“Those with the greatest power…protect those without.”

X-Men: Apocalypse

The final X-Men movie I will cover (and really the last one I’ve watched; I’m aware Dark Phoenix came out afterwards and continues the story, but it definitely looks like it is not a fun story, and there are several other Logan/Wolverine movies that also look depressing…superhero movies should have a good dose of fun). Sophie Turner (equally famous for her portrayal of Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, and is now married to Joe Jonas) joins the cast as Jean Grey, and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Prince John in Russel Crowe’s Robin Hood) is the lead antagonist, En Sabah Nur.

Charles’ voice opens the film, saying that mutants are still searching for guidance. Their gifts can be a curse and when they are given “the greatest gift of all, powers beyond imagination, they may think they are meant to rule the world.” We go way back in history, to 3600 BCE and the Nile valley. There is a ceremony going on in ancient Egypt, the crowd chanting “En Sabah Nur.” There is to be a transference between an ancient mutant and another mutant. But the guards betray En Sabah Nur and collapse the pyramid, though a few mutants remain loyal and protect their leader or god. Now, we’re in 1983 and a high school class in Ohio is learning about mutants being “discovered” at the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. One of the students is Scott Summers, who discovers his powers that day.

At the same time, in East Berlin, there are cage fights between mutants, with Angel as the reigning champion, now to face Nightcrawler. Raven is in the audience and knocks out a guard in order to overload the electric fencing, so the mutants can escape. She takes Nightcrawler and is going to get him set up with a new identity. Meanwhile, Erik is living fairly peacefully in Poland, with a wife and young daughter. Nina shows an affinity with animals (and is rather adorable). Note: he has to live like a human in order to survive, but it’s good to see him happy.

Alex picks his brother up and brings him to Xavier’s school (Charles is already teaching The Once and Future King, like we see in a later/earlier movie…boy, that’s confusing). They meet a young Jean Grey and Hank is still at the school. Scott unfortunately destroys Charles’ favorite tree, but the professor is excited to help him nonetheless. Across the globe, Moira McTaggert is investigating in Egypt and discovers a group chanting “En Sabah Nur” again. Sunlight touches the capstone of the pyramid and makes its way into the Earth, awakening the ancient mutant. This causes an earthquake across the world. In Poland, Erik saves a coworker at the factory, then hopes he wasn’t spotted. In the mansion, the earthquake is just the precursor to Jean’s terrifying nightmares that Charles attempts to comfort her. When he puts on Cerebro later, he comes across Moira and the next day, has Alex take him to the CIA to see her.

The group was part of a cult that views mutants as a sign of god and actually believe that the first mutant lived thousands of years prior, in contrast to the popular held belief that mutants only evolved in the twentieth century. Wherever this god that was raised went, destruction followed, and he always had four key supporters; like the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The way this god lived so long, before being buried, was by transferring his consciousness from body to body and thus, gaining more powers. And now this god is out and about in Egypt. He discovers a young mutant thief, we know to be Storm by her powers. She leads him back to her hiding spot, where there is a poster of Mystique, her hero. En Sabah Nur touches her television screen and begins to soak up the world news. He sees the clip of Magneto at the White House and calls the nuclear weapons and state of the world false gods and idols. When finished, he declares to young Storm his intent to take over and rule the world as he did in days of old. He calls it “saving” the world, but really means “cleansing.” He makes Storm his first follower and her hair turns its’ signature white.

Back in Poland, Erik’s actions were noted and reported to the police; men he viewed as friends. Erik is trying to run, but has to collect his daughter from the woods, where the police are holding her. They point-blank ask if he’s Magneto. All Erik wants is for them to release his daughter; he even offers to come quietly. But when they’re traded, Nina reaches for her father, like young Erik did decades ago, pleading that she will not let the men take her father away, like his parents were taken. The animals react to her distress and scare the policemen. One accidentally released his drawn arrow, instantly killing Nina and her mother. Erik cradles his babies, then uses Nina’s locket to eliminate the guards. “Is this what I am!” he shouts to the sky.

News quickly spreads. Raven discovers it from her informant and has Nightcrawler/ Kurt Wagner take her back to the mansion. Charles is still out, so she talks to Hank, while Kurt befriends Scott, Jean, and their friend Jubilee. The teens escape to visit a mall and see a movie [Return of the Jedi and they have a humorous discussion about movie trilogies]. Hank tries to persuade Raven to stay; start the X-Men like they talked about years ago. Charles is still hopeful for the world, but Hank is a little more realistic; they should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Raven just wants to find Erik. En Sabah Nur and Storm recruit more mutants, gathering Angel, with new wings, and a woman with a laser sword. Then they come upon Erik at the factory, ready to make the men who betrayed him pay (to which Erik asks the intruders, “who the fuck are you?” He gets the swear word this film). En Sabah Nur easily takes care of that, then takes Erik back to Auschwitz to teach him to pull metal directly from the earth. (Note that he picks mutants who are angry with the world.)

Charles is pleased to see Raven, though disappointed she’s only there to find Erik and to argue the point that Charles should be teaching his students to fight. Mutants in the outside world still live in fear; they’re not accepted, people just have to be polite to them now. Charles reaches out with Cerebro to speak to Erik, which En Sabah Nur senses. He then turns that conversation on Charles and takes him over; “thank you for letting me in.” He uses Charles to release all the nuclear weapons straight up, and destroy them. “No more weapons! No more systems! No more superpowers!” [If the music sounds familiar, it is Beethoven’s Allegretto.] Charles gets ahold of himself long enough to ask Alex to destroy Cerebro; “wreak havoc,” is his order. Alex does so, but once they have the professor safe, En Sabah Nur and his followers arrive at the mansion. Alex is still enough of a hot head, he charges the god while Erik pulls Charles to him by his wheelchair; Alex lets loose a blast, but the horsemen escape and the blast creates a chain reaction.

