Thread:Rodangizzardcrusher3/@comment-26687285-20161222013026

This one's (probably) going to be shorter than my other threads since the process will likely be alot simpler. I am planning to (with help the help of my far more tech-savy friend Gijs) make a fan-edit of X-Men: The Last Stand, and would like to share my ideas with you on it.

One of my inspirations for this project, and a good example of what i hope to achieve with this edit, are the Anti-Cheese Edits of the Prequel Trilogy. A fan-edit which negates/removes as much of the embarrasing, boring and downright awful parts of the films as possible without becoming inconsistent (Check 'em out some time. They're alot better than the theatrical versions, especially for newcommers).

My feelings on X3 are actually not that ferverent. While it's undoubtably a poor conclusion to the X-trilogy as well as a rushed and over-stuffed film in its own right, i nevertheless think it has some very good things in it.

1: Kelsey Grammer as Beast is (IMO) one of the best casting decissions in superhero movie history. His portrayl hits the same sweet spot as Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, RDJ's Tony Stark or Christopher Reeve's Superman. He looks fantastic in the make-up and his performance feels right of the page.

To paraphrase Channel Awesome's Doug Walker: ''"I got the same feeling watching him as i did watching Michael Keaton as Batman." "Seeing him, i thought to myself, that's not an actor playing Batman, that is Batman." "And when i saw Beast in this movie, i thought, there he is, the character from the comics and cartoons, right there on the screen."''

2: Mckellen, Stewart and Jackman are great to watch as always, and do a pretty good job with what they're given. I especially like Logan's "cigar" line at the beginning.

3: Ellen Page is well cast as Kitty Pryde. She has some decent chemistry with Bobby, and their relationship is one of the few things in the movie that isn't rushed and actually feels natural.

4: Xavier's death scene, while definitely premature and a huge waste of the character, on its own, is nevertheless a very effective scene that feels suitably dramatic and shocking.

With that said, let's get to some of the film's many flaws, and how i plan to correct them.

1: Remove Charles and Erik's meeting with Jean.

Though i think it's a decent enough opening (even with Ian and Patrick's awkward CGI facelifts), looking back on it, the movie is much better off without it. Since axing this scene removes a couple of the serie's biggest continuity issues. Namely, seeing Professor X walk even though he was crippled in 62. Charles and Erik (somehow) being partners again after the events in Cuba. Jean being about 11 years old in 1985 when she's clearly 17 or older in the 1983 of the alternate timeline. This allows the film to fit much better within the series' larger continuity (keep in mind that i'm ignoring X-Men Origins) and make alot more sense as a follow-up.

2: Taking out the Trask.

Another case of continuity maitenance. While this character was most likely introduced as set-up for a possible X4, given that any plans the filmmakers might have had at the time seem to have either fallen through or been ignored, his presence here does nothing but cause confusion and questions for the audience. Is this guy related to Peter Dinklage's character?. Is his name also Bolivar, or does he only share the last name?. Is this somehow supposed to be the same character?, etc. So, this one's gotta go too.

3: Get rid of all that "Class 1-5" nonsense!.

This whole idea serves no purpose within the story of this film and has nothing to do with anything that's going on. It's just a random element that they pulled from the comics and threw in here as a lazy way to explain who's more or less powerfull than the rest without any regard for the franchise's established logic or explanation of how this system even works and why we are suddenly using this vague and undefined terminology. What does being "Class" this or that mean?. How do you measure a mutant's power level?. What are the criteria for this system?. What classes do Wolverine, Professor X or Cyclops belong to?. They seem pretty powerfull to me?. I mean, if Logan's healing factor basically trumps Jean's Phoenix powers, how come Charles says that Jean is the only class-5 mutant he's ever met?. And what about Apocalypse?. If one of his powers is enhancing those of other mutants, doesn't that imply that power levels can be altered?. It's all just so offensively poorly thought out.

It's like how Confused Matthew described the Matrix sequels: "Retorical and f*cking useless!". Get rid of it!.

4: Cut the camp.

