Six Notes on the Six Second "X-Men" Tease
Friday, October 25, 2013 at 10:36AM I don't want to give too much attention to a six second tease of a teaser -- I waited a whole day in fact hoping the urge to say something would pass -- but in the end my childhood hardwiring triumphed. I haven't loved or even much liked an X-Movie in 10 years but I will always love the X-Men, for better or worse. Usually worse.
So herewith a few thoughts with screencaps from Bryan Singer's tweeting foreplay.
1. It's a good thing this is a period piece because Professor Xavier's helmet Cerebro is totally irrelevant today. You don't need a mutant locator anymore. The Homo Superior are impossible to miss all smeared across every movie screen and television set and website. Children of the Atom be so ubiquitous in this age of superheroes.
Unfortunately I'm not done blabbering about this yet!
2. It's so tragic that for all the recasting of superheroes over the years (I mean HOW MANY PEOPLE have played Batman now?) that the only person who has ever played Storm is the one who was all wrong for it in the first place. The greatest mark against Berry in the role -- apart from being all wrong for it -- is that she has never once seemed to enjoy playing Storm and Storm is one of the best comic book characters in the history of superherodom. Tis a repetitive pity.
3. Joe Reid cracked me up on twitter with this:
One more movie and Storm will just be bald.
4. I love the character of Mystique. I love Jennifer Lawrence as a celebrity and often as an actor. But these are two great tastes that don't taste great together. I legit think she was bad in this role in X-Men: First Class and though she is an extraordinarily beautiful woman, her beauty doesn't translate well to blue naked body paint and scales. Rebecca Romijn was still a perfect 10 wearing all that mutated f/x makeup. Jennifer Lawrence's hotness is considerably cooled. To appropriate repurpose a truth about people who can't pull off designer clothes, it's like the makeup is wearing her. It's supposed to be the other way around.
5. Never mind Magneto. Michael Fassbender's mutant power is supersized screen magnetism. All the ladies fly towards him legs (open) first.
6. Hugh Jackman torso. Ahhh. All is right with the world again
Reader Comments (25)
"Storm is one of the best comic book characters in the history of superherodom."
WORD. I like Berry, but I love Storm and thus Berry's casting/performance as Storm will ALWAYS make me sad/angry. Even more so that everything Spider-Man 3 related.
Mystique's costume is looking a little fake to me. I'm dying to see this movie, though. The X-Men have always been my favorite superheroes.
Nat: Between the serials, the movies, the animated shows, the DTV animated movies, the OnStar Campaign, the Live Action Shows and the video games? 20 people have been locked in to have played Bruce Wayne and a couple more have played people who explicitly inherit the mantle (Serials: Lewis Wilson and Robert Lowery, OnStar Campaign and Birds of Prey: Bruce Thomas, 60s Live Action Show and Spin-off film: Adam West, Burton's films: Michael Keaton, Schumacher's films: Val Kilmer and George Clooney, Nolan's films: Christian Bale and JGL (iheriting), DCAU Shows: Kevin Conroy (has also done the bulk of the DTV animated films (12/17 total) as well as Batman Vengeance, Batman: The Rise of Sun Tzu and the first two Batman: Arkham games. In terms of the quality level of the sheer volume of work he's done on Batman, Conroy is still THE current definitive Batman, live action or not) and Will Friedle (inheriting), The Batman: Rino Romano, Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Diedrich Bader (yes, the odd neighbour from Office Space), Beware the Batman: Anthony Ruivivar, Batman: Under the Red Hood: Bruce Greenwood, Batman: Year One: Benjamin McKenzie, Lego Batman and the derived DTV film: Troy Baker (the only person so far to have both Batman and Joker on his resume), Justice League: The New Frontier: Jeremy Sisto, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths: William Baldwin, The Lego Movie: Will Arnett, Justice League: War: Jason O'Mara, Batman: Arkham Origins (Roger Craig Smith), so, with a total of 22 performers over a 70 year history, it's really kind of sad Bryan Singer ISN'T using this opportunity (why wouldn't time travel changes manage to change how characters look) to recast the weak link of his film's original cast. Also: Wolverine not having been replaced yet in live-action films is completely astonishing in light of that.
Jennifer Lawrence has built her celebrity on being awkward and clumsy and dorky, so how she keeps having such success in action films is beyond me. In my opinion it goes to show you the strength of these franchises and the magnetism of her celebrity that people will overlook her total lack of suitability.
You nailed it on Jennifer Lawrence in this part. That's exactly what I was thinking but couldn't quite put into words.
I would add that Lawrence is clearly a smart cookie and it is easy to divide her performances into ones where she is intellectually engaged and ones where she is not. I don't need to tell you which category her Mystique falls into.