Peter Maximoff has seen the news on Erik and plans to track him down, so he goes the mansion. Just in time to rescue everyone from the blast (rather hilariously too). Well, almost everyone. Scott instantly notes when he arrives, that Alex is missing. He was closest to the blast and already gone before Peter arrived. Scott, Jean, and Kurt separate off from the rest of the group, Scott grieving for his brother, when the military arrives. They blast the mutants unconscious, and Stryker collects Raven, Moira, Hank, and Peter. The other three follow, intent on rescuing their leaders. Stryker wants Charles, but no one knows where he is at. There are barriers in place to prevent the teens from entering, and Peter reveals to Raven that he is Erik’s son.

En Sabah Nur brings his horsemen and Charles to Egypt. His plan is to wipe the face of the earth and rebuild it as he remembers, ruling as god. And now, with Charles, he can control every mind on earth. Charles, of course, tries to reason with Erik, but his old friend is still too hurt, too angry. En Sabah Nur’s message that Charles passes along is to warn the world of his plan. That the strongest among you, those with the greatest power, the earth will be yours. Charles also manages to send a secret message to Jean, letting her know where they are. And Charles changes the message at the last second, telling those with the greatest power…protect those without. That is Charles’ message. And that has always been and will always be Charles Xavier’s message to the world. (And we love him for it). En Sabah Nur’s not happy with the change, but his plan is not over yet.

The trio find Wolverine (because that apparently needed rehashed again), who goes on a rampage. Jean manages to set him free and gives him “Logan.” And no Scott, that is not the last you’ll see of him. But they manage to free Hank, Raven, Peter, and Moira. And find a plane to take to Egypt. Raven speaks to the teens, telling them about her first mission and tells them that Havok was brave. Raven doesn’t feel like a hero because she couldn’t save everyone. But the teens still view her as a hero, so she will lead them. Their objective is to rescue Charles. Raven and Peter will try to get Erik.

En Sabah Nur’s final plan is to transfer into Charles; then he gains Charles’ power, but not his morality. The transference is how Charles loses his hair. The teens take on the horsemen, and Kurt manages to get inside the pyramid and get Charles out. But their plane is caught before they can escape, so he has to get everyone out at once. They hide, Scott and Hank taking on the other horsemen. Raven tells Erik she’s going to go save her family and gives him the choice (and he recalls moments from First Class). Peter uses his speed to punch the ancient mutant, until his leg is caught and broken. Then Raven disguises herself as one of his horsemen to get close and uses the blade to slice him. But he chokes her. Storm watches as mutants fight mutants and the god she is following attempts to kill her hero. Yet, En Sabah Nur and Charles are still connected. Charles wants to save his sister and uses that connection to distract En Sabah Nur. In his mind, he gets a few good punches in, until En Sabah Nur grows and beats Charles up. Erik puts a metal X between En Sabah Nur and his friends. He will no longer betray them. Hank and Scott rescue Peter and Raven, then Scott uses his powers in conjunction with Erik’s to take on their opponent. Charles asks for Jean’s help, telling her to let go. Unleash her power without fear. She walks into mid-air and flames erupt, in the shape of a phoenix. Her powers pull back the ancient mutant’s armor, giving the men an opening. But he tries to get away. Until Storm electrocutes him.

Everyone is safe. Charles gives Moira her memories back; she later has Stryker arrested for kidnapping her. Peter and Storm decide to stay at the rebuilt mansion, courtesy of Erik and Jean working together. And Raven has decided to stay to train the new batch of X-Men. Erik and Charles have a conversation outside the simulation room, Charles now looking like his older counterpart with the bald head. Charles was right about Erik and he was right about Raven. There is still hope for the world. But Erik cautions him, “doesn’t it ever wake you up in the middle of the night? The feeling that one day they’ll come for you and your children?” Charles responds: “I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul that comes to my school looking for trouble.” [I love that this is a call back to the last scene of the first X-Men movie!]

Overall, I prefer the prequel trilogy of the X-men franchise to the original trilogy, but the stories get a little wonky. Honestly, the time jumps between the three newer films almost get in the way of the characters. Sure, the ones who were introduced in First Class are still around twenty years later, but realistically, they shouldn’t be the same actors, as much as we love them. If the studio wants to keep the same actors, great, just don’t show the same person looking the same twenty years later. Also, while I love that Raven is Charles’ sister and that dynamic, this doesn’t work fully in retrospect: our Mystique could have never poisoned Charles like Mystique did in the first X-Men movie. I’m sure the executives would explain that with the time travel, the future that was the original X-men films changed…ultimately boiling down to alternate universes in combination with wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.

Up Next: The two Fantastic Four films with Chris Evans; then I’ll be taking a bit of a break to work on some other writing, mainly the fantasy epic I have intentions of writing. I figure this is a good place to pause, before jumping into the twenty-or-so Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

“All those years wasted, fighting each other, Charles, to have a precious few of them back.”

X-Men: Days of Future Past

This unites the older cast with the newer cast, with Bryan Singer back at the helm. Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, Eitri the Dwarf in Avengers: Infinity War, Trumpkin the Dwarf in Prince Caspian, and the lead in the recent Cyrano movie) joins as Dr. Bolivar Trask, Evan Peters is Peter/ Quicksilver (yes, he appeared in WandaVision and SPOILER [in case you’re even later than me watching the show]: he plays the other version of Pietro…I just laughed when I saw in on the show and really wish more had been done because, he’s Peter, just the other one). Booboo Stewart (he’s Seth in the Twilight movies and Jay in the Disney Descendants movies [haven’t seen those]) is another mutant, named Warpath.

We open in a dark future, ruled by Sentinels, machines that hunt down and kill mutants and any humans who try to help. But there is a ray of hope left, for what’s left of the X-men are making for a hideout to meet with a few fighters, including familiar faces Bobby and Kitty. Professor Xavier (yep, he’s alive, not sure how, but it’s X-men, we’re not really going to ask) has a crazy idea, have Kitty send him back in time to 1973 to prevent Raven/Mystique from killing Trask and thus causing the Sentinels to be built. (Another quick question, how does Kitty have time travel abilities? She phases through walls.) Unfortunately, Xavier would not physically be able to withstand a trip that far. So Logan volunteers and has to meet a very different Charles and Erik, and convince them to work together when they couldn’t be further apart.

