Fast & Furious Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Sexual Content, Language and Drug References)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 47 Minutes

Cast:

Vin Diesel-Dominic Toretto

Paul Walker-Agent Brian O'Conner

Jordana Brewster-Mia Toretto

Michelle Rodriguez-Leticia ‘Letty’ Ortiz

John Ortiz-Ramon Campos

Laz Alonso-Fenix Rise

Gal Gadot-Gisele Harabo

Sung Kang-Han Lue

Jack Conley-Agent Penning

Shea Whigham-Agent Ben Stasiak

Liza Lapira-Agent Sophie Trinh

Directed by Justin Lin

Just like old times, ain't it?

On April 3rd, “Fast & Furious,” the fourth installment of “The Fast & the Furious” franchise, exploded out of the box office with an impressive opening weekend take of $71 million, beating out March’s “Watchmen,” which earned $55 million. The first film, “The Fast & the Furious,” was released way back in 2001, jumpstarting the careers of both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. It was a surprise summer hit, which prompted Universal to green-light the sequels. Unsurprisingly, none of them surpassed the quality of the original thanks to the departure of Diesel in “2 Fast 2 Furious” and Walker in “The Fast & the Furious Tokyo Drift.” Now, Universal has done the smart thing and has reunited the original cast in what should have been the true sequel.

MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW! Taking place between the second and third films, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has escaped to the Dominican Republic, hijacking fuel tankers for a living with his girlfriend, Leticia ‘Letty’ Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez). With the authorities breathing on their neck, Dominic decides to leave Letty, unable to convince her to run away with him to another country again. Meanwhile, back in the United States, FBI agent Brian O’ Conner (Paul Walker) is chasing down a lead, literally, on notorious drug lord Arturo Braga. His investigation leads him to a man named David Park, who helps people gain entrance into illegal street races. Dominic is forced to return to Los Angeles after his sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), contacts him with terrible news: Letty has been murdered. He manages to learn of David Park as well, crossing paths with O’ Conner. Despite the two being suspicious of each other, Dominic and Brian reluctantly work together and infiltrate Ramon Campos’ (John Ortiz) illegal street race so that they can bring Braga and Letty’s murderer to justice.

During one the street races, O’ Conner says to Dominic that ‘A lot has changed.’ Well, you could’ve fooled me because the plot here is nothing special and paper-thin. In fact, the movie begins the EXACT same way as the original! Director Justin Lin is competent in making a highly stylized film with an easy-to-follow narrative but it feels like he’s just recycling from every other action movie in recent memory. The plot is nothing but an excuse to just bring Diesel and Walker back rather than a serious attempt to pump new life into this already worn franchise. In a way, it reminds me of “The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” (directed by Rob Cohen, who also helmed the original “Fast & the Furious”) where an unnecessary installment to an aging franchise was made, except there was no demand for one, leaving the only reason that the film was released was to squeeze out every last drop of revenue left for said franchise. I know that audiences don’t go to see films like “Fast & Furious” for an Oscar-worthy story but some originality from screenwriter Chris Morgan would’ve greatly helped.

This leaves the cast to make the film work but most of the time, it’s hit-or-miss thanks to the clichéd dialogue. Vin Diesel can be pretty good if he puts his heart into it but here, all he does is stare at the camera in a grimace. Either that or he bursts into anger and starts throwing people against walls to pummel the life out of them. There are some scenes where he goes into ‘badass’ mode, especially the final act where he bursts from an underground tunnel in a battered vehicle and slams it into Letty’s murderer. In his deep baritone voice, he says, ‘Pussy.’ Paul Walker is less interesting this time around, playing a role we’ve seen countless times before: the disobedient law enforcer who often takes matters into his own hands. While the original “Fast & the Furious” didn’t have a particularly deep story, his character goes through an identity crisis where he’s torn between his love for Mia and his commitment to bring the illegal street racers, including her brother, to justice. None of that exists here and “Fast & Furious” boils down to a buddy cop film where Brian and Dominic stalk the same prey, brought together by circumstance with neither fully trusting the other. The two remaining cast members, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, appear in a handful of scenes, amounting to glorified cameos. It seems like they were written into the story for no other reason because they appeared in the first film. Yes, they are central to the plot, but they do not take part in it. The supporting cast members fill the standard roles seen in cop films, with Jack Conley as O’ Conner’s superior who is determined to being the criminals to justice as quickly as possible, Shea Whigham as the rival, disbelieving FBI agent, and John Ortiz as evil Mexican drug lord. Why are all drug lords from Mexico anyway? I’m pretty sure you can get heroin from other countries too, but I digress.

“Fast & Furious” is truly style over substance and it does the style pretty well. You see many stylish cars with slick paint jobs and engines with all these pseudo-modifications. Many of the car races features over-the-top crash sequences that stretches the laws of physics to video game territory. All of them are filled to the brim with scantily-clad women, often making out with each other. Yes, it does tickle my inner hormonal teenage self but it doesn’t change the fact that “Fast & Furious” features a sub-par plot and non-existent character development.

