Uncanny X-Men was my first comic I fell in love with in the 80’s. I appreciated the diversity of the team and its villains created by Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. In the 90’s when the X-Men cartoon came out, it heavily pulled from the comics and its continuity. It was amazing seeing my favorite characters, parts of their comic origins and story arcs on the small screen. So you can imagine my enthusiasm when the first X-Men movie came out in 2000. This was the beginning of the super-hero franchise wave that has dominated box offices ever since.
Back then and much like today, most X-Men movie goers didn’t know the comic source material. They just knew that Wolverine had metal claws and Xavier was a handicapped bald guy. On the other hand, many X-Men comic fans from the 80’s and 90’s loath the X-Men movie franchise because they know the history and rich back stories. Not to begin a rant about how bad the films are, I will say that these films have turned many complex characters into CGI jokes while promoting and pushing to the forefront a few token celebrities (Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and the newest token Jennifer Lawrence) and their poorly haphazardly developed on screen personas. These films don’t have a problem saying “fuck you and the Chris Claremont (where many of the films attempt to pull from) source material” while appealing to a PG-13 family friendly audience. I get it…Hollywood. To solidify, the X-Men films suck with the exception of Days of Future Past narrowly dodging the bullet.
Now almost 16 years later we have X-men: Apocalypse. Being that I somewhat enjoyed DOFP, I was hoping the trailer would give me something to be excited about. Coming on the heels of the really strong trailers for Captain America Civil War and Batman v Superman, the X-men: Apocalypse trailer disappoints. Early set and costume pics already had viewers comparing Apocalypse to a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers character…not a good look. From the trailer we see rubbery looking costumes very reminiscent of past X films. This is now 16 years in, with multiple directors and rarely have we seen individual X-Men costumes (not the villains or one off characters) that properly match the style or power of the individual mutants…really?
As far as the “look at me I’m on the screen” shots featuring Angel, Storm and Apocalypse (I’m sure these are for the 3D experience), they eerily remind me of the fuckeries that was X-Men III: The Last Stand. Where characters were present on screen simply to show off CGI while marginalizing comic A-List characters such as Storm.
Apocalypse easily sits atop the throne (along with the Dark Phoenix) as one of the X-Men Universe’s baddest and most powerful villains, I’m hoping this newest installment will give him and this story arc the respect it deserves.
Check out the trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse Trailer below.
You ok? You sound upset. Some might even accuse you of being mad right now.
Some people call it making an observation on a topic you are passionate about.
:ld::francis:
Where was Wolverine? Are Fox and Brian Singer finally comfortable to make a movie that's not about him? I was assuming they'd have him kill Apocalypse like he did the Phoenix.
I'm sure I'll check this out.I hope Nightcrawler and Magneto are portrayed with proper justice and that we get some of Storm's backstory.And dammit,plz let Cyclops get to lead.
I agree with you @ockydub about Storm, she's literally the most underused under appreciated character in all the incarnation of the Xmen I've seen..they never try do develop anything with her and the main main characters.
Further observations…
-Mystique for the most part was evil as hell in the comics…here Jennifer Lawrence will help Xavier lead the X-Men to defeat Apocalypse…WTF?
-I miss the booming “Fear Me and Tremble” evil mechanical voice Apocalypse had in the cartoon. -Storm’s electricity/lighting teleport is HOT.
-This is supposed to be Archangel…his whole evil fearsome look is Gone in the trailer. Here we got a blonde haired beach boy.
They seem to like playing the Good and Evil mutants will unite to stop a larger threat card every other movie.
I have given up on the whole franchise. I believe that Keke Palmer is in this? Did I see that right? No.
I am feeling the trailer. it seems they are taking a darker tone with this one. And even bringing in a character that is even more supernatural than the actual X-men. And if Marvel is able to channel the kind of storytelling they have doing with The Daredevil and Jessica Jones this is sure to be a good movie.
I mean I'll still support regardless of how bad they do Cyclops, Rogue and Storm. It's really sad though.