The time travel works and Logan tracks down the Professor, only to find the mansion run down, with only Hank McCoy as a companion. Oh, and he can walk. But, the tradeoff is he doesn’t have his powers. And wants nothing to do with Logan or his hope for the future; he’s a broken man, leave him alone. However…he relents and will do it for Raven. He still cares for her and will save her if he can. Except they’re going to need some more help, particularly to get Erik out of…wherever he’s being kept. Logan happens to know a mutant who is a teenager in the seventies: Peter Maximoff. He gets to break in and get Erik out of prison in the Pentagon; Erik was arrested for killing JFK. Peter is in fact very helpful, rescuing the men for a rain of bullets (Charles does get to hit Erik, then insist on no killing).

We see a brief glimpse of Havok in Vietnam, though Mystique impersonates a Colonel to rescue the mutants before they’re shipped off to Trask Industries under a young Stryker. She’s taken Erik’s lesson on one-track mind to heart. She later sneaks into Trask’s office and finds the reports on the dead mutants Trask has experimented on. And gets the clue to head to Paris, for the Peace Accords. There, she seduces a Vietnamese general and impersonates him to get into the meeting.

It’s a very tense plane ride for Charles, Hank, Erik, and Logan. Charles and Erik finally confront each other; it’s a wonderful scene and hints at the mental headspace that Charles was in following First Class. “You took her away and you abandoned me!” Charles shouts at Erik. Erik’s comeback is that Charles abandoned all the other mutants; “we were supposed to protect them.” Charles storms away and Erik levels the plane. Logan points out that Erik has always been an arse.

Erik later offers a game of chess to Charles as a peace offering. They discuss Raven, a woman they both love, in different ways. Charles remains concerned for her. Erik also admits he didn’t kill JFK, the bullet curved because he was trying to save him, because he was a mutant. The friendship starts to mend, but it has a long way to go, so Charles starts the game.

Action comes to a head at the Trask meeting, who is trying to convince foreign governments now of his machines since the American government shut him down (some members didn’t like the idea of targeting Americans who are living peacefully). Raven reveals herself and is briefly taken down by Stryker, but our heroes arrive. Logan glimpses Stryker and loses control for a moment, not remembering any timeline. Charles hilariously tries to pass it off as a bad acid trip, until Logan comes back. Raven is genuinely happy to see her brother, until Erik picks up the gun and is willing to kill her to prevent Trask from getting his hands on her and her DNA and thus wiping out all mutants. Raven tries to escape, but is nicked in the leg. Erik pursues her, and Beast jumps after him. Mind you, all of this is caught on camera when they land outside and use their powers. Trask escapes, but manages to get his hands on a small blood sample. Trask next meets with President Nixon himself and offers his machines once again as a response to the “mutant problem.” (And that’s apparently what the deleted recording was about.)

Raven is patched up, then catches up with Erik and demands answers. Erik attempts to persuade her to work with him to strike while they have the upper hand. But Raven draws a line. She’ll kill Trask because of what he’s done to her friends. But this won’t become genocide. Meanwhile, Logan convinces Charles to stop taking the serum, so that his powers will come back. They need Cerebro in order to find Raven and prevent the murder she is still planning. But Cerebro overloads since Charles is rusty. So Logan has young Charles read his mind into the future and talk to older Charles (another brilliant scene). Older Charles counsels his younger self that the pain Charles feels and fears will make his stronger if he embraces it. His greatest gift is to bear their pain without breaking. And that is born of hope. Charles needs to get his hope back; only then will the future change. Energized, Charles uses his powers to talk to Raven through others at the airport. She’s still set on her path and dislikes that Charles is trying to make a decision for her.

Everyone manages to meet up again in D.C., where the President is making an announcement with Trask to showcase the Sentinels that will protect Americans. Erik breaks into the Pentagon to retrieve his helmet to keep Charles out. He’s also put metal inside the Sentinels so he has control, which he has go off on the crowd at the White House. At the same time, the Sentinels of the future have found the hidden X-men. Young Erik wraps metal into Logan and sends him off to drown, then uses the cameras to speak to hidden mutants, calling for them to unite and fight for their rights. Raven duplicates the President as an offer to Erik, then shoots him. Charles, pinned under a structure, uses his powers to convince Raven to choose a different path. She can show the world that not all mutants need to be feared. She puts the gun down (which erases the future, one where everyone was on the brink of being destroyed), and Trask lives. But his program is scrapped and Stryker gives information to the President that Trask was selling secrets to foreign governments. Raven takes the helmet off Erik so that Charles can use him to free himself. He lets Erik fly off and lets Raven walk away. Though she appears to impersonate Stryker to rescue Logan.

And Logan is in the new future now. The mansion is full of students, Bobby and Rogue make a brief appearance. Hank McCoy is teaching, and even Scott and Jean are back. Logan needs a bit of help from the Professor, clearing up with the new history is after 1973.

Where we started with Patrick Stewart’s Charles asking if we’re destined to destroy ourselves, or can we change our fate. Is the future truly set? We end with James McAvoy’s Charles giving us hope that the past is “a world of endless possibilities and infinite outcomes. Countless choices define our fate: each choice, each moment, a moment in the ripple of time. Enough ripple, and you change the tide” and answering that “the future is never truly set.”

I adore that they brought familiar faces back and it’s wonderful to see on the same screen the differences between their younger and older selves. The greatest scene is watching James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart play the same character at two different points in life in the same shot. Patrick Stewart always gives us hope for humanity. I continue to enjoy the sibling relationship that they developed between Raven and Charles. They still care for each other, but Raven has grown. She wants to please her brother deep down, but now she’s own person. And she realized that Erik wasn’t going to lead her where she wanted, so she struck out on her own. And becomes the badass woman we love. Charles ultimately lets go and has faith, but he’ll pull himself out of a hole in order to save her. Work alongside the man who let him down in order to save her. And of course, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are adorable alongside each other; there’s a funny blooper where Ian spouts some BS line and Patrick looks at him with “what did you just say?” on his face.