When the film was released two weeks ago, I didn’t think too much on it, mainly because “The Fast & the Furious” franchise never really appealed to me but after reading about its impressive opening weekend gross, I decided to check it out. The fact that it reunited the original cast certainly piqued my interest. Unfortunately, my initial negative expectations turned out to be all true and when the entire theater applauded as the end credits rolled, I seriously was dumbfounded. Still, if you’re a hardcore fan of the franchise, than more power to you. I also want to mention that the theater I went to had a large amount of kids and one of them was screaming throughout an entire chase sequence! Professional critics were largely not enthusiastic about “Fast & Furious” and it currently holds a rather low 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest out of the entire franchise. They cited that while the film had ‘the requisite action and stunts, the filmmakers have failed to provide a competent story or compelling characters.’ Still, what both professional and amateur critics think is meaningless as I mentioned before with its record-breaking April debut. Currently, the film has grossed $118 million domestic and with the foreign box office factored in, $149 million worldwide. At this rate, it’ll easily surpass “2 Fast 2 Furious” and possibly the original. Universal has done the smart thing bringing back the original cast and it does make a difference, but not a lot and it seems like a last, desperate attempt to keep a worn franchise going. “Fast & Furious” features the expected car races and over-the-top stunts, but at the end of the day, it’s more of the same. Even the title feels lazy; all they did was remove the word ‘The.’ Fans will no doubt come out in droves (they already have!) but the franchise is fast losing fuel since the release of “Tokyo Drift” and I think it’s time for Universal to put this one in the garage for the long term.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

“A real driver knows exactly what's in his car.”

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X-Men: The Last Stand Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Action Violence, Some Sexual Content and Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 44 Minutes

Cast:

Patrick Stewart-Professor Charles Xavier

Ian McKellen-Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto

Hugh Jackman-Logan/Wolverine

Halle Berry-Ororo Munroe/Storm

Famke Janssen-Jean Grey/Phoenix

Kelsey Grammer-Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy/The Beast

James Marsden-Scott Summers/Cyclops

Shawn Ashmore-Bobby Drake/Iceman

Ellen Page-Kitty Pryde

Anna Paquin-Anna Marie/Rogue

Ben Foster-Warren Worthington III/Archangel

Daniel Cudmore-Piotr Rasputin/Colossus

Rebecca Romijn-Raven Darkholme/Mystique

Aaron Stanford-John Allerdyce/Pyro

Vinnie Jones-Cain Marko/The Juggernaut

Dania Ramirez-Callisto

Eric Dane-Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man

Ken Leung-Quill

Mei Melançon-Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke

Omahyra Mota-Philippa Sontag/Arclight

Cameron Bright-Jimmy/Leech

Josef Sommer-The President

Shohreh Aghdashloo-Dr. Kavita Rao

Directed by Brett Ratner

"X-Men: The Last Stand" is when the series jumped the shark but at least the cast does it with style!

Note: Part of the "X-Men Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

With "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" due out on May 1st, I decided to go back and review the "X-Men Trilogy" on Blu-Ray. Now I'm starting with the third film because it's already out on Blu-Ray but 20th Century Fox is releasing a boxset on April 21st. I'll go back and review the previous films when they are available. I also want to say before diving in that I am aware of the workprint of "Wolverine" floating around online and urge you not to download it because a film of this type should be seen in the theater, not on your computer with unfinished effects and lacking the ten minutes added from reshoots. With that said, let's review "X-Men: The Last Stand!" After the release of "X2 X-Men United" in 2003, fans waited in anticipation of what Bryan Singer would come up with, especially with his adaptation of the famous "Dark Phoenix Saga." Unfortunately, trouble plagued pre-production from the start as Singer was faced with increased studio interference. Warner Brothers immediately pounced and asked Singer to direct "Superman Returns" which he accepted. He was also keen on returning to direct "X3" but 20th Century Fox terminated his contract due to this...betrayal and soon, Matthew Vaughn (who directed "Layer Cake") was brought on. Vaughn was adamant about making "X3" as good, if not better than, "X2" but was faced with a flawed script, rushed production schedule, and studio interference. He left after six weeks and cited 'personal family issues' as his reason. Brett Ratner, who was originally one of the choices to direct the first "X-Men" was hired, having experience for working on films with a rushed schedule like "Rush Hour." Unfortunately, all this trouble resulted in a film that is not on par with the quality set by the first two and you can feel the plot being rushed at times. Much of the character development had been truncated in favor of adding as many characters from the comics as possible and more action scenes. Despite this, the film largely remains entertaining in its own right but will always be the worst of the "X-Men Trilogy."

The film starts 20 years from the present, where Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lehnsherr (Ian McKellen), the future Magneto, meets Jean Grey for the first time. 10 years later, we discover Warren Worthington's father discover his son to be a mutant. The opening credits role and after, we meet our favorite mutants Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Ororo Munroe/Storm (Halle Berry), training a new generation of X-Men. Scott Summers/Cyclops (James Marsden) is still haunted by the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and abruptly leaves the X-Mansion. Trouble brews on the horizon on two fronts: the apparent discovery of a 'cure' that suppresses or negates an individual's powers and the sudden resurrection of Jean. The mutant community is divided over the cure, but some, like Rogue (Anna Paquin), are interested. Magneto begins recruiting an army, who believes that his race will be forcibly exterminated. However, Jean begins to manifest destructive psychic and psionic abilities, becoming the Phoenix. She joins Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants who begins to wage war on Humanity. The X-Men are forced to battle for the survival of both human and mutantkind, facing their 'last stand.'