I also think that Jennifer Lawrence is totally hampered by the X Men: Mutant Babies angle. Who on earth wants to watch Mystique of all people be an awkward teenager?
I think "intellectually engaged" is such a stretch for Jennifer Lawrence's approach to anything. She's likable as heck, but girl needs a education. She's dumb and ignorant as a statement.
I didn't think jennifer lawrence was 'bad' in the x-men movie. I mean, the "mutant... with pride" is a little cheesy but she didn't write that, and the character wasn't as good as rebecca's because she hadn't turned into that character yet no? (I know nothing about the original story of the mystique, just assume that was a teen version - the beginning - of it)
and "she doesn't look as hot" is not a great point to be making.
I just want to second everything you said in this article. My feelings exactly, Nathaniel (especially re: Storm)!
Marcelo -- why not? Celebrities being hot is why they become such massive stars in the first place. And superhero films are very concerned with their visual candy.
I've always thought Angela Basset would have made a much better, stronger Storm.
Ah, people casually referring to women from my home state as "dumb and ignorant," over nothing in particular. Never gets old. Or any less infuriating, I suppose.
That's all I have to say about that.
Fliegender, I'm a West Virginian. Stereotypes are stereotypes but willful ditzes are willful ditzes. It's working for her.
While I wouldn't use the word bad for her performance, Lawrence really was mis-casted in X-Men: First Class. As for Berry, I thought she was decent in X2 but that's about it. However, re-casting Storm is a much different situation than re-casting Batman. She's been in three of these films and to suddenly not have her in this one would be too jarring.
Alright, I'll bite.
What about Lawrence seems ignorant, dumb, or *willfully* ditzy? I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, unless by ignorant you just mean "not throwing around two-dollar words at the drop of a hat." Because if that were the case, that's a very shallow definition of ignorant.
While people call her ignorant, she laughs and laughs while stroking her Oscar and looking at her gorgeous self in the mirror. Maybe she's just high, though. Who knows?
I agree on Lawrence as Mystique. I adore her (I'm totally fine with her Oscar win), but she made a weak impression in First Class with those flat line readings. She just didn't seem to connect with the character at all. Funny enough, I think she would've been an excellent Rogue (aka Mystique's foster daughter in the comics).
I do think the makeup is better this time, though.
thefilmjunkie, I agree with you. Lawrence as Rogue would have been great.
Don't mean to overdo, but totally cosign on Lawrence being "bad" as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. The line readings were mostly off, though I don't know anyone could have truly pulled those off. She just never seemed to find a way into the character emotionally. I bought the physicality just fine; I think the makeup job was poor rather than her beauty not being right for the part. What little arc that character had made no sense in the context of what Lawrence was giving us. She just seemed lost and out of her element.
She was young, and is still young, and was nonetheless more watchable in First Class than many of her peers are in similarly tepid movies. Much has been made of her tendency to play older characters, but I do think she can more convincingly channel maturity rather than immaturity. I think she's great as Katniss in The Hunger Games -- but no way does that character read as 16 as played by Lawrence. Hopefully in this film Mystique is a little older and wiser, and therefore more in line with Lawrence's strengths as a performer.
In retrospect, I appreciate Rebecca Romijn's physical expressiveness and exquisite bone structure more. It's tough to be considered a B movie actress. Romijn doesn't get much credit for her skills, good sense in knowing how to approach and interpret her part, and her touches of wit. All her professionalism is clumped under "she looked good".
Mystique is such a fierce as fuck character that Lawrence's showing in First Class was such a flop for a cool reimagining of an already interesting figure. Granted she didn't have too much to do (didn't stop Romijn) but she wasn't exactly demanding our attention with her flat readings and dulled charisma. X2 utilized that character the best (she was PERFECTLY used as a clever plot device) so here's hoping they, you know, actually integrate her some more after what the last couple years has brought us from JLaw.
@ adri - YESSSS. That casting idea of hiring a sly and limber model as Mystique seems like such a no-brainer but it payed off in spades, didn't it? RR was fabulous in every way and her sliding middle finger moment in the second film has remained a fave from all of the X-Men films.
I snorted.
Nobody on here has ever, and I've looked, said anything good about Jennifer Lawrence without following it with a back hand criticism.
Cin -- that's odd. I JUST praised her work on Hunger Games in the review and she's also excellent in "American Hustle"... but it's true i wasn't crazy about her work in Silver LInings Playbook. but this comment makes me worried she's going to be one of those stars (like Cate Blanchett) that people get hyper sensitive about and can't hear any criticism of.
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