Really wish Erik would stop trying to rule the world! You’ve gotten your revenge, leave it alone. There are better ways to fight for mutant rights than reverting to killing all humans. Also, we want you to settle down with Charles…hey, older versions of them are friends again, we want to see them come around. Again, I encourage you to read Rumor Has It on either fanfiction.net or AO3.

Overall, this movie tends to give me a bit of a headache trying to keep timelines straight and I get that this re-writes a lot of what happened in the original trilogy and I like the happy ending, but it’s not always one I want to re-watch.

Up Next: X-Men Apocalypse

Mutant. And Proud

X-Men: First Class

The start of the prequel-ish series and brings in James McAvoy (I adore him in Becoming Jane and he’s Tumnus the Faun in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) to play Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender (he’s the reason I went to watch the Jane Eyre movie that came out around the same time and led me to actually reading the book [that sometimes works]) to play Erik Lensherr. Oliver Platt (Porthos in the 90’s Three Musketeers) is simply “Man in Black Suit,” though Kevin Bacon (star of Footloose) brings dimension to Sebastian Shaw. Jennifer Lawrence (this came out a year before the first Hunger Games film, where her fame skyrocketed. She has since won a Golden Globe for American Hustle and an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook [no, I have not watched those, but I love her in this role]) is Raven, while Nicholas Hoult (now you see him all the time for ads for The Great, and he’s remarkable in Tolkien) is Hank McCoy, and Lucas Till (the new MacGyver) is Alex Summers. A few older adults are familiar; Rade Serbedzija (Prince Kragin in the first Downton Abbey movie and Gregorvitch in Deathly Hallows, and Emile de Becque in the TV movie of South Pacific with Glenn Close) is the Russian general, Glenn Morshower (he shows up in a bunch of TV shows, usually as someone in charge) is General Hendry, and the senior William Stryker is played by Don Creech (yep, that’s Mr. Sweeney from Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide).

The film begins the same as the first X-Men film, in Poland in 1944. But this time, we see someone watching young Erik Lensherr pull down the gates. This man is known as Klaus Schmidt and he’s very interested in discovering Erik’s abilities. The Nazis are only partially correct in their idea of genes unlocking a new age, but Schmidt is focused on latent abilities. He offers Erik chocolate to move a metal coin. When that fails, he brings in Erik’s mother and threatens to shoot her after the count of three, unless Erik can move the coin. Sadly, the teenager cannot move the coin, and Schmidt shoots Mrs. Lensherr. Erik goes on a rampage, destroying everything else metal in the room, to Schmidt’s great delight. As a “reward,” he gives Erik the coin at the end, noting that he can unlock the boy’s gift with rage and pain (that does not bode well). At the same time, in Westchester, New York, a young Charles Xavier discovers a young Raven in his kitchen. At first, she morphs into Mrs. Xavier, but Charles quickly realizes she’s a fake since his mother has never stepped foot in the kitchen and has never offered to make him hot chocolate. But when Charles realizes it’s another mutant, he’s excited, as is Raven.

Eighteen years later, in Geneva, Switzerland, Erik tracks down a former Nazi banker to make him give up the location of Klaus Schmidt. He’s sent to Argentina, where he notices a photo of Schmidt aboard a ship based out of Miami. Erik kills the men, after remarking that he is Frankenstein’s monster, and he’s looking for his creator [this sequence highlights Michael Fassbender’s talent with languages]. At the same time, Charles is finishing his degree at Oxford University and hitting on girls in pubs, while his “sister” Raven watches on. While Charles praises pretty girls for their “mutations,” such as two-colored eyes and brown hair, Raven has to hide her true form in order to fit in. She mocks a girl for saying “mutant and proud,” but the relationship between Charles and Raven is very sweet: Charles is very much a brother by saying that the overall concept of his sister dating is that “any man would be lucky to have you,” while the actual thought is, “you’re my sister, I don’t think of you that way.” And he genuinely fears Raven slipping up and what the consequences would be. [And excellent editing, playing Charles’ thesis over the scene where Erik walks into the bank, stating “the mutated human species meant the extinction of its less-evolved kin.”]

In the States, CIA agent Moira McTaggert is investigating the Hellfire Club in Las Vegas, discovering several officials and important people are all meeting, including General Hendry, so she sneaks in. And overhears Shaw pressuring the general to put nuclear missiles in Turkey, extremely close to Russia and almost certainly a declaration of war. But some of his mutant companions help sway the general. When her report is not believed, she sets out to find an expert in genetic mutation. Which leads her to Charles, who initially tries to flirt with her, until he discovers that there is something more interesting going on. So, Charles and Raven accompany Moira back to the CIA headquarters, where Charles gives his presentation, but isn’t taken seriously, until he uses his abilities. Of course, they think he’s a spy, until Raven transforms into Styrker. They’re still not trusted, so the man in the back ground [Oliver Platt] offers to house them in his facility, since it’s secure and off-premises. Then a lead comes in about Shaw’s whereabouts, and Charles persuades Moira to take him.

Erik has caught up to Shaw (who is in fact Klaus Schmidt) after Shaw has killed Hendry by demonstrating his mutant power: he absorbs energy and can redistribute it, which also keeps him young. Erik is knocked off the boat by Shaw’s associates, then uses the anchor to begin tearing the ship apart. Emma Frost and Shaw escape into their submarine, which Erik attempts to stop using his powers. But the U.S. Coast Guard is also on the scene, with Charles on board. Charles senses Erik in the water, after mentally running into Emma, who is also a telepath. Charles urges Erik to stop and let the sub go; he’ll drown. When the man doesn’t listen to him, Charles jumps into the water himself and calms the man down. “You’re not alone.”

