll have to try it another day when I have more patience, I suppose.

And now we're getting COMPLETELY off-topic.

Yes, I should read Volume 3 of X-MEN. I should start by reading the last two issues of Volume 2 first.

Five long boxes? HAH! I have five long boxes of trades I haven't read yet, let along single issues!

Wait, that's nothing to brag about. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Five long boxes? HAH! I have five long boxes of trades I haven't read yet, let along single issues!

Wait, that's nothing to brag about. . .

-Augie

:eek:

We both have issues... er.... trades.... problems..... :D

Maybe I'll dig out my Morrison issues and take a look myself...

[Brother Zag]

Would it shock anyone to learn that I still haven't read the last third of Morrison's run? Was the Phoenix stuff in the last hardcover? Or have I read it and just forgotten it already? Wolverine decapitating a Sentinel reminded me of the start of Morrison's run. . .

-Augie

Augie, I read the paperback trades. It was in the second to last trade of Morrison's run, the last being "Here Comes Tomorrow" with Silvestri's cool as $#!+ art on the "future" X-Men. Reading the p'backs, everything was kind of broken up...

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Thanks, Mike. That means it's pretty much the next story I'd be reading of Morrison's run, if I remember the breakdown right. Hmmm, I'll have some time to read comics this weekend if I don't go to Philly. Maybe it's time to bring this one back from the dead. . .

And I could use some good Silvestri art right now, too. I guess this was the last book he kept a schedule up for. Hey, has Hunter/Killer #10 come out yet? It's been more than a year and a half. . . (Egads, how I love to pick on that book.)

Thanks again,
-Augie

[pmpknface]

And I could use some good Silvestri art right now, too. I guess this was the last book he kept a schedule up for. Hey, has Hunter/Killer #10 come out yet? It's been more than a year and a half. . . (Egads, how I love to pick on that book.)

-Augie

I tried the first ish of that, and it just didn't do it for me. Top Cow does occasionally have some good stuff, IMO. I just recently read the FRESHMAN tpb and COMMON GROUNDS was good too.

I'm trying to resist buying some of the Witchblade stuff for the art (the Bachalo stuff in particular).

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

COMMON GROUNDS had some good stuff in it. I'm somewhat interested in FRESHMEN just for the Leonard Kirk art. But after that -- there ain't much. I couldn't even take RISING STARS, and I'm a huge B5-jms fanboy.

I tried WITCHBLADE when Paul Jenkins started writing it, but that did nothing for me.

I still haven't read WANTED, though I will before the crossover with SAVAGE DRAGON.

In the meantime, the ability of Top Cow to produce issues of HUNTER/KILLER in a timely manner continues to befuddle me. I guess Silvestri might want to consider more apprentices to help him.

-Augie

[Brother Zag]

I couldn't even take RISING STARS, and I'm a huge B5-jms fanboy.
-Augie

Hmm, I came in late and read Rising Stars in trades (being another huge b5-jms fanboy). I liked it, although it seemed to drag at the end, or maybe that was because it took them so darn long to get volume 3 out. Methinks Midnight Nation was shorter/better.

Also, back to topic... not to be too redundant, but those Magneto/Golden Gate scenes looked awfully familiar, so I opened the Morrison X-Men trades when I got home from the movie and found nearly identical scenes!! 'Cept it's the borough bridges of manhattan in the books. Then I saw this interview with Arad that Hannibal Tabu pointed out and it seemed to confirm this in a roundabout way:

Q: What was the original script that you started with like?

ARAD: The original script was more or less what we shot. Most of the scenes and the direction dealing with the cure and Dark Phoenix were all in there. The bridge scene was the first scene we plucked from a panel in the comics.

Okay, they could have lifted it from any X book... but the visuals match up, er, "uncannily" well...

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Zag -- MIDNIGHT NATION is a great read. I can't believe I blanked on that. It's one of the few things Top Cow has ever put out worthy of printing. . .

RISING STARS was destroyed very early on by painful art and coloring that made the book unreadable.

And I guess the screenwriters for the X-Men movie have a shorter memory. They probably don't even know the original Death of Phoenix storyline. (And, really, doesn't that title just spoil the ending of the story?)

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Ok.... now I've GOTTA hunt Midnight Nation down!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

They did make a single trade paperback of it, Jamie, so you do stand a chance of finding it. I just don't know if it's still in print or not.

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Thanks Augie. THE HUNT IS ON! :)

[BronteJD]

Definitely still in print.

FANTASTIC STORY. One of the greatest things JMS has ever done.

Patricia

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I may need to correct something here -- that murder/mystery story DID end with the end of the second volume. I think it was the on-going story arcs that continued on from there that had no resolution and thus frustrated me going into the third. It's been so long since I've read them, I don't remember anymore.

I did just take out Volume 3 to possibly read this weekend, though.

And now I have the itch to pick up the UNCANNY X-MEN OMNIBUS, too. This is a sickness.

-Augie

[Sleeper]

How long really does it take to move a bridge? An entire day?

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

It depends on the size of the Monster Trucks and Boats you're using. I've seen some on the Discovery Channel that could probably handle it in a few hours. ;-)

-Augie

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Here's the real answer:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-bridge4jun04,1,309575.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews

-Augie

[Sleeper]

Magneto starts the bridge in the afternoon, but lands the thing when it's evening. And no one got hungry during the trip?

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

The sun sets quickly and dramatically in the Bay area. ;-)

-Augie

[pmpknface]

HA! I had a friend notice that too. I totally missed the night/day thing.