The plot sounds great on paper but in reality, it's a rushed mess. What's surprising is that it ends up largely coherent from start to finish. It still feels fragmented in parts because Ratner and the writers have taken plotlines from various X-comics and mashed them together. Besides the "Dark Phoenix Saga," you'll notice the "Cure" storyline from Joss Whedon's run from "Astonishing X-Men" and the love triangle between Bobby Drake/Iceman, Kitty Pryde, and Rogue from "Ultimate X-Men." The main focus is on Phoenix, Wolverine, and Cyclops but it doesn't work because a third of the love triangle is missing. Cyclops only appears in the first 30 minutes and is than killed off in the lamest way possible (off-screen). This is one of the worst sendoffs I've ever seen but the reason behind his characters early demise was that James Marsden decided to star in "Superman Returns," which conflicted with the filming schedules of "X3." Another major character also bites the dust, which I won't reveal if you STILL haven't seen the film but it seems like it's done for pure shock value, not for emotional impact. Many of the subplots introduced are abandoned later in the film due to the fact that there are just TOO MANY characters. If you remember, Ben Foster as Archangel was heavily marketed but he only appears for 10 minutes and, like his namesake, flies away! Many of the new characters are from the Morlocks but here, many of their powers are either altered or changed outright and they're given very limited screen-time with little to no lines. The themes of racism are still here but their impact is lessened to make way for more action sequences. Yes, the plot is coherent, unlike "Spider-Man 3" but that does not equal a good plot and it pales in comparison to the previous films. Also, the ending was rather abrupt with the credits just popping up suddenly; there was no smooth transition.

The acting is pretty much in-line with its predecessors, with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen being the best. McKellen plays a more Hitler-like Magneto who persecutes Humanity and becomes the very monster that he has fought against. I remember another film reviewer said that this was out of character but it's not, as this was explored in Grant Morrison's acclaimed run on "New X-Men," though to the extreme. One of the best scenes is when he and Professor X start arguing ideology and vie for Jean's allegiance. Hugh Jackman is once again perfect as Wolverine and it's hard to think of any actor that could replace him. The exploration of his past was dropped in favor of his unrequited love for Jean. The rest of the cast is largely a mixed bag. Famke Janssen never really wowed me as Jean Grey but she does a good job playing a mentally unstable character. However, the film always lets us know that her power is limitless and that she can do anything but we never feel that way because she spends a large amount of time just standing and staring off into space. Why would Magneto need an army if he has Phoenix? Couldn't Phoenix have just destroyed the source of the cure with a thought without having Magneto tearing off the Golden Gate Bridge and sending mutants to their death? I know that it's to have a huge battle royale at the end but thinking about it, Magneto's plan seems inefficient (and a sign that I have too much time on my hands!). Halle Berry is still the weakest out of the main cast. She threatened to not return unless she was given a larger role, which Ratner complied. Her performance is still stiff and her character really shines only in the action scenes. The only major addition is Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy/The Beast and initially, I thought he wasn't going to do the character justice. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded and thanks to the excellent makeup effects, he is exactly how I pictured him on-screen, especially his speech patterns. Rounding out the cast is a bunch on unknowns with bit parts for the Brotherhood. Since they only have one line, it's hard to judge their performance.

Where "X3" really shines is the action scenes, not surprisingly. The film opens with a thrilling Danger Room session inspired by the "Days of Future Past" storyline, complete with a Sentinel! When Jean Grey and Professor X have a battle of wills while the rest of the team face off against the Brotherhood, you feel the scene crackle with tragedy, but sadly this is not carried over to the rest of the film. Wolverine really goes crazy here, especially the forest sequence but the final battle royale is just gargantuan and borderline ridiculous! The X-Men battle with hundreds of mutants, and both Kitty Pryde and Iceman get their respective moneyshots thanks to a thrilling chase with Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) and a battle of the elements involving Pyro (Aaron Stanford), respectively. At times, the wirework is very obvious but it never detracts from the action scenes, which are often thrilling and will tickle the geeky fanboy within us.

The Blu-Ray release is rather impressive, though the one on the box set will most likely have even better quality as the one I have uses a 25 GB disc as opposed to a 50 GB disc. Picture quality is incredibly sharp, featuring amazing detail on all of the X-Men's costumes and the actors/actresses faces. Black levels are solid and look natural, as does the rest of the film. The only detractor is the somewhat heavy grain, which may irk some people. While noticeable, it was not a problem for me because all movies have grain, removing it will make the film too 'clean.' Likewise, audio quality is astonishing as you'll be assaulted by a barrage of explosions. The scene where Magneto tears down the Golden Gate Bridge shook the very foundations of my room! For information purposes, this release uses DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1, while the box set will have DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, but your ears will most likely not be able to tell the difference anyway.