Charles brings Erik back to the “Covert CIA Research Base,” where they investigate the application of paranormal powers in a military setting. Or as Charles jokingly calls them, the “mutant division.” They meet young Hank McCoy, who on top of being extremely intelligent, has abnormal feet. Charles accidentally outed Hank, but Raven is pleased to meet the young man. It’s someone else who has a physical mutation. Hank has developed a supersonic plane [looks an awful lot like the SR-71 Blackbird], (which appears in the other X-Men films). When the two teens talk afterwards, Hank wants some of Raven’s blood in order to develop a serum that will mask their physical mutations, but not their actual powers. Erik walks by in time to stop a kiss, but also points out they shouldn’t have to hide. Erik is still bent on revenge, but Charles stops him before he leaves. Charles wants to help Erik, and stresses that Erik has a chance to be a part of something bigger. Erik in fact, stays, but they find out that the missiles have been placed in Turkey and Shaw is on his way to Russia. He also has a helmet that blocks a telepath’s ability to read his mind.

It’s time for Charles and Erik to gather mutants of their own. Hank developed a transmitter, he calls Cerebro, that can amplify Charles’ brainwaves and abilities, so Charles can locate other mutants. Hank suggests shaving Charles so the helmet would fit closer, to which Charles definitively says “don’t touch my hair.” They first find a club dancer whose tattoos are actually wings; then there’s a cab driver, then Alex Summers who is in solitary confinement. Next, there’s a teenaged boy on a date, but he can drive fish away. They find Wolverine in a bar, but all he says is “go fuck yourself,” and they leave. The teens get to know one another and show off their powers and decide on nicknames. The club dancer is Angel, the cab driver is Darwin, because he adapts to survive. Raven becomes Mystique and the red-headed boy is Sean and he goes by Banshee because of his sonic blast. Alex becomes Havok due to his laser blasts. Erik and Charles are trying to plan their next step and are disappointed to find the kids having a party and goofing off (and destroying part of the building). Raven does manage to tell them their nicknames; Charles is Professor X and Erik is Magneto. The adults head off for Russia to hopefully head Shaw off, but he doesn’t show, Emma is leading the meeting with the Russian general. Erik is determined to take her instead, so Charles chases after him. Erik wraps Emma in metal hard enough to crack her diamond form, which allows Charles to read her mind for Shaw’s plan: place U.S. missiles in Turkey, place Russian missiles in Cuba and then make a nuclear war happen. “Radiation gave birth to mutants; what will kill the humans will only make us stronger,” and Shaw can take over the world.

Shaw, in the meantime, has discovered that Erik and Charles are recruiting, so he heads for Virginia to find them. His minions accompany him and start ripping the agents apart. The agents attempt to protect the kids, even though some of them were teasing them not too long ago. Until the last guy is very eager to hand the mutant teenagers over to the psychopath. Shaw only wants to make an offer to the kids, saying that the humans will eventually rise against the mutants and they need to pick their sides now: either wait to be enslaved, or rise up to rule. Angel willingly goes with Shaw. Darwin starts to go with Shaw, then signals for Alex to let loose a laser, hoping to take out the bad guy. Unfortunately, they did not realize that Shaw would absorb the power, then feed it to Darwin. Shaw, Angel, and his minions leave. When Erik and Charles return, Charles initially wants to send the kids home, but they point out it’s too late for that. Erik convinces Charles to train the teenagers. And Charles knows where.

At the mansion, Charles teaches each teenager that they need to control their powers, not let their powers control them (we see this lesson repeated in the previous trilogy). Seeing Sean learn to fly is humorous, just the way he falls into the bush, and then Erik simply pushing him when Charles tries to let him out of trying. It’s Erik who points out to Raven that she is splitting half of her attention in order to look normal. She wants society to accept her, but she won’t accept herself. And Charles and Erik work together, Charles showing Erik that he doesn’t need to use anger to fuel his power; that true focus lies between rage and serenity. Charles feels the good in Erik. Hank finishes the serum and shows Raven, but she’s realized the truth in Erik’s words and it doesn’t help that Hank calls the serum a cure. She’s finally mutant and proud. When Hank tries the serum, it initially works, but then goes the wrong way. Meanwhile, Erik and Charles are playing chess and discussing the mutant issue, fundamentally on opposing sides, but for the moment acting like gentlemen. Raven sneaks into Erik’s room to wait for him and even tries her older form, but he doesn’t say “perfection,” until she’s in her natural blue form. She confronts Charles afterwards and he struggles to see her point.

The team heads out to try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis, using the plane that Hank developed. He’s now blue and furry, thanks to his serum, but he’s now become Beast. When they reach the embargo line, Charles makes the Russians fire on their own ship, so the Americans won’t have to fire and then start the war. They figure Shaw is nearby, perhaps underwater, so they use Sean as sonar (and he stays away from Erik, so he won’t get pushed out). Shaw is indeed on site and plans to become the weapon, draining the nuclear reactor of his sub. But Erik manages to lift the sub out of the water and crash it on the beach. The plan crashes shortly after. Erik heads for the sub, and Beast, Havok, and Banshee take on Angel, Riptide, and Azazel. Erik realizes that smashing the mirrored walls of the reactor will allow Charles telepathy to work, so he can freeze Shaw. Shaw attempts to win Erik over to his side, and Erik admits that Shaw made him into a weapon. Then Erik puts on the helmet so Charles can’t stop him from using the coin to pierce Shaw’s head in final retaliation for killing his mother. [Excellent editing, following the path of the coin and overlaying Charles’ face occasionally, indicating that he feels what Erik is doing.]

Stryker is causing problems and orders both sides to hit the mutants on the beach. This just adds fuel to Erik’s argument that the humans are against the mutants and they all need to band together. Charles still holds hope that there are some good humans out there. Erik manages to stop the missiles and turns them back to the ships, but Charles tackles him, breaking his concentration so the missiles start exploding in midair. The two men wrestle, then Moira starts shooting at Erik. He deflects the bullets, but one lands in Charles’ back. Erik retaliates by cradling his friend and strangling Moira. Charles points out this was Erik’s doing. He releases Moira, but pleads with Charles that he needs the man by his side; they’re brothers, they want the same thing. No, my friend, we do not (and we’re hit by James/Charles’ piercing blue eyes). Erik leaves Charles, makes one last plead to gain allies. Raven steps towards him, though she detours to her brother, who gives her permission. “Mutant and proud,” are her parting words. The rest of the team swarm their leader and Charles can only say he can’t feel his legs.