I told him, if you're willing to concede that people can move bridges with their minds and throw their own bones at each other then the sun can set in 5 min.

[torippu]

Yippee! I finally saw the movie tonight. My first thought (having never really read the Morrison New X-men run after Quitely's tardiness) was that I'd like to go back and read the Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing run.

Some other random thoughts:
1. It was a good popcorn movie. Fast moving with lots of 'splosions. All I ask for out of comic book movies is that they stay somewhat true to the source material and don't suck. This one didn't suck.
2. MADROX! I'd avoided all spoilers/reviews of the film and was more than happy to see the Multiple Man. Loved his introduction.
3. Who were the 3~4 mutants working with Magneto? Calypso? What exactly were her powers again? Is this the same character that had the eye patch and was living in the sewers with the Morlocks? I think that I saw Psylocke in the credits. Which one was she? Which one was Marrow? And who was the spikey Asian mutant?
3. A bit surprised that Jean killed Scott.
4. Did Rogue have a Southern accent in the first two movies? It was a bit distracting to me (and I'm originally from the South!). Also, did Colossus have a Russian accent? I couldn't tell.
5. "I'm the Juggernaut bitch!" - Ugh, absolute worst line of all three movies combined.
6. That's a long boring time to sit through the credits to get to the special end of the movie.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Trip - I think you picked up on the movie's strength: It's a popcorn movie. Sure, it lacks the soul of the first two movies, but it stands up fine as a big dumb action flic.

Yes, Madrox steals every scene he's in.

That IS Calypso, though they've clearly messed with her powers for the movie. Quill is also in there, and another Morlock or two, whose names I'm blanking on completely at the moment.

And I'm with you on the Whedon/Cassaday thing. I have the hardcover sitting here staring pleadingly at me. Once I finish NEW X-MEN HC Volume 3, I might go after that next. It's a quick read, as I recall...

-Augie

[torippu]

Sure, it lacks the soul of the first two movies, but it stands up fine as a big dumb action flic.
I wonder how much this is related to the change in directors from Bryan Singer to Brett Ratner?

That IS Calypso, though they've clearly messed with her powers for the movie. Quill is also in there, and another Morlock or two, whose names I'm blanking on completely at the moment.
My Morlocks knowledge is very limited these days as I haven't been a regular reader for more than 10 years. I think each time that there is a big relaunch, I give the books a try but then get bored after a couple of months. It's going to be hard to not give the Brubaker/Tan and Carey/Bachalo runs a try.

And I'm with you on the Whedon/Cassaday thing. I have the hardcover sitting here staring pleadingly at me. Once I finish NEW X-MEN HC Volume 3, I might go after that next. It's a quick read, as I recall...
-Augie
I passed on the HC - is it oversized?

[pmpknface]

You guys are thinking of Callisto, not Calypso. The latter was a voodoo chick that hung out with Kraven the hunter. The former was the leader of the morlocks that fought w/ Storm and wore an eyepatch.

Arclight (the one who took out the guns in teh final battle for Magneto) was a maradurder, ironically one of the mutants who massacred the morlocks.

The dude with the spikey face, I forget his name but he was in David Hine's last 2 issues of District X, but was a white dude with blonde hair. IMDB the movie and you'll see him.

Psylocke was there, but I only saw the movie once and missed her. My friend saw her somewhere.

I think the male "Marrow" character that fought Wolvie was based more on Spike from the recent animated X-Men Evloution cartoon than the comic book Marrow.

And Trip - if you haven't read the Morrison run on New X-Men, you've GOTTA read it now! You'll laugh at how many moments in X3 came from it.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Whoops, thanks for the correction on her name. So many mutants, so little time. . .

And that one character is named Quill, I think.

I missed Psylocke completely, too. I'm thinking THAT'S what either WIZARD or the DVD commentary tracks are for. It'll have to be a DVD, since I don't buy that monthly roll of toilet paper anymore. ;-)

-Augie

[pmpknface]

HA! I have a bunch of old, old issues of "toliet paper" that I kept for the covers and stuff.

I may try to sell them on ebay... I wonder what the market is for those....

[Brother Zag]

They did make a single trade paperback of it, Jamie, so you do stand a chance of finding it. I just don't know if it's still in print or not.

-Augie

I'm a little late on this... but IIRC, the MIDNIGHT NATION Trade only came out last year, should still be out there...

[Sleeper]

Psylocke was there, but I only saw the movie once and missed her. My friend saw her somewhere.
She was the hanger on with the trio (Calypso and Spiky face guy) that joined up with Magneto from his little stand up in the hollowed out building. You can see her phasing from the shadows when they're hitting Alcatraz. She had probably an entire minute all up for the movie.

[sschroeder]

I saw this last night.

Did anyone else think that maybe proximity to the boy (Leech?) was another possible way to stop Jean? Wolverine's way was cooler and more tragic, of course.

[pmpknface]

I guess it was possible, but what could you do? Have Colossus "fastball special" him at her face? HA! :) Plus, he'd have been disentegrated before he got close enough to stop her powers. Good idea tho!

And you are correct - his name is Leech.

Now also keep in mind we know stuff because we've read the comics and it's possible that wasn't Jean, and she's in a coccoon at the bottom of the lake somewhere and that was just the Phoenix force, which actually isn't a mutant but a force of nature. But, assuming that actually was her Leech could have stopped her if he got close enough.