Upon the film's release, "X-Men: The Last Stand" was met with a mixed response from both critics and fans, currently holding a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Many people found that while it was not awful, the film just couldn't stand up the high standard set by its predecessors and was too overblown with characters and special effects. However, this is one of the few times where the third film out-grossed the previous entries with a whopping $234 million domestic, greatly helped by its $103 million take during opening weekend. I remember that there were so many people crowding to buy tickets, I ended sitting all the way in the front. Factoring in the foreign box office, "X3" stands at $459 million, making the "X-Men Trilogy" one of the most successful comic book franchises after "Spider-Man." "X-Men: The Last Stand" is missing much of the emotional impact and the character development that made Bryan Singer's entries so strong but the third film should still provide ample entertainment.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"Control? You know, sometimes when you cage the beast, the beast gets angry."

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X2: X-Men United Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Sci-Fi Action/Violence, Some Sexuality and Brief Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 14 Minutes

Cast:

Patrick Stewart-Professor Charles Xavier

Ian McKellen-Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto

Hugh Jackman-Logan/Wolverine

Famke Janssen-Jean Grey

James Marsden-Scott Summers/Cyclops

Halle Berry-Ororo Munroe/Storm

Alan Cumming-Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Anna Paquin-Anna Marie/Rogue

Shawn Ashmore-Bobby Drake/Iceman

Aaron Stanford-John Allerdyce/Pyro

Daniel Cudmore-Piotr Rasputin/Colossus

Brian Cox-Colonel William Stryker

Kelly Hu-Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike

Rebecca Romijn-Raven Darkholme/Mystique

Bruce Davison-Senator Robert Kelly

Cotter Smith-President McKenna

Directed by Bryan Singer

Wolverine goes berserk in "X2: X-Men United," still one of the best comic book films ever made.

Note: Part of the "X-Men Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

After the surprise critical and box office success of the original “X-Men,” 20th Century Fox immediately commissioned a sequel. Bryan Singer knew the first film was not perfect and there was a large room for improvement. When “X2: X-Men United” sliced into theaters on May 2, 2003, critics and comic book fans hailed it as one of the best comic book movies ever made. Almost every flaw from the original was corrected and Singer pushed the themes of prejudice, warmongering, and terrorism further into the real world.

The film opens with an assassination attempt on the President by the mysterious Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), prompting Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox) to use the attack as an excuse to use deadly force against the mutant population. A few months have passed since the events of the first film, and Logan (Hugh Jackman) returns from his trip to Canada, finding no new answers to his mysterious past. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) assigns Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) to search for Nightcrawler while he and Cyclops (James Marsden) visit Magneto (Ian McKellen), still confined to his plastic prison. Unfortunately, Xavier learns that Stryker has been forcibly extracting information from Magneto but before he can warn Cyclops, the two are promptly captured by Stryker’s personal assistant Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu). At the same time, the X-Mansion is subject to a military raid, with the soldiers capturing as many mutant students as they can. Logan manages to hold them off and escapes with Rogue (Anna Paquin), Bobby/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and John/Pyro (Aaron Stanford) to Boston. Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) hacks into Stryker’s personal computer and learns of his plans to eradicate the mutant population, effectively committing mass genocide. She springs Magneto out of his plastic prison and the two propose a truce with the remaining members of the X-Men. The X-Men and Magneto must now put aside their differences and put an end to Stryker’s plans before a war breaks out between humans and mutants.

The plot of “X2” was heavily inspired by the Marvel graphic novel “X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills;” the only major difference is that instead of a minister, Stryker is now a military scientist in the film. Recall from the original “X-Men” that Singer dealt with the main themes of prejudice and alienation on a more personal level, as exemplified by Rogue and how other mutants would react to people ostracizing them. In the case of Magneto, he takes it upon himself to become the savior of mutants before the humans can fire the first shot. With the sequel, Singer takes it one step further and examines those same themes from the human perspective, how one man’s blind rage and extremism could cause more damage than what any other mutant is capable of, feeding into the public’s paranoia that the only way to get rid of mutants is to kill them off. There is this great scene where Xavier tries to reason with Stryker and explains to him that mutation is not a disease but he angrily shouts, ‘You’re lying!’ Stryker then reveals the horrific experiments he had done on his son, lobotomizing him and treating him as nothing more than an animal before remarking, ‘My son is dead…just like the rest of you.’ The fact that Stryker wants to commit mass genocide parallels what Hitler did during the Holocaust and ties into Magneto’s reasoning and his view of Humanity, that they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, and destroy themselves and mutants in the process. Singer doesn’t lose focus on what the mutants go through when they first reveal themselves to their parents, echoing a common gay ‘coming-out’ scene. When Bobby Drake shows off his powers, his mother immediately asks whether he ‘tried not being a mutant.’ The reaction from his younger brother is understandable considering he could’ve looked up to Bobby as a role model but now sees him as little more than a ‘freak of nature.’ I also want to mention that there are tons of references to other characters in the X-Men universe, such as cameos from Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) and a pre-Beast Hank McCoy (Steve Bacic). When Mystique hacks into Stryker’s computer, you see files on mutants ranging from Remy LeBeau/Gambit to Franklin Richards, long before there was any talk of a “Fantastic Four” film! The plot in “X2” improves upon the original in every way, expanding upon all the central themes of X-Men, with an important message about the destructive power of prejudice that doesn’t seem heavy-handed thanks to some amazing action scenes. It does suffer from one flaw that’s carried over from the original film; the focus is once again on Wolverine. When Magneto says to him, ‘Once again you think it’s all about you,’ it’s ironic because it IS all about him! Nonetheless, Singer tries his best to give every major character at least one scene to shine.