They’re back at the mansion, formalizing plans to make it a school. And Charles has to protect the anonymity of his students, so with a kiss, he wipes Moira’s memory. Erik breaks Emma Frost out of prison, now wearing the repainted helmet and a cape and going by Magneto.

This has become my favorite X-Men film, because it’s a story that can really stand on its own. They make it fit well into the Cuban Missile Crisis, so we wonder, could this really have happened? There’s also more energy to the movie. It’s nice to see older Charles and Erik get along on occasion, but it’s even better to see how they started. Yes, some continuity snarls show up, but since none of the movies were exactly planned out years in advance to fit together, it still works. And I probably allow much more leeway since I have never read the comics. It’s also not as dark as many of the previous movies were. Several mistakes were made by characters in complete innocence. The soundtrack also heightens the energy of the film, with the electric guitar and steady pace.

And yes, I totally subscribe to the theory that Charles and Erik are a couple. And utterly adore the new fact that Charles and Raven are siblings. These people need more hugs!

Fanfiction Recommendations:

I love blueink3’s Rumor Has It, which picks up where this film left off and adds an unknown child of Charles’ to the mix.

Up Next: Days of Future Past

“Logan, my tolerance for your smoking in the mansion notwithstanding, continue smoking that in here and you’ll spend the rest of your days under the belief that you’re a six-year-old girl.”

X2: X-Men United

The leads from the first film are back and joined by Brian Cox (Agamemnon in Troy, Argyle Wallace in Braveheart, and Killearn in Rob Roy) as Colonel William Stryker and Alan Cumming (Boris in Goldeneye) as Kurt Wagner. And once again the film opens with an introduction about mutation and the comment from Professor Xavier that “sharing the world has never been humanity’s defining attribute” [and who else thinks this is something Captain Picard would tell another being?] After that, the action kicks off with a mutant who can pop around in a cloud of blue smoke attacks the president, but once he’s shot, he leaves behind a knife with a banner reading “Mutant Freedom Now” on it. Logan has made it to Alkali Lake in Canada, but it’s deserted. He does spy a white wolf, which can hold various symbolism, including a search for truth I believe.

Back in civilization, Jean, Storm, and Scott are leading a field trip and a trio of teenagers, John, Bobby, and Rogue, get in a bit of trouble. Jean is also experiencing some problems with her powers; they’ve been off in a way since Liberty Island. Her dreams have been worse and she feels something terrible is going to happen. Professor Xavier has to freeze the food court and reprimand John for showing off in front of humans. But then the news story comes in about the attack on the President, so they quickly leave. Colonel Stryker visits the President to request authorization for a special operation, namely to “investigate” Xavier’s school for children. He has access to Eric Lensherr, which Senator Kelly is very interested in (reminder, that is Mystique in disguise). The President agrees that Stryker may “enter, detain, and question,” but he doesn’t want to see a dead mutant kid on the news. Kelly warns Stryker about turning this into some kind of war. (We can tell there is something suspicious going on.)

Logan returns to the mansion and gets left to watch the children while Jean and Storm track down the mutant who attacked the President [there is an error in editing; Jean comments to Logan they’re going to Boston before Xavier uses Cerebro to find the mutant.] Scott and the Professor are going to visit Eric. Charles realizes that Stryker has been using Eric against his will for information against Charles; gas is pumped in and the two older mutants collapse. Stryker’s assistant takes care of Scott. Jean and Storm are able to find the mutant, a teleporter named Kurt Wagner, known in the Munich circus as the Incredible Nightcrawler. He remembers the attack, but like he was watching himself and couldn’t stop it. The back of his neck is scarred (like Magneto’s). Mystique shifts into Stryker’s assistant in order to find out information on the prison where Eric is kept; she also discovers plans for a second Cerebro at a classified location.

Meanwhile, Rogue is very happy to see Logan back at the school and introduces him to Bobby, her boyfriend (and isn’t that a whole load of awkward). Logan wakes in the middle of the night, at the same time that black ops men break into the school and shoot stun darts at the children. Some are able to get away, led by a kid that can cover himself in metal. John and Bobby go back for Rogue while Logan takes out the men. Logan instructs the big kid to watch after the other children. Rogue convinces Bobby to go back for Logan, who is now distracted by Stryker; he remembers this man for some reason and Stryker seems to know things about him. Bobby erects an ice wall between Logan and Stryker. Logan tells Rogue, “Go I’ll be fine.” “But we won’t,” she responds. So Logan takes the three teens. They head to Boston, where he knows Jean will be. Bobby suggests they go to his parents’ house for clothes and he has to reveal that he’s actually a mutant. His younger brother is upset and his mother asks him to try to “not be a mutant” [cringe].

Stryker has kidnapped Charles and Scott and is using his own mutant son to control Charles, having him send illusions into Charles’ head. Charles protests Stryker’s use of his son, but Stryker also won’t admit that the young man is his son whom he’s holding prisoner. His true son died; this is simply mutant number 143. He will admit that mutants serve a purpose, as long as they can be controlled. Charles also realizes that it was Stryker who arranged the attack on the President. Create a situation where his expertise will be required and manipulate the situation to get what he wants. He needed a reason to attack the school and get the specifications of Cerebro. After the attack, the President gave him permission. And breed enough fear against mutants, his method of controlling them will be desired. Mystique charms a man and drugs him in order to gain access to Eric’s prison; by injecting him with lead that Magneto pulls out of him and creates pellets to free himself.

Jean is able to contact Logan, but Bobby’s brother called the cops. Logan tries to calmly talk his way out, but with his claws out, he’s shot for his trouble. John, who controls fire, shoots fireballs at the cops, until Rogue uses her power to stop him and put the fires out. Jean and Storm pick up the teens and Logan. Then two other jets come up on the mutants’ jet and Storm has to distract them. They take a hit and Rogue is sucked out of the plane, though Kurt rescues her. Magneto helps land the plane and both groups have to work together to free Charles. Stryker’s son, James, is putting the illusion in Charles’ head that he has to use Cerebro to locate all the mutants. But the danger is, if Charles concentrates on all the mutants too long, he can kill them. Which is what Stryker wants. Jean is able to read Kurt’s mind to discover that the secret base is underneath Alkali Lake.

