Hey folks, Harry here. Well, the one good thing about a bunch of whiny and bitchy TALK BACKS is that it pissed Daryl Zero into not only writing more about the film... but also sending screen grabs from.... how he saw the film. BUT AGAIN... I would just like to reiterate that this was not the final film. That RESHOOTS have occurred, and that... at least from the sound of this 'more on the film' piece... the movie sounds like quite a few of us have a chance of liking it. I can tell you... that the problem he has with the overall plot against mankind that Magneto has... is something that folks like me, Stax and folks over at COMING ATTRACTIONS haven't had. To me... it's a 'comic book plan'. Kinda like Goldfinger radiating the gold from FT KNOX. It's one of those cartoon plot devices like sending a nuke into the California San Andreas faultline to make real estate more valuable... You are either going to accept it... or not. Daryl doesn't. But you may. I'll see you at the end of this piece....
Harry,
Here is a new review of the X-men movie. Perhaps it will satisfy your readers a bit more. I find their attitudes to be a bit distressing, but I guess you know all about that. If you post this I hope that you will at least attest to the proof that I have sent you. If you have any doubts about my veracity, I would be happy to answer any questions for you.
The review:
It starts of well enough with introductions of Magneto, Rogue, and Wolverine. Singer does a good job of representing the horror of what it would be like to actually have mutant powers. He sets up the school well and shows many scenes of the students at play, goofing off in class, etc.
The problem begins when Senator Kelly is kidnapped about 30 minutes into the film. At this point the hokey plot begins. Magneto powers some device, which will turn a human into a mutant and uses it to change Senator Kelly. Why he does this at this point doesn¹t make much sense, as Magneto has no plans for using Kelly. I assume that Kelly is changed simply to show the audience how the device works. His power is unclear. He seems to stretch, regenerate limbs, and be really gross to look at. He eventually dies from the process as it makes human genetics unstable. In any case, Magneto¹s ultimate goal is to change a bunch of world leader¹s at a conference at the Statue of Liberty. The problem is that he is drained by powering the machine, so he plans to kidnap Rogue, give her his powers, and let her do the dirty work, presumably dying in the process.
Eventually, Magneto does get his hands on Rogue and the X-men discover his plot and they all fight it out at the Statue of Liberty. The movie draws to a close with a chess match between Xavier