What You Should Have Seen #20

X-Men: First Class

I think I should have watched this in the theater instead of on DVD. With the inclusion of Magneto’s concentration camp scene from the first movie, the movie sort of goes out of its way to show you that this isn’t a remake or a reboot, but an in-continuity prequel.

There is so much to like about this movie. The casting is superb. The acting is wonderful. The action and effects are seamless. The nods to the comic book continuity are excellent, and the changes are perfectly acceptable.

I feel the need to make comments that will quite possibly spoil things. But, apparently people like spoilers.

NOTES!:

• “Groovy mutation.”
• Moira is a CIA operative? Apparently she’s no longer Scottish, and Banshee is no longer Irish. I’m okay with that. Shaw is also a Nazi.
• I like the explanation for the helmet Magneto will eventually wear.
• I don’t know who the wind guy Shaw has is. IMDB says it’s Riptide, one of the minor Marauders. Eh, okay.
• I like Xavier’s early cockiness.
• I’m okay with McCoy being the “Q” for Xavier. SOMEBODY had to make all this stuff, right?
• “Are you sure we can’t shave your head?”
  “Don’t touch my hair.”
• Angel was one of my least favorite new mutants from Grant Morrison’s run. At least she’s pretty, here.

• How much older is Alex Summers than Scott? Isn’t SCOTT supposed to be the older brother?
• This movie has probably the best cameo I’ve seen in a comic book movie.
• I don’t like Havok’s plasma hula hoops. I’m glad that gets fixed.
• I know OF Azazel, but I’m not familiar with his characterization. I know he’s Nightcrawler’s dad and that he’s a demon. Here, though, he appears to just be a red, evil Nightcrawler…and I’m okay with that.
• I’m only slightly familiar with Darwin and his most recent appearances in X-Factor…but by the nature of his mutation, wouldn’t he still have survived Shaw’s attack?
• I was really hoping for a Basic Instinct scene when Emma was in the interrogation room. I guess that was too much to hope for in a PG-13 comic book movie.
• Jennifer Lawrence is incredibly beautiful, and I’ll take her over Rebecca Romijn any day. She looks real. The brief cameo was another nice nod to the original movies, though.
• January Jones is also very pretty, but at the moment I can only see her as Mrs. Don Draper. The way she carries herself doesn’t seem to fit with the Emma Frost I’m most familiar with. I like the take-charge, smart-ass Emma Frost. That’s not January Jones.

I want more. There’s, what, more than 30 years between the events of this movie and the first X-Men movie? What happened since? I want to know NOW!

If you like comic books, watch this movie. If you like action movies, watch this movie. If you like good acting by good actors, watch this movie.

Probably for the rest of the month I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit it out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But my experiment this weekend proved to me that I actually AM making a spot of cash whenever the ads are clicked. So I’m going to put this little disclaimer on the bottom of all my posts for the next month or so, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. Thanks so much!

What You Should Have Read #40

Last Week’s Comic Book Awesomeness

It was a light week last week. That can probably be attributed to DC only releasing two titles and it being the fifth week of the month.

Justice League #1 – With this being such a HUGE milestone, I feel like I should say something about the first issue of Justice League. But really, next to the pretty art, the story was pretty underwhelming…as is this little blurb.

Secret Avengers #16 – Warren Ellis should be the only person to put words in the Beast’s mouth. Of course, I think that Warren Ellis should be the only person to put words in a LOT of comic characters’ mouths. I’m very much looking forward to Ellis’ run on this title. I’ve heard that his run will consist of single-issue stories, and I like that. Not every issue of every title has to make up a larger story arc.

Uncanny X-Force #14 – I know it’s the writers that put the words in the characters’ mouths, but man, Deadpool can really turn a phrase. “Diarrhea made of sadness and anger” sounds like one of the most awful thing in the history of awful things.

What You Should Have Read #32

Last Week’s Awesomeness

I was always a big Venom fan, but I took a hiatus from comics right about the time Marvel started pumping out a bunch of Venom mini-series, so I never felt Venomed out. I liked the evolution of the character, from Eddie and then to Mac after Eddie got cancer. I LOVED what was happening with him in Thunderbolts. I’m okay with the current incarnation, I guess, but I’m just waiting for Flash to be in over his head. As for Eddie Brock, I gave a big eye roll when Anti-Venom was introduced. It just felt too easy, like the creators weren’t even trying. Opposite color scheme, somewhat similar powers, skewed idea of heroism…Marvel already tried a watered-down, “heroic” Venom. But I’m liking the current storyline, and I like how he’s trying to prove himself to Spidey.

I realize that nobody really dies in comics, but Black Bolt is back? Did this happen in a comic I haven’t read? I knew HE wouldn’t stay dead (as opposed to Ant-Man and Jack of Hearts, who are also back), but I’ve been following the cosmic storylines and I have no recollection of his return. I’m assuming it’ll be brought up in the next issue of FF.

Hey there, Valkyrie. Way to rally the troops. After that, though, the end of the issue almost brought me to tears. Of course, I’ve been close to tears most of the week anyways, so it’s not that difficult to get me there right now.

Crime Master might be a good guy, but he ain’t no dummy.

For some reason I had assumed that Wolverine: The Best There Is was a mini-series even though it didn’t say so in the issue box on the cover. Looks like I was wrong. I’m enjoying the smart and sarcastic writing, but I’m liking the art less and less each issue. I liked Juan Jose Ryp while he worked on various Avatar projects, but I’m not feeling like he’s fitting with this book very well. Or maybe it’s just this issue. I did like it when he was drawing freaks and whatnot, and I like his Beast, but his Cyclops and Emma aren’t doing it for me. Maybe I just don’t like him drawing “normal” people. That aside, the little back-and-forth Scott, Henry and Emma had going about nudity was great.