X-Men 3 is probably one of the most notorious and mocked comic book films of the past decade (if not all time), and for good reason. This film probably has some of the cheesiest, most embarrasing one-liners and gags since Batman & Robin or Catwoman. Some of these jewels include: Wolverine's "Grow those back", after kicking the "regrowing arms" guy in the nuts (which even make a freaking knuckle-cracking sound 9.9). Mystique's childish exchanges with the guard on the prison convoy. Jean whipping off Logan's belt. Beast's "Oh my stars and garters!". And of course, the big one. The "Juggernaut" line [groan!]. Needless to say, i am going to be removing as many of these exchanges as possible, so as to make the film a bit more watchable.

5: Rogue does WHAT!?.

Alright, here is where i'm really gonna start ripping into this thing. I absolutely HATED! the fact that Rogue chose to "cure" herself.

So the movie presents this big ethical quandry with mutant-cure, and asks us to consider the moral implications of this idea. What if someone didn't want their powers?. What if their powers are actually making life worse and they would be much happier without them?. And while the film doesn't actually take a particular side in the debate, it is strongly implied that taking this medicine would (at best) be a kind of conformity and a surrender to the prejudice faced by the mutant community, and at worst be a form of self-mutilation. In short, even though there might be good reasons for why someone would make this decision we still get the sense that by doing so they lose a part of what makes them who they are. Instead of trying to learn how to use one's gifts in a usefull and productive way you simply get rid of the issue all together. This usually shows a kind of unwillingness to grow or be yourself, which implies that one is not strong enough to face the problem head-on.

And yet, what does the film decide to do with the one character whose arc could have been perfectly tied up through this subplot?. She just takes the easy way out!.

This choice completely spits in the face of the X-Men's core message, which is acceptance. Both of one's self and of others. Think about it. If these stories are really meant for teens and young adults (which they clearly are) what kind of message is this sending to them?. If mutants are a meant as a metaphor for gays, transgenders, disabled people, or any other group within society that is persecuted or has a difficult life because of who they are, what is the solution this film presents?. Just fix it. Don't try and learn to live with it. Don't enhance yourself by using the fact of your abnormality to bring out your inner strenght. Just get rid of whatever you don't like about yourself and be like everyone else.

When Logan confronts her just before she leaves, he says: Her expression afterward clearly shows that he's right and that she knows that what she is doing is wreckless and naive. And even in the next scene we see her in, where she is standing in line to recieve the treatment, it looks and feels like a typical dramatic movie moment where a character is about to do something bad (usually out of spite) but decides to turn around and leave at the last second. Everything, and i mean EVERYTHING! we'd seen up to that point functions like a set-up for her to realize that's she's making a mistake and should go back home. But instead what we get is the exact opposite of what we should have.

Now i'm not saying the filmmakers consciously put this scene in here so as to tell kids: "Don't be gay!" or anything like that, obviously. I understand that they wanted to show both sides of the issue and give every character a reason for choosing the side they end up on. What i'm saying is that they completely screwed up whatever drama or nuance they were trying to get across here. The film tries to justify Rogue's choice by pretending like she wasn't pressured into it, but it's done in such a backwards and counter-intuitive way that it just ends up shooting itself in the foot. The problem isn't that they chose to have Rogue do this. The problem is the reason why she does so. It would have been fine if there had actually been a compelling reason for her to do this. They could've had a scene of her leaving the hospital and walking down the street by herself. She would sit down at a bench, thinking about what she had just done. Then perhaps she woul see a sweet little baby in carriage next to her. As the parent noticed their eye contact they would smile and place the child in their lap. She would (surreptitiously) undo one of her gloves, bend towards them, and gently touch the baby's face with her bare hand. Then, upon realizing that the cure had really worked, she could perhaps have felt like she had finally gotten what she wanted. She could've finally been truly happy. It would have also been better if after Bobby discovers what she has done she'd had some kind of monologue in which she told him that she didn't do this out of shame or fear and that she is genuinely happier this way.

If they had taken this approach i might have been able to accept this creative decision. But as it stands, when she says: "It's what i wanted", instead of feeling like someone making a difficult but justified life decision, it feels like she's in denial about making a huge mistake. In short, this isn't a matter of moral ambiguity, THIS IS JUST SH*TTY WRITING!.

Then to add insult to injury, it turns out they had actually shot an alternate version of the scene between her and Bobby where she actually doesn't take the cure!. This is probably the worst ending change i have seen in my entire movie going life (yes, even worse than I Am Legend). Obviously this is the ending i will be using in my cut of the film (which is what the filmmakers should have done in the first place).  