Writer@Large

Exactly.

--W@L

luvluv

Don't tease me with Collossus like that!!!!

The exciting thing about the possibility of this expanding into a Phoenix saga is that it cannot be done without involving the Shiar, Gladiator, Corsair, and all the rest of that fun group. Which should mean the next possibly 2 sequels should be quantum leaps in terms of where it takes the world of X-men, possibly into deep space.

I also thought they had a good opportunity to show the kids doing some stuff with Collosus and Shadow Cat and all the rest of them during the invasion, and then post invasion when they are just off in limbo somewhere and no one ever bothers to update us on what happens to them during that two or three week period when the school is shut down.

Did anybody else catch Gambit's name (Remy Lebeau) when Mystique was scrolling down the list of mutants?

I want me some Gambit, some Longshot, and some Dazzler. I was hoping the little girl in the mall with the X t-shirt was Dazzler but I think that was Siren. Where the heck is the Beast, for goodness sakes. I missed the cameo everyone said he had (as his alter ego). And I want to see full-on Ice-Man, with the bridges and the whole 9. And I want some Angel or Archangel. On the villian side I want some Blob. (Am I asking for too much?)

I agree with everyone who says it is better than the first movie. I'm not the type to see movies twice, but I may see this one three times.

luvluv

I don't think it did, it just embedded into his skin a few centimeters. When his skin healed and spit it back out, it didn't look like it had gone very deep. But I was thinking the same thing when they first shot him.

More Collosus! More Collosus! More Collosus!!!!!

MrFrosty

He appeared in human (non-blue) form as a speaker on a guest show. It is very, very brief though. Beast appears as Dr. Doug McCoy on TV during the bar scene where Mystique (as a blonde) buys the prison guard a drink. He is wearing glasses.

ex-idaho

Saw it last night in a packed theater for the midnight showing. It was great but maybe a little slow in the middle.

SPOILERS>>>>>>>>>>

I think the most impressive thing about the X-Men movies has been casting. They have managed to find the perfect fit for just about every character. Jackman is a perfect Wolverine and Famke Jansen is the perfect Jean Grey. The rolls of Xavier and Magneto are dead on.

Rouge I think could have been done better. She is way to whiny and pretty much useless. I did like the scene when she stops Pyro by stealing his powers. That was great.

I was hoping for an all out mutant riot. The lead up to this film was that there was going to be so many mutant characters interacting in this one. Instead we got a few very small cameos.

I think one of the best single bits of the film was the end of the fight scene between Wolverine and Deathstryke. After she is filled with molten metal and her head hits the bottom of the water tank with a nice thud.... great attention to detail.

Monkeybot

YES! I about jumped out of my seat with excitement when I saw it, but alas, no Gambit yet.

X2 was a blast. Utterly awesome. It spread itself a little thin at times -- I would have liked to see each of the story arcs in a little more depth -- but I can't really fault the movie, since it would have been far too easy to get bogged down. Hugh Jackman was smokingly sexy as usual, Iceman & Pyro were fun to watch, Storm got some slightly more dignified dialogue (although I'm still not crazy about how she's portrayed). My favorite, though, was Nightcrawler, who lived up to my expectations and beyond. Excellently done. IMHO, Cyclops is the weakest link, but then, I've never been crazy about him to start with.

I am definitely going to see this movie again!

Shadowy Man

It should only have been a concussive wound, plus a bit of a flesh wound. Maybe it would have dropped him for the duration of the fight...

and yes you are asking for too much.


As far as the Phoenix saga goes... it is not going to follow the comics in movie form. As much as I like the Starjammers and the Shiar, I don't think they should go that route in the movies. They'd be better off with the Hellfire Club!

karthik

The movie on thw whole was very good except that the effects were pedestrian (compared to today's standards). Nothing in it makes you go "wow!". Maybe Matrix/Reloaded will cure my jadedness..

TealVeal

Pedestrian? Nightcrawler's fight? Certainly not the adjective I'd've choosen to describe it.

Writer@Large

Not a chance. You will never see the Shi'ar, you will never see the moon, you will never see a distant planet in the X-MEN movies. Here's why ...

SIT BACK AND LISTEN AS WRITER@LARGE PONTIFICATES POMPOUSLY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE X-FRANCHISE!

FIRST:They are trying to market the X-Brand film series. Unlike a comic book, which can take a four-issue excursion into space, and then return in the fifth issue to throw down with Magneto again, films only have limited space, sequels only limited budgets, and a film franchise only limited life in the box office. People go to sequels expecting something--maybe bigger, maybe better, but still, at its heart, something *familiar*. And sending the X-Men into space to encounter an alien culture, to let Prof X fal in love with an alien princess, to have Jean Grey get possessed by a uber-powerful alien presence ...

... well, it just wouldn't wash with the X-Brand film crowd. And I'm not talking about the comic book geeks; I'm talking about all those *other* people out there who like or love the films but could care less about the comic book. You know, the ones whose dollars will be a major portion of this weekend's (predicted) 70 or 80 million dollar purse. The studio wouldn't allow it.

SECOND, consider: there will be two, *maybe* three more X-MEN films, tops. There's only one more guaranteed *good* film, since Singer (and half the cast) could walk after three films, and X4 could end up being directed by Simon West and starring Steven Segal as Wolverine.

Further: Singer has said publicly that he always envisioned an X-Trilogy with his three films. It's obvious with X2--the story, the themes, the characters, all carry directly over from the first, and will obviously carry over into the third.

THEREFORE, Singer will want to bring his X-Arc to a sufficient and sufficiently ass-kicking close. There's no way he leaves a huge-ass plot point like the Phoenix hanging.

AND SO, here is the STROY ARC INTO X3, or, why the Shi'ar will have to stay in the funny books:

The entire Phoenix explanation has already been laid in the films. The key to understanding what's going on lies in one of Cyclops's first lines in X2:

"You haven't been the same since Liberty Island."

This one line explains everything. The Phoenix begins on Liberty Island in X1. How, you might ask? What happened to Jean Grey on Liberty Island to bring about the Phoenix?

The Mutation Wave.

Yes, the Mutation Wave. "But wait," you say, "The Mutation Wave didn't affect mutants!" To which I say: "Right. Sort of." The only actual comment we get about the Mutation Wave's effects on mutants is after Professor X reads Senator Kelley's mind and says that the Wave has no �apparent effect� on mutants. Because in Senator Kelley�s mind, he�d seen Magneto, Mystique, Toad, and Sabretooth all washed by the wave with zero change. But that doesn�t mean that all mutants would go unaffected.

Jean Grey is a one-in-a-million mutant. She was a mutant with untapped potential, or loose genes, or something, and the Mutation Wave triggered a secondary mutation inside of her. We saw the first effects of that transformation in X2. Jean�s secondary mutation creates Phoenix, a name she will take in X3 when she �rises from the dead.� Phoenix will not be an alien in the X-Movie continuity. It will be Jean Grey mutated by the Mutation Wave: stronger, better, more powerful � and horribly insane. Remember, mutations caused by the Mutation Wave weren�t stable. In normal humans, it led to advanced cellular degeneration, like Senator Kelley. But in mutants � maybe it makes Jean mentally unstable. Maybe her power keeps growing, feeding off of her and making her mad. And that is how they will do both Phoenix and Dark Phoenix in X3�as a single storyline, the degeneration and (possible) salvation of Jean Grey from a secondary mutation gone mad.

And it will probably involve Sentinels. At least, it would if I were writing it.

--W@L