Again about X3
May. 29th, 2006 08:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ingvildNo, I'm not letting go of this just yet. I just realized when the whole movie was soured for me. Spoilers behind the cut
It was the lab scene. The paralells between X1 and X3 cf. Jean and Logan were obviously there to create sympathy for their relationship, but that's not what pissed me off. It wasn't Jean's behaviour either - she obviously wasn't herself.
Partly it was Logan, whose thought process seemed reduced to...what I described two posts ago. Mostly, it was what came afterwards.
"I think she killed Scott", Logan says. Are you sure you didn't mean to stress that differently, Mr. Wolverine? "I think SHE killed Scott"? No? Does that mean...you didn't know for sure that he was dead?
Does that mean that you thought there was a possibility that he was STILL out there, in the woods, effectively BLIND because you had his glasses?
How, exactly, are you necessary in the flying of the Blackbird, Mr. Logan? That's right, you're not. What's one of your mutant powers, Mr. Wolverine? That's right, heightened senses. So why the hell didn't you stay behind trying to catch Scott's scent and fucking TRACK HIM while Storm flew Jean back to the mansion?
That's right. You were too busy trying to get it on with Scott's FIANCEE.
And this is the guy we're supposed to be rooting for?
More than that, I was actually quite offended at the portrayal of the women in this movie. Let's recap:
STORM: She was bitchy, and snappy, and couldn't lead the team - she needed Strong Man Wolverine (TM) to do it.
MYSTIQUE: Oh, she started off gloriously. Then she sold out Magneto because he dumped her. It seems more likely that she'd infiltrate his camp and sow dissent, or get hold of a plastic gun and shoot him.
ROGUE: I can understand that she'd want to be able to touch people, but the fact that she went through with the cure betrays all the inner strength she has developed over the course of the previous two movies.
SHADOWCAT: Okay, Kitty was good. Actually, Kitty was smart, brave, capable, sassy and fun. And she knocked out a man three times her size through sheer brainpower. The only girl worth rooting for in this movie.
CALLISTO: Did what Magneto told her to.
PSYLOCKE/JUBILEE/STACY X: What, they were there?
JEAN/PHOENIX: This was supposed to be her story. And we didn't get any moral journey or inner strength at all. Poor widdle woman can't control her own power, so she needs Strong Man Xavier (TM) to do it for her. She turns into a paler version of herself. Once the blocks are off, it turns out that Xavier was right to control her. But even as Phoenix, all she did was stand around like a wooden puppet and wait for the men to control her life. Whether that was as their ultimate weapon (Magneto) or as her executioner (Wolverine) because God forbid that she'd actually choose her own fate.
For this to happen in an adaption of X-Men, with their long history of strong, capable women and a number of strong female leaders (Storm, Mystique, Callisto and yes, Jubilee) it was a slap in the face. This movie was the film equivalent of Liefeld women with breasts larger than their heads and impossible spines. And no characterization.
It was the lab scene. The paralells between X1 and X3 cf. Jean and Logan were obviously there to create sympathy for their relationship, but that's not what pissed me off. It wasn't Jean's behaviour either - she obviously wasn't herself.
Partly it was Logan, whose thought process seemed reduced to...what I described two posts ago. Mostly, it was what came afterwards.
"I think she killed Scott", Logan says. Are you sure you didn't mean to stress that differently, Mr. Wolverine? "I think SHE killed Scott"? No? Does that mean...you didn't know for sure that he was dead?
Does that mean that you thought there was a possibility that he was STILL out there, in the woods, effectively BLIND because you had his glasses?
How, exactly, are you necessary in the flying of the Blackbird, Mr. Logan? That's right, you're not. What's one of your mutant powers, Mr. Wolverine? That's right, heightened senses. So why the hell didn't you stay behind trying to catch Scott's scent and fucking TRACK HIM while Storm flew Jean back to the mansion?
That's right. You were too busy trying to get it on with Scott's FIANCEE.
And this is the guy we're supposed to be rooting for?
More than that, I was actually quite offended at the portrayal of the women in this movie. Let's recap:
STORM: She was bitchy, and snappy, and couldn't lead the team - she needed Strong Man Wolverine (TM) to do it.
MYSTIQUE: Oh, she started off gloriously. Then she sold out Magneto because he dumped her. It seems more likely that she'd infiltrate his camp and sow dissent, or get hold of a plastic gun and shoot him.
ROGUE: I can understand that she'd want to be able to touch people, but the fact that she went through with the cure betrays all the inner strength she has developed over the course of the previous two movies.
SHADOWCAT: Okay, Kitty was good. Actually, Kitty was smart, brave, capable, sassy and fun. And she knocked out a man three times her size through sheer brainpower. The only girl worth rooting for in this movie.
CALLISTO: Did what Magneto told her to.
PSYLOCKE/JUBILEE/STACY X: What, they were there?
JEAN/PHOENIX: This was supposed to be her story. And we didn't get any moral journey or inner strength at all. Poor widdle woman can't control her own power, so she needs Strong Man Xavier (TM) to do it for her. She turns into a paler version of herself. Once the blocks are off, it turns out that Xavier was right to control her. But even as Phoenix, all she did was stand around like a wooden puppet and wait for the men to control her life. Whether that was as their ultimate weapon (Magneto) or as her executioner (Wolverine) because God forbid that she'd actually choose her own fate.
For this to happen in an adaption of X-Men, with their long history of strong, capable women and a number of strong female leaders (Storm, Mystique, Callisto and yes, Jubilee) it was a slap in the face. This movie was the film equivalent of Liefeld women with breasts larger than their heads and impossible spines. And no characterization.
