X-Men 1

[katikat]

I decided to watch all the X-Men movies in one row, one movie an evening, to see if my love for XMFC holds compared to the rest of the bunch. IMHO, XMFC is the best movie in the series but I might be blinded by my love for Charles and Erik in the film. We will see how it goes...

You know, I don't get the fans' obsession with Logan. Sure, he's an interesting character but why is he the focus of 4 out of the 5 movies so far? *hands* I don't get it. Hugh Jackman is great in the part - and so young here! - but... Nope, still don't get it.

I love Scott and Jean as a couple but they were more like a brother and a sister here. The movie showed more tension between Jean and Logan than between Jean and Scott. They were an established couple, there should've been something that would prove it, show it! But Scott had as much interaction with Jean as he had with Storm or Logan. I wanted to feel it, feel them - but I didn't.

I loved, loved this Charles. Patrick Stewart was incredible here. I love it when Charles is written that way in fics, as someone who never gives up hope, never gives up on Erik even though he's constantly rejected and hurt by him. Can you even imagine such a big heart? It's amazing that he didn't grow as bitter as Erik.

And Erik. I didn't like that they basically told us he was a coward, that he used Marie to do his dirty work. Erik might be many things but he isn't a coward. That's what's so awesome about the whole Charles vs. Erik thing, they are both right and wrong at the same time and they are willing to die for what they think is right. Ian McKellen was amazing as Erik but I didn't like his portrayal here.

Watching this movie, you realize just how close James McAvoy's and Michael Fassbender's portrayal of these characters is despite the fact that they didn't try to copy the previous actors. They picked up their characters' main traits - Charles' gentleness and Erik's conviction - and ran with it. Yet they still managed to be this Charles and this Erik. Amazing.

Comments

[keire_ke]

I read somewhere that Erik got largely screwed over by the execs, who wanted to bring in Rogue (can't remember the exact reasoning). In the original draft Mags was after Wolverine to power his machine, because Wolverine could regenerate. IMHO Marie makes more sense, as a power source, in that Magneto generating vast amounts of electricity is plausible (I'm a sucker for plausible), but the original improves Erik's character a whole lot.

[katikat]

Now THAT makes sense, using Logan. That would mean that nobody would have to die to make the machine work. The bit with Marie made him look really... selfish and cowardly and he isn't either, that's why his arguments are so compelling.