Friday, April 27, 2012

A-Z Challenge: X-Men

The first X-Men movie was a great film.  It provided in-depth origins stories for some characters while teasing at the origins of others, leaving me satisfied and wanting more.  The action hit the mark, and the story was fueled by plenty of angst, giving a nice dramatic edge.  That angst is a big part of what made the X-Men, and other superheros like Spider-man so successful...it gave them a commonality with the teens (and adults) who followed their stories.

Unlike Superman, who is just solid awesomeness except in the presence of kryptonite, these heroes are deeply flawed.  Wolverine is probably the most enigmatic (and most bad-ass), but even Magneto earns our sympathy, even if he is the bad guy.

The story in the X-Men goes beyond a simple good guy vs. bad guy tale.  There's a different morality to it, and the way it parallels our present-day societal fears and prejudices makes it even more commendable.

This is probably a bit deep for a movie that centers around mutants who can controls others' minds, shoot lasers from their eyes, and make adamantuim claws shoot from their hands, but I just call 'em as I see 'em.  X-Men is a good movie.  I attribute half of this to the characters and stories the movie is based upon, but also to the talents of director Bryan Singer, who also directed The Usual Suspects, which was an alternate for my U-post and a fantastic movie.

4 comments:

Eric said...

This is an excellent write up on an awesome movie. I agree with you too. Superman was fine, but he didn't have nearly the depth of character IMHO that the various Xmen members did. Nice job!

D.G. Hudson said...

Superman was too perfect, his only flaw being Krytonite and his indecision about Lois and Lana.

X-men gives a different viewpoint on super heroes. They don't all necessarily have good intentions. I liked Magneto, and of course, Wolverine.

I don't think your analysis is too deep, how we treat anyone who is 'different' is tangled up in much more 'deep' issues like racism.

Enjoyed the post.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

X-Men does touch upon a lot of social issues.

Rick Daley said...

Eric- Thanks. I also liked X2 and X-Men First Class. Not a big fan of X3, though.

DG- Watchmen did a great job of telling a story with seriously flawed superheroes too. The movie is OK, but the graphic novel is perhaps the finest in that art form.

Alex- I like stories and characters that are entertaining but still make you think.