They send Mystique in as Wolverine since Stryker is less likely to kill him on sight, but Mystique will be able to man the control center. She gets in, but Stryker recognizes that she is not the true Wolverine, thought she is still able to complete her part of the mission. She lets the others in. Storm and Kurt will free the other children the men captured, while Jean goes with Magneto and Mystique for Charles. Wolverine sneaks out to go after Stryker. Jean runs into Scott, who is being mind-controlled, so Magneto and Mystique go on to Cerebro on their own. Wolverine finds the lab from his nightmares and faces off against Stryker’s assistant, who is also a mutant with adamantium nails and a healing ability like Wolverine’s. He manages to win by injecting her with more adamantium. Then he goes after Stryker and is ready to kill him, despite Stryker’s insistence that he will tell Logan everything. Except he finds out that the dam is going to flood their escape route and goes back in to save his new friends.

A blast from Scott knocks both him and Jean out and when he wakes, he’s back to normal and Jean’s injured her leg. Kurt and Storm manage to get the children and Mystique and Magneto do find Cerebro. “From here it doesn’t look like they’re playing by your rules. Maybe it’s time to play by theirs.” Instead of simply pulling Charles out, Magneto has James tell Charles there is a change of plans. Kill all the humans now. Storm has Kurt teleport her inside since Magneto and Mystique have left. She freezes the inside so James has to stop his control. Kurt gets Storm and Charles out and they are all almost to the spillway when Logan closes the door, right in time to keep them from being flooded. He leads them out, but Stryker’s helicopter is gone, courtesy of Magneto and Mystique. They’ve also gained a follower in John, who goes by Pyro. Magneto told him on the way in that his power makes him a god among insects. Stryker is still alive and once again tries to convince Logan he’s only an animal and who else can give him the truth? Well, Logan will take his chances with the mutants. Stryker shouts after him “one day someone will finish what I’ve started!”

Rogue and Bobby have brought the jet around to rescue everyone, but it won’t start again. Jean senses that the dam is about to give, so she limps out of the plane. She starts it and gets it in the air and won’t let the ramp back down for Scott to come after her. She also manages to keep the water away from the jet and uses the Professor to say good-bye to Scott. Then the jet is in the air and she drowns in the water. All Logan can say is “she’s gone,” and Scott finally breaks down. But they’re not finished yet. The Professor freezes a press conference in the Oval Office and points out the truth of Stryker to the President and urges him to work together for a better future rather than repeating the mistakes of the past. Back at the mansion, Charles tries to comfort Logan and Scott, but they don’t seem terribly convinced. He then goes on to start a lesson with the students on T.H. White’s Once and Future King, which Eric was reading earlier in jail.

The pairings and relationships in this movie…to start, it seems like Rogue may view Logan more as a surrogate father-type figure, since she’s dating Bobby and Bobby seems like a nice guy. He’s not trying to push Rogue, but he would enjoy a kiss once in a while. And it evens works for a second, until it lasts too long. And Logan probably views Rogue in a protective sense, but he doesn’t grill Bobby. As for Logan and Jean; that is a ship that never should have set sail. While Logan’s reaction to her death tugs at the heartstrings, I definitely side with the notion that she should be with Scott; she has a history with him and an understanding. And yes, the two men are united for a moment in their grief for the loss of Jean, but even with Logan telling Scott that Jean chose Scott, I don’t see these two becoming friends. Then there’s Mystique obvious interest in Wolverine which could be interesting in one respect, though creepy how she switched through the various ladies (one of whom may have been Rogue and yeah, definite creepy factor there).

There are hints of Jean’s growing power throughout the film and that is an epic display at the end, lifting the jet and holding back the dam at the same time. And we are left with the notion at the end that all may not be what it seems. But Magneto may be right, that there is a war coming and these are the warning shots.

Up Next: X-Men: The Last Stand

The First Step Into a Larger World

X-Men

The first of a whole series of films made, including a prequel set. It has a stellar cast, helmed by Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek: Next Generation, John Gaunt in Hollow Crown, he voiced the Pharoah in Prince of Egypt, he appeared as King Richard at the end of Robin Hood: Men in Tights and an overall acting career that dates back to the sixties) as Professor Charles Xavier and Ian McKellen (Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies [the director, Bryan Singer, even adjusted the filming schedule so Ian could travel to New Zealand], Cogsworth in the live action Beauty and the Beast, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, and a career as long-spanning as Stewart) as Eric Lensherr/Magneto [the two actors are friends in real life and it’s adorable]. This was Hugh Jackman’s first major role (he had done a recorded stage production of Oklahoma before this and was known elsewhere for his singing, but most American audiences knew him from X-Men first) as Wolverine (he goes on to star in Australia, Kate and Leopold, Van Helsing, The Greatest Showman, and Les Misérables, and is now on Broadway in The Music Man). Halle Berry (Jinx Johnson opposite Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day, the titular Catwoman in the 2004 film, and she won the Oscar in Monster’s Ball) is Storm, James Marsden (Prince Edward in Enchanted, he appears in Hairspray and 27 Dresses as well) is Cyclops, while Famke Janssen (Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, so that’s two Bond women in this movie) is Jean Grey. You kind of can’t tell, but that’s Rebecca Romijn (Eve Baird in the Librarians series) as Mystique and Ray Park (you can’t recognize him in his other role either, but he’s Darth Maul in Phantom Menace) as Toad.

