X-2

[Calis]

Heh, I hear you on that. The movie really got me interested in reading comics again...I just don't think I can do the issues anymore, I think I'll have to stick to the paperback's.

Anyone know if the other series of X-Men are good? I think there's an Extreme or something, and I'm guessing that Uncanny is still running, not sure though.

Last comic series I actually bought the issues to was Preacher, oh how I love Ennis and Dillon.

[dawgfan]

I have a buddy that still buys & reads comics. His recommendation is to go with the Ultimate line. The deal with these is Marvel is reinventing their main characters (X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Avengers aka the Ultimates, etc.) as though they were starting off in the present day. This gives the writers freedom to borrow bits and pieces of original stories and origins as they see fit and weave them into a contemporary setting.

His take is that the Ultimate X-Men is the best of the X-men lines, over the original Uncanny line and the Extreme line. Extreme is written by Chris Claremont though, so if you were a fan of his original run on the X-Men it might be worth taking a look. My buddy can't stomach him anymore so he doesn't buy it - he thinks Claremont has gone too far into the touchy-feely too much talking/not enough action direction.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by dawgfan

His take is that the Ultimate X-Men is the best of the X-men lines, over the original Uncanny line and the Extreme line. Extreme is written by Chris Claremont though, so if you were a fan of his original run on the X-Men it might be worth taking a look. My buddy can't stomach him anymore so he doesn't buy it - he thinks Claremont has gone too far into the touchy-feely too much talking/not enough action direction.

Yeah, Claremont hasn't been the same since he tried to fart out a few really bad sci-fi novels. He was awesome in the late 80's... now, well, he's just a failed sci-fi author who forgets that he's writing comic book stories. Still, the art in Extreme X-Men is pretty sweet... if you like well-proportioned and scantily clad comic babes.

[Coffee Warlord]

Am I the only one that was not impressed with X-2?

It wasn't *bad*, mind you. Good effects, they have certainly casted the characters well, but, I simply felt the entire pace of the movie was just...off. The movie simply seems unfulfilling throughout.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
Am I the only one that was not impressed with X-2?

It wasn't *bad*, mind you. Good effects, they have certainly casted the characters well, but, I simply felt the entire pace of the movie was just...off. The movie simply seems unfulfilling throughout.

Nah. I am with you more or less. The pacing was way off. No real begining, middle, or end.

[Honolulu_Blue]

As for great trade paperbacks. Go out and get the trade papaerback for the "Dark Phoenix Saga" or "Days of Future Past." These are a collection of some classic X-Men of old. They are, more or less, total stories. Great, great stuff. Classics.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue
As for great trade paperbacks. Go out and get the trade papaerback for the "Dark Phoenix Saga" or "Days of Future Past." These are a collection of some classic X-Men of old. They are, more or less, total stories. Great, great stuff. Classics.

I'll be looking for them. I don't know if there is a really good comic shop in town in more. The last good one was the one I worked for 15 years ago.

[sasquatch]

If you're going to get back into reading comics, don't limit yourself to just the superhero genre. There are a lot of great comics out there that are telling so many different great stories in so many other different, more interesting genres than that of spandex-clad warriors hitting each other. Most of them are in trade paperback form too. Some trade paperbacks I'd recommend in other genres are:

Historical Fiction: Berlin by Jason Lutes, Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower

Humor: The Adventures of Barry Ween: Boy Genius by Judd Winick

Political Thriller: Queen and Country by Greg Rucka

Slice of Life: Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson

Sci-fi Social Commentary: Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis

Crime: Jinx, Goldfish, and Torso by Brian Michael Bendis

I don't know if these are everybody's cup of tea, but I think they're all well crafted and non-superhero-centric.

[Qwikshot]

Originally posted by sasquatch
If you're going to get back into reading comics, don't limit yourself to just the superhero genre. There are a lot of great comics out there that are telling so many different great stories in so many other different, more interesting genres than that of spandex-clad warriors hitting each other. Most of them are in trade paperback form too. Some trade paperbacks I'd recommend in other genres are:

Historical Fiction: Berlin by Jason Lutes, Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower

Humor: The Adventures of Barry Ween: Boy Genius by Judd Winick

Political Thriller: Queen and Country by Greg Rucka

Slice of Life: Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson

Sci-fi Social Commentary: Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis

Crime: Jinx, Goldfish, and Torso by Brian Michael Bendis

I don't know if these are everybody's cup of tea, but I think they're all well crafted and non-superhero-centric.

What about Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" Series?!?
Or even "Maus"

The problem with comics is that they are like soap operas...I feel that you had to be at the start to understand it all...and really I can't partake in another costly hobby, so I'll sit this one out...but a grade school friend of mine had stacks...and I remember friends of mine gushing over a guy called "Badger"...but I never got into it.

[Anthony]

Quote:
"And seeing him jump/fly over huge spans of ground just doesn't fit in with his character at all."

he was always able to do that. he could really span large distances in one single jump. a co-worker of mine pointed out that he saw the Hulk running really fast in the trailer, and asked if he was able to do that, and i had to say that speed wasn't his thing, especially when he first came out when he was just a big pile of muscle and not much in the brain dept. while i would say he's as fast as your average powerful hero gifted with stregnth, the speed thing ain't eactly his bag. it look bad and i refuse to pay around $10 for a movie ticket to see it. i'll wait for it on cable.

i saw Daredevil and was not impressed. i only wanted to see it for Bullseye's dart scene in the bar. i think he was played great. Michael Clark Duncan was miscast. with special effects they could have taken Pee Wee Herman and made him monstrous. Marlon Brando would have been a great kingpin, he's naturally robust.

Duncan looked like he took "Intro To Laughing Like A Villain 101" right before they shot the movie. LOL. it's good for kids i guess. i knew Affleck was gonna fuck it up like he did Pearl Harbor. I spent 60% of the movie trying to decide if Jennifer Garner deserved to be #2 on my top 3 Hot Chick list (Britney is #1). she passed. she's hot.

X-2 was a rare example of a sequel being better than the original. great movie. not enough Colosus - if he was gonna be in it for 2 minutes they should have done without him.

Note: for those of you who see the movie, here's something neat. in the bar scene with Mystique and the drunk Prison Guard, there is a tv in the background. on it is a doctor being interviewed on a talk show. the Dr.'s name is Dr. Hank McCoy.

aka The Beast (sans blue fur).

[Franklinnoble]

The Beast didn't always have blue fur... I caught that one, along with the Remy LeBeau name on Stryker's computer. When I get the DVD, I'll probably geek out and pause on scenes like that just to see what other little "Easter Eggs" are hidden in the film.

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Coffee Warlord
Am I the only one that was not impressed with X-2?

It wasn't *bad*, mind you. Good effects, they have certainly casted the characters well, but, I simply felt the entire pace of the movie was just...off. The movie simply seems unfulfilling throughout.

For a million reasons, I didn't get to see the movie before tonight. I came home, looked up this thread, and couldn't believe I read this far before anyone even said anything slightly negative about it. It's an alright movie, but neither one has been a masterpiece.

Right off the bat we get a decent opening sequence with horrible music to make sure it seems completely corny. I think the score has been the worst aspect of both films so far, at times totally inappropriate or overshadowing the movie itself. Nightcrawler himself looked great, and Alan Cummings grew on me by the end of the movie, I liked the character overall.

I could write a bunch, but i'm getting damn tired right now. Time to speed things up.

Things I liked
Rogue/Iceman sexual tension early in the film. It seemed genuine and addressed the intensely human issue of Rogues "gift."

Jean Grey. solid acting, and very nice to look at. I wasn't nuts about the ending, but let it slide due to not being very familiar with her comic book history.

The raid on the school. Great scene overall. Certainly helped underscore Wolverines insane rages and willingness to slaughter at will.

Cyclops. I don't know the actors name, but he makes the character believable upright and forward.

Storm was definitely improved in this film, she sucked in the first.


Things I didn't like
The special effects at Bobby's parents house. The worst looking of everything in the film.

The fact that Professor X could just wipe out all humans or mutants if he wanted with Cerebro. It felt like a pretty cheesy doomsday storyline. Why in the fuck would he build a machine that strong?

The film's score. And the pacing seemed all over the place. Sometimes moving too fast, sometimes moving too slow. I think there need to be some longer dialogue scenes in general. No one is ever standing still for a minute in these movies because there are so many characters involved.


overall i thought the movie was "good" . I'd grade it a C+/B-