Everything I’ve mentioned about the acting from the first review applies here. Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen continue to shine in their respective roles but most impressive is newcomer Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler. Despite being an outsider due to his demonic appearance, he takes pride in his powers and due to his Christian faith, he doesn’t view humans with hatred, but instead pities them, knowing that they ‘will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes.’ I was also impressed with the makeup effects and the addition of angelic markings on his body, reinforcing the fact that he is a devout Christian. Famke Janssen is a lot better as Jean Grey, thanks in large part to the foreshadowing of her character’s eventual fate which got every comic book fan talking about what Singer had planned for “X3.” Due to her Oscar-winning performance in “Monster’s Ball,” Halle Berry’s role was expanded with more screen-time and while she looks more comfortable as Storm, her performance is still a little stiff. Brian Cox as William Stryker is also excellent, playing a less traditional villain who is not motivated by greed but by prejudice and the desire to eradicate an entire race, seeing them as less than human. This time, Cyclops gets shortchanged and while he has a rather emotionally dramatic scene near the end, Singer should’ve have fought to keep James Marsden’s scenes as it was reported that Fox commissioned them to be cut for time length. You would think that with such a large ensemble cast, something would screw up along the way but Singer succeeds for the most part in making every character, regardless of them being major or minor, compelling. There’s a lot less one-on-one battles in “X2” save one and that’s between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike. It is one of the most exciting fight scenes I’ve ever seen in a comic book film with both slicing and dicing everything in sight. The opening attack on the President, with Nightcrawler teleporting everywhere is certainly one that was most talked about after I came out of the theater. There’s also the aerial dogfight between the Blackbird and two fighter jets, perfectly showing off Storm’s immense power.

“X2” arrives on Blu-Ray for the first time, part of the “X-Men Trilogy” box set. Picture quality is sort of in-between, better than “X-Men” but not as good as “X3.” The detail is still impressive, featuring bold, deep blacks, especially in Stryker’s military base and the tornadoes during the Blackbird dogfight have more depth to them. The fiery image of Jean Grey near the end is particularly striking, ironic considering the importance of that scene and its foreshadowing. The lurid, green color palette used in Logan’s flashbacks is stronger, showing new detail that I missed when I originally watched the film on DVD. Audio quality is impressive, thanks to a more bombastic score from John Ottman, who also serves as the film’s editor. I always felt that while Michael Kamen’s score was good, it was too subdued. You’ll also hear gut-wrenching flesh being torn as Lady Deathstrike forcibly jabs her claws into Wolverine’s spine and then there’s the distinctive ‘BAMF!’ as Nightcrawler teleports all over the place. Like I said with “X-Men,” Blu-Ray is definitely the way to experience “X2,” and what a dazzling cinematic experience it is!

When "X2: X-Men United" was released, critics were overwhelmingly enthusiastic, with an amazing 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, making this one of the few times where a sequel surpassed the original film in almost every way. Fans flocked to the theaters (I remember the lines were so long, they stretched as far as the eye could see!), allowing “X2” to gross an impressive $215 million domestic and $408 million worldwide, surpassing the original “X-Men” due to strong word-of-mouth. Bryan Singer creates a thoroughly engaging sequel that features great acting and special effects, never losing sight of what made the comics so great: the freedom to be different in a world of fear and intolerance. It’s sad to see what became of “X3” after this crowning achievement but it doesn’t diminish the fact that this is one of THE best comic book sequels in recent memory!

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

"Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of Humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way it is a historical fact: sharing the world has never been Humanity's defining attribute."

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X-Men Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Sci-Fi Action Violence)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 44 Minutes

Cast:

Patrick Stewart-Professor Charles Xavier

Ian McKellen-Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto

Hugh Jackman-Logan/Wolverine

Famke Janssen-Jean Grey

James Marsden-Scott Summers/Cyclops

Halle Berry-Ororo Munroe/Storm

Anna Paquin-Anna Marie/Rogue

Shawn Ashmore-Bobby Drake/Iceman

Rebecca Romijn-Raven Darkholme/Mystique

Tyler Mane-Victor Creed/Sabretooth

Ray Park-Mortimer Toynbee/Toad

Bruce Davison-Senator Robert Kelly

Directed by Bryan Singer

This is it...the one that started it all!

Note: Part of the "X-Men Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.

Despite the success of “Superman” in 1978 and “Batman” in 1989, adaptations based on comic book properties still did not gain the respect they so rightly deserved. The situation grew worse when “Batman & Robin” was released to disastrous results in 1997 and so, comic book movies were few and far between until the release of “X-Men” in 2000. Sure, there was “Spawn” and “Blade” but neither of them were well-known outside of people who weren’t already familiar with the comics. Marvel had sought to make a film adaptation of X-Men as far back as 1989 but was mired in development hell until 1996, when Bryan Singer signed on to direct, fresh off his critically acclaimed film “The Usual Suspects.” Initially, Singer was reluctant to sign on, seeing comics as ‘unintelligent literature’ but Marvel persisted, and after reading the comics and watching the animated series, he relented. Singer cited the themes of prejudice in the comic that influenced his decision in tackling the film. “X-Men” faced intense scrutiny from fans since Marvel didn’t have the best track record when it came to film adaptations, i.e. 1989’s “The Punisher” and 1990’s “Captain America.” 20th Century Fox also didn’t have much faith in the project and set a strict $75 million production budget limit to minimize losses in case the film flopped at the box office. When “X-Men” was released into theaters on July 14, 2000, the film surprised everyone, becoming a critical and box office success, and revitalizing Hollywood’s interest in superhero properties.

The world is changing, as the next step in human evolution, called ‘mutants,’ people born with fantastic and often dangerous abilities, have become so widespread that Congress is debating to pass a ‘Mutant Registration Act,’ which would require all mutants to publicly reveal their identities and abilities. Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and her mentor, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), informs Congress that passing such a law would just incite more violence against mutants, to no avail. Meanwhile, a young girl named Rogue (Anna Paquin) runs away from her Mississippi home after her mutant abilities begin to manifest, causing her boyfriend to go into a coma. In Canada, she encounters another mutant called Logan (Hugh Jackman), who offers her lodging in his worn trailer. Unfortunately, they are attacked by Sabretooth (Tyler Mane), another mutant who is working for Magneto (Ian McKellen), who believes that a war is brewing between humans and mutants. The two are rescued by Storm (Halle Berry) and Cyclops (James Marsden), who bring them to the X-Mansion, a haven for mutants run by Professor Xavier. On the outside, the X-Mansion looks like any other private school but it differs in one key area: educating and teaching young mutants to use their abilities responsibility and not be afraid of a world that hates and fears them. However, there are those who oppose Xavier’s dream of tolerance and must be fought, led by his team of ‘X-Men.’ As tensions rise between humans and mutants, Magneto begins to put his plans for world domination in motion and the X-Men must stop him to avert a disastrous war.

When I saw “X-Men” way back in junior high, I was so surprised at how faithful Singer remained to the comics’ core message: that of tolerance and the consequences that come with extreme prejudice and bigotry all wrapped up an all-out superhero battle royale. This is a perfect example of the filmmakers actually getting the material, treating it seriously and walking the fine line between pleasing hardcore comic book fans and making audiences not familiar with the source material understand what is going on. The film opens in Poland, 1944 during the height of World War II where groups of Nazi soldiers forcibly separate Jewish children from their parents. This sets the tone for the entire movie and establishes a parallel between the persecution of Jews and now, mutants. The manifestation of mutant powers symbolizes puberty, where young people often question the changes happening to their body, feelings of alienation and identity crises. There are also comparisons to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, where Xavier advocates peace and tolerance while Magneto believes that any peaceful co-existence is a futile attempt. With “X-Men,” there are numerous ways to interpret the themes and Singer has successfully created one of the most intelligent comic book film adaptations yet. If there is one problem with the film is that the running time is rather short and some of the supporting characters could’ve benefited from more screen-time. One of the most common complaints is that there was too much focus on Wolverine, which was unsurprising considering the character’s extreme popularity.

The acting is generally good and the best performance is without a doubt Hugh Jackman as Logan. He nails his character’s gruff demeanor perfectly and his other softer qualities, such as becoming a father figure to Rogue and his growing attraction for Jean Grey. Jackman was an unknown actor at the time but after this film, he’s rocketed to super stardom and recently, he even hosted the 2009 Academy Awards. I always knew Patrick Stewart would come to play Professor Xavier. He looks exactly like the character come to life and I have no complaints about his performance. He IS an accomplished Shakespearean stage actor, of course! Likewise with Ian McKellen as Magneto, who portrays him as a bitter man due to his experiences in World War II who believes that if people can be persecuted for their ethnicity, than humans will surely do the same to mutants. Since he experienced the Holocaust, he knows full well the extent of human cruelty. In a way he does want peace like Xavier but his methods are more extreme and he is not above killing a handful of humans that are in his way. The other major character is Rogue, played by Anna Paquin and while her Southern accent wavers at times, she does a good job showing the fear and alienation when she discovers her mutant powers, knowing that for the rest of her life, she’ll never be able to touch anyone.

Unfortunately, the Brotherhood members and most of the X-Men are underutilized. We know Cyclops is the field leader of the team and goes by-the-book but we never get that sense of authority from James Marsden. He and Jackman do perfectly capture the rivalry they have for each other from the comics. Famke Janssen makes for a rather dull Jean Grey and there’s actually more chemistry between her and Jackman than with Marsden. Halle Berry as Storm gets shortchanged the most, never looking completely comfortable in the role and using a forced accent to deliver her dialogue. This was abandoned in the sequels. When she says, ‘Do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning?’ sounded cheesy due to the serious way she said it. This line was part of Joss Whedon’s abandoned screenplay but he meant for it to be said as an off-handed remark. The Brotherhood members, Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), Toad (Ray Park) and Sabretooth only get a few lines in the film, looking more like a ragtag band of thugs rather than freedom fighters making a political statement. It would’ve been nice to learn more about their motivations for joining Magneto but probably due to budget concerns, Singer just couldn’t accommodate. I do want to mention that the inhuman, nude look of Mystique was incredibly hot and had everyone talking in junior high! Yeah, our hormones were already raging at that age! The fight scenes and special effects are well-done despite the film being close to a decade ago. Again, they’re focused more on Wolverine and his fighting prowess makes the other X-Men members seem rather inept. The guy takes on both Mystique and Sabretooth but the others just get wacked around by Toad. Some of the wirework is obvious but doesn’t detract from the whole experience.

“X-Men” arrives on Blu-Ray for the first time, courtesy of the “X-Men Trilogy” boxset, which features a whopping total of nine discs! The first disc of each movie features commentary from the filmmakers, the second discs are the special features and the third discs are simply digital copies of each individual film. I was surprised by the high quality transfer considering films made around 2000 don’t hold up well on Blu-Ray, i.e. “Fight Club.” The background objects are sharper, and you notice more detail on the X-Men’s individual uniforms. Colors are more vibrant, from the sickly, pale green of Toad to the dark, scaly blue of Mystique. When the camera gets close to actors/actresses faces, you notice every individual skin pore. There are some shots that appear too soft but these are few and far between. You probably wouldn’t even notice them! Like “X3,” there is also some noticeable film grain but this just adds to the cinematic experience when viewing these films. Likewise, audio quality is excellent from the loud thwacks exchanged between Wolverine and Sabretooth to the screeching of metal when Magneto tears apart the train to get to Rogue. The score from Michael Kamen never drowns out the dialogue and small sound cues, such as the trademark ‘snikt’ when Wolverine pops his claws are instantly heard. 20th Century Fox has pulled out all the stops with this release and while the picture quality may not be up to par with recent releases due to the film’s age, this is as good as it gets and watching “X-Men” on Blu-Ray is the definitive way of viewing the film.

Upon the film’s release, critics greeted the film positively and it currently holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, citing its faithfulness to the source material but that it focused too much on Wolverine. The true test was at the box office, since it was the deciding factor for Fox to continue with a sequel. It did not disappoint, and “X-Men” went on to gross $157 million domestic and $296 million worldwide. Hollywood immediately began to adapt every known comic book property and it is not surprising to see at least two or three comic book films released every year. Despite “The Dark Knight” setting a new standard for comic book movies last year, “X-Men” will always be remembered as a perfect example of how to adapt a comic book property to film, and despite being nine years later, it still remains one of the most intelligent superhero films I’ve ever seen. If you’ve only watched it on DVD, you owe it to yourself to experience the power of the X-Men again on Blu-Ray!

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

"Fight with you?! Join the team? Be an X-Man? Who the hell do you think you are?! You're a mutant! The whole world out there is full of people who hate and fear you and you're wasting your time trying to protect them? I've got better things to do!"

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300 Blu-Ray Review

Rated R (Graphic Battle Sequences Throughout, Some Sexuality and Nudity)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 57 Minutes

Cast-

Gerard Butler-King Leonidas

Lena Headey-Queen Gorgo

Rodrigo Santoro-King Xerxes

Dominic West-Theron

David Wenham-Dilios

Vincent Regan-Captain

Michael Fassbender-Stelios

Tom Wisdom-Astinos

Andrew Pleavin-Daxos

Andrew Tiernan-Ephialtes

Directed by Zack Snyder

 

Director Zack Snyder has literally brought a comic book to life with "300."

'PREPARE FOR GLORY!' After a somewhat long hiatus, your favorite movie reviewer is back with a vengeance, as we are here today with "300," based upon the 1998 Dark Horse Comics graphic novel of the same name written and illustrated by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. In the wake of Zack Snyder's "Watchmen," I thought I'd go back and look at his previous comic book film adaptation and boy, is it something. Even after watching it for the umpteenth time, "300" continues to be one of the goriest and most entertaining films of recent memory, worthy of having Snyder being called a 'visionary director.'

It is the year 480 BC and Persian messengers arrive at the gates of Sparta, demanding that King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his city-state submit to the will of the God-King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Leonidas is defiant, and offended by their threats and behavior, make quick work of the messengers. Despite the Ephors (ancient priests) and the Oracle's decree that Sparta cannot go to war, Leonidas takes three hundred of his finest soldiers to a small narrow path between two high cliffs called Thermopylae on a certain suicide mission to repel the massive Persian force. While her husband is way, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) must convince the Spartan council to send reinforcements while fending off advances of corrupt politician Theron (Dominic West).

If you've read the source material, than you should already know the story as Zack Snyder has chosen to remain 100% faithful to it while adding some supporting plot elements to strengthen the film. The plot is very simple and not thought-provoking at all, but this is to the film's advantage because the first ten minutes clues audiences in on everything they need to know about the culture of Sparta, that great men and larger-than-life heroes like Leonidas are born and bred, trained from the very beginning to serve a specific purpose. It doesn't get bogged down with stuffy explanations of military strategy and even the scenes involving politics are straight to the point and even elegant in a way. You'll be surprised at the amount of character development for a film that is primarily marketed as a bloody historical fantasy war epic but this is again to the picture's advantage. Look at the relationship between Leonidas and Gorgo, the tender love and mutual respect they share for each other is rarely seen in 'guy movies.' Unfortunately, there was some controversy upon the film's release, as the Iranian government denounced "300" as racist with its depiction of Persians as a barbaric, demonic horde. Some critics have also tried to derive ideological meaning from the film but personally, all of this was making a big fuss over nothing. This is based upon a comic book which takes a historical event and heavily embellishes it for mass entertainment. It is not meant to be an accurate representation of what happened at Thermopylae.

The acting is great, with Gerard Butler channeling his inner Russell Crowe and giving a performance that captures the awesome presence of Leonidas on and off the battlefield, leaving audiences hanging on his every word. When he prepares to go off to war, his wife yells 'Spartan!' and he turns to meet her eyes. He doesn't say 'Good-bye, my love' because everything that needs to be said is already written on his face thanks to Butler's steely, yet tender gaze. Likewise, Lena Headey portrays Queen Gorgo as the voice of reason for Leonidas, encouraging him to do what is right in his heart and showing a fiery intelligence that is only matched by her smoldering sexuality. Her standout moment is when she pleads with the Spartan council to send reinforcements to help Leonidas but Theron accuses her of adultery and using her body to get what she wants. A male Spartan would've probably struck him across the face but Gorgo doesn't do that; she grabs a sword and plunges it into his chest! The entire theater applauded and it's great that Snyder expanded Headey's character as the original comic focused squarely on the battle. As the Persian tyrant Xerxes, Rodrigo Santoro is terrific and the scene where he tries to tempt Leonidas betrays his underlying and extreme hubris. He is overly confident that he will win because he has the larger army but when Leonidas is defiant to the very end; this scares him because he has never faced an adversary who has challenged him in such a way. Before the battle is over, Leonidas vows to prove to Xerxes that a so-called 'God-King can bleed.'

The action scenes are nothing short of astonishing, full of moments where you can't help but scream, 'YEAH!' and shake your fists in the air. They're often over-the-top, with globs of blood flying everywhere, which is a direct inspiration from Miller's heavily stylized artwork. Snyder over-indulges on the slo-mo effect at times, especially the sequence where Leonidas rushes forward, stabbing with his spear and swinging his sword, creating graceful arcs of blood and dismembered limbs that make it seem like a graceful dance. Each of the battles features a unique a Persian soldier and the one that stood out the most would be the dark-clad Immortals. Obviously, their look is historically inaccurate as these guys wear silver Kabuki masks while wielding twin katanas. Several of the creatures shown don't actually appear in the comic itself but they fit rather seamlessly into Miller's vision and the ultra-violent world that he has created.

"300" was shot in super-imposition chroma key, which replicates every panel of the comic perfectly. Each shot is awash with an amber tone, allowing the Spartans' crimson capes to 'pop out' in every battle sequence. On Blu-Ray, the picture quality is reference material, with close-up shots showing every skin pore, along with the tiny little grooves and pockmarks on the Spartan's helms. There's a fair amount of film grain about, giving "300" that gritty edge but it never detracts from any of the detail and removing it would've made the picture look too 'artificial.' Audio features a 'brute force' soundtrack from Tyler Bates, who also worked on "Watchmen." He creates this epic orchestral score combined with what seems like a five-hundred-person chorus. Even mundane actions like Leonidas dropping his spear sounds like an earthquake, to emphasize the importance of that particular moment. With a surround sound setup, you're going to keep your neighbors up all night. Every weapon clash and bone-crushing limb dismemberment sounds convincing, making you feel that much more immersed into the film.

Released on March 9, 2007, "300" received a barely positive reception, managing to squeeze out a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. Although some called the film dumb with one-dimensional characters, most critics agreed that it was 'a simple-minded but visually exciting experience, full of blood, violence, and ready-made movie quotes.' Moviegoers sang a decidedly different tune as the film earned an impressive $71 million, earning the biggest opening weekend for March. The domestic gross came out to $211 million and combined with the foreign gross, $456 million. "300" may not be as though-provoking as "Gladiator" but it features a simple yet effective tale, great acting and heavily stylized action scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"GIVE THEM NOTHING...BUT TAKE FROM THEM...EVERYTHING!"

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