The film opens with narration on mutation and evolution, explaining that in this universe, mutants are the evolution of humans. Then we’re in 1944 Poland, at a concentration camp as evidenced by the yellow stars the prisoners are wearing. A family is torn apart and the mother cries for her son; he reaches out to her, despite guards holding on to him and pulls the metal gate back before he’s knocked out. Time jump to the “not too distant future” in Mississippi. A teenage couple is discussing the girl’s desire to go on an adventure. When she kisses the boy, he becomes paralyzed and non-responsive. She screams at her parents “don’t touch me.” Meanwhile, there is a Senate hearing going on about a mutant registration act, headed by a Senator Kelly, who views all mutants as dangerous while Dr. Jean Grey is trying to explain that they are still people and often their mutations are brought on at puberty by heightened emotions. After the hearing, two older gentlemen have their own conversation. Charles is in favor of hope, while Eric views humans as lesser beings; “we are the future,” he tells Charles and warns him not to get in his way.

The teen girl has made her way to Canada where she enters a bar with a cage fight going on and meets “the Wolverine,” a champion fighter. She warns him afterwards of a man threatening him, but Wolverine has claws that extend from his hands, so he’s got it covered. Later, Wolverine, whose real name is Logan, discovers the girl as a stowaway and his heart is kind enough to not simply leave her on the side of the road. Her name is Marie, but she goes by “Rogue” now. They get in an accident and Logan is thrown from the truck. He faces off with another mutant, while Marie is stuck in the truck, about to go up in flames (thanks to Logan’s cigar). They are saved by two other mutants, one who controls the snow storm and one with laser eyes.

When Logan wakes up, his first instinct is to escape, though there is a voice following him and leading him to…Professor Charles Xavier. And his school for the gifted, a cover for mutants. His primary instructors are Storm, Cyclops (real name is Scott), and Jean Grey. Marie is attending classes and hopes to fit in with the other wayward students. Charles explains about their counterparts, led by Magneto, who foresees a war involving mutants. Magneto was an old friend of Charles’, when he went by the name Eric Lensherr. Charles also knows that Logan has lost his memory of his life before the incident that gave him an adamantium skeleton. He makes a deal with Logan; give Charles forty-eight hours to discover Magneto’s plan and then Charles will use his skill at mind reading to help Logan discover his past.

In the meantime, Magneto has Mystique kidnap Senator Kelly and he uses a machine to expose the Senator to radiation. Kelly ends up a mutant (whose body can now squeeze through bars), just like the Brotherhood of Mutants. Afterall, humans fear what they don’t understand, so Magento is changing their minds about mutants. Back at the school, Marie visits Logan when he has nightmares [why, not explained, and someone really ought to be asking that question]; he’s startled awake and accidentally stabs Marie. Before she collapses, she touches Logan and heals herself, but knocks Logan out. Charles explains once Logan wakes, that Rogue’s gift drains the life force of someone, and in the case of mutants, borrows their powers for a time. Outside, Rogue’s new friend Bobby tells her to leave. Except it’s not really Bobby; the yellow eyes give her away as Mystique. Charles introduces Logan to Cerebro, the machine he uses to find other mutants, since their brainwaves are different. He sends Cyclops and Storm after Marie, but Logan also goes. Then Mystique gains access to Cerebro and plugs in a poison.

Logan is the one to track Marie to the train and comforts her. He suggests she gives the school another chance because the Professor is one of the few people who understand what is going on and may be able to help her. Logan also promises to take care of her, managing to give her a hug without skin contact. But Magneto and his goons find them, Sabretooth and Toad taking on Cyclops and Storm while Magneto tears apart the train and throws Logan back so he can take Marie.

Logan intends to go back out to find Rogue, while Storm urges him to fight with her and Scott. That’s when Senator Kelly shows up at the school, begging for help. Charles reads his mind and finally realizes what Eric’s plan is. To use his machine to turn the world leaders gathering at a U.N. Summit on Ellis Island into mutants so that the mutant cause becomes their cause. And since the machine weakens him, he’ll use Marie’s power to transfer his power through her to power the machine. However, a side effect of the machine causes Kelly to dissolve into water. Charles attempts to use Cerebro, but is poisoned. So the four adults have to work together to take on Magneto and his Brotherhood and rescue Marie. Logan makes a crack about their suits and Cyclops comes back with a joke about wearing yellow spandex (apparently what they wore in the comics).

It’s an interesting fight since Mystique can transform into anyone on the team, so at one point we have two Wolverines fighting each other. Storm eventually electrocutes Toad, Scott saves Jean, and when Logan returns, Scott knows it’s the real him because he calls him a name. But Magneto pins the team and raises the machine. Logan eventually stabs himself with his claws to get free, then takes on Sabretooth. He helps the others get free and has them raise him up to Marie. Cyclops gets a shot at Magneto, distracting him enough for Logan to slice the controls. Marie now has a white streak in her hair and isn’t breathing at first. Logan takes off his glove and attempts to siphon his power. There’s a delayed reaction and Marie starts breathing, but Logan’s wounds begin bleeding.

Charles recovers and gives Logan a clue that there is an abandoned facility at Alkali Lake in Canada that may hold some answers. Mystique survived and is posing as Senator Kelly so now he’s changing his view on the mutant registration law. And Charles visits Eric in a plastic prison to play chess. Eric asks his old friend if he stays awake at night, worried that someone may come for his children? Charles responds: “I feel a great swell of pit for the poor soul who comes to that school looking for trouble.” They’re still on opposite sides of the war, but they’re still old friends.

I have to admit, after watching the later X-Men and other superhero movies, this one feels a bit slow. I understand that it sets up a lot of what takes place in later movies, but I had trouble getting back into the film after several years. Of course, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are excellent. I think Hugh Jackman’s performance gets better over time in the movies. Jean is a bit flat and Cyclops and Storm are almost relegated to sidekicks. As for the “love triangle” between Logan, Jean, and Scott; there is absolutely no chemistry between any of them and the only reason Logan is at all interested in Jean is because she’s pretty. They have no interaction before he’s interested. I do appreciate how they all work together at the fight at the Statue of Liberty at the end. Also, looking back at the relationship between Rogue and Wolverine, it doesn’t sit quite right. You can clearly tell that Rogue has a crush on Wolverine, but due to the age difference and the fact that they had only just met, it’s a bit awkward. Now, it is sweet that Wolverine is concerned about Rogue and even persuades her to return to the school and promises to take care of her.

Up Next: X2: X-Men United