I hate Wolverine with a passion so I hope he's featured less for the first time in history.
But can we get into how amazing X-Men (Animated series) and X-Men Evolution were?
Marvel Studios isn't involved with the Xmen so don't get your hopes up on that front.
All of this:salute:
Having just watched the trailer I am looking forward to the film. I have seen how Apocalypse was portrayed in the animated (ahem, cartoon) series and it was fine. But that's my own opinion.
what???cpnoway
They don't make Xmen,Fantastic Four,or Deadpool.They JUST got Spiderman back this year and DareDevil last year.
Not only was the trailer disappointing, it was very bland. Not interested in seeing it especially with Alexandra Shipp playing Storm. I already saw her butcher one of my favorite female artists’ in that disastrous Aaliyah movie, I be damn if l see her butcher my Storm too… No thanks!!!
Not only was the trailer disappointing, it was very bland. Not interested in seeing it especially with Alexandra Shipp playing Storm. I already saw her butcher one of my favorite female artists’ in that disastrous Aaliyah movie, I be damn if l see her butcher my Storm too… No thanks!!!
To make matters worse, she's played by both mediocre actresses. No offense to Halle, but she should have NEVER been cast as Storm from the jump. I always wanted Angela Bassett to star as Storm. She embodies everything Storm and what the character is all about. Power, strength, beauty, grace and elegance. I think Angela would've made a perfect Storm [no pun intended] lol on screen
Yeah I hope they don't go full "Katniss" with Mystique and Ima need her to betray the X-Men before the end of the movie is out. As for Apocalypse I saw a huge hand crushing someone so I have hope! Anyway the X-Men movies as a whole are mediocre so I don't expect a Marvel Studios level quality but this looks good so far. We finally have the Cyclops/Jean/Storm trio back and Apocalypse looks like he fucks shyt up in this movie. Weird that Psylocke wasn't featured in the trailer. Apocalypse really isn't that hard a character he wants to kill a bunch of people and he's unstoppable. If they can nail that I think the movie will be OK. I'm sure it'll make a ton of money regardless.
I've given up on any "proper" portrayal of the X-Men on film. At this point, I just view it as good old mindless action with a pseudo-relevant sub-plot about acceptance. I'm both excited and sad Wolverine won't be in this one most likely (I hate the character, but Hugh Jackman sold him to me,) I'm glad J-Law is in her final appearance as Mystique (I didn't think Romijn's was any better but she was prettier to look at,) I'm glad Halle Berry is no longer stinking up Storm, I'll miss Famke Jensen though.
I'm just curious. Just in general with most complaints to accuracy on comic book movies. You guys do know that Marvel legally cannot just copy and paste from the comics to the screen, no? Marvel sold licenses to other companies which is why there are discrepancies. Marvel doesn't even own some of its franchises anymore.
For example, Marvel can't use the term "mutants" in movies because Sony own the rights to "mutants"; which explains why the twins in the second avengers movie were deemed "experiments" and not "mutants"
You mean Fox owns the right to mutants and the X-Men. Marvel has no input on the X-Men movies which is why there are so many discrepancies between film and comic. I didn't necessarily need a direct-to-comic translation because that doesn't always work, especially when you have some characters (like Storm for instance) who have a lot going on that can't be portrayed in 2 hours of an ensemble cast. But that's half the problem; the X-Men are an ensemble but the movies literally make it about Wolverine, Magneto, Prof X, and Mystique. Everyone else is just there for CGI and to give Wolverine some angst.
Also, updating and modernizing certain stories and themes are fine, but turning Sebastian Shaw into a former Nazi makes zero sense. These are things that people have a problem with.
I hear you. I just think its kind of a waste of time to complain about movies that are usually really bad all around and not just accuracy. The comics are there for people who want the original content. And animated series as well.
That's why I gave up and accept them for what they are lol.
Yea! My kind of guy!
If you remember the Age of Apocalypse story line, Mystique was one of the good guys. I'm still thinking she's going to die. Spot on for the rest of this, though.