Treamayne
On the run...
OK, I'll attempt a spoiler-free review.
My prediction is this. People who have not read the comic and are looking for a decent action movie will love the film. People who are critical of action films may not like the movie. People who know the comics may not like the film. Fan-boys who memorize comics will probably hate the film.
A.) You can tell that Singer bailed to take the Superman project. So much for his claim of being a huge X Men fan and "never being able to find a project that could compare." (What he said as he took the first film). The direction boiled down to "add effects and it will be better."
B.) Plots and script were thin, but average for an action movie. The characters were poorly developed and most were taken in a direction drastically different from the comics. However, if you didn't read a lot of the comics, this is transparent, but the lack of character development is not. In discussing the movie with my mother (she lives with me following 2 car-crash induced spinal surgeries for those that didn't know) I asked "What do you think of Angel?" She responded "I don't know. I really don't know anything about him." I said "My point exactly." Yes there is a huge cast, but don't expect more than cameo level appearances from most of them. Also, some of the new characters were not portrayed consistent with their comic versions, but again only comic fans will notice or care.
C.) Story. I think this is another case of trying to do too much in a movie. They could really have done a much better job by making Jean's plot span over two films and concentrating on the major plot (the one described in the movie summary if you are not sure... they tended to treat the "sub-plot" as the main plot for most of the movie). Also comic fans may be upset by how drastically they changed one of the most fan-favored stories ever to run in the comics.
D.) Action was well handled. Fight sequences were great and some Easter eggs were hidden in the movie for the comic fans (if you understand "fast ball special" you know what I mean). Effects were excellent all around and there are some interesting plot twists that the average movie goer will probably not expect.
Decent and entertaining Action movie that would get 3-4 stars from an outsider’s perspective. Only probably 1-2 stars from a fan's perspective. I'm one of the few fans I know of that can lay down my opinions and view written and visual media completely separate and rate them for what they are, so to me this gets a shaky 3 stars, for poor story development and scripts supported by excellent effects and action. I'd have rated it higher, despite drastic changes to one of my favorite comic stories, if they had just developed the story a little better and added a few minutes of character development to the people introduced in this film. I felt quite a few of the added personalities were there simply to look great on film for their "5 minutes of fame."
-K-
My prediction is this. People who have not read the comic and are looking for a decent action movie will love the film. People who are critical of action films may not like the movie. People who know the comics may not like the film. Fan-boys who memorize comics will probably hate the film.
A.) You can tell that Singer bailed to take the Superman project. So much for his claim of being a huge X Men fan and "never being able to find a project that could compare." (What he said as he took the first film). The direction boiled down to "add effects and it will be better."
B.) Plots and script were thin, but average for an action movie. The characters were poorly developed and most were taken in a direction drastically different from the comics. However, if you didn't read a lot of the comics, this is transparent, but the lack of character development is not. In discussing the movie with my mother (she lives with me following 2 car-crash induced spinal surgeries for those that didn't know) I asked "What do you think of Angel?" She responded "I don't know. I really don't know anything about him." I said "My point exactly." Yes there is a huge cast, but don't expect more than cameo level appearances from most of them. Also, some of the new characters were not portrayed consistent with their comic versions, but again only comic fans will notice or care.
C.) Story. I think this is another case of trying to do too much in a movie. They could really have done a much better job by making Jean's plot span over two films and concentrating on the major plot (the one described in the movie summary if you are not sure... they tended to treat the "sub-plot" as the main plot for most of the movie). Also comic fans may be upset by how drastically they changed one of the most fan-favored stories ever to run in the comics.
D.) Action was well handled. Fight sequences were great and some Easter eggs were hidden in the movie for the comic fans (if you understand "fast ball special" you know what I mean). Effects were excellent all around and there are some interesting plot twists that the average movie goer will probably not expect.
Decent and entertaining Action movie that would get 3-4 stars from an outsider’s perspective. Only probably 1-2 stars from a fan's perspective. I'm one of the few fans I know of that can lay down my opinions and view written and visual media completely separate and rate them for what they are, so to me this gets a shaky 3 stars, for poor story development and scripts supported by excellent effects and action. I'd have rated it higher, despite drastic changes to one of my favorite comic stories, if they had just developed the story a little better and added a few minutes of character development to the people introduced in this film. I felt quite a few of the added personalities were there simply to look great on film for their "5 minutes of fame."
-K-
I got what I expected: an ultra high quality action/thriller. I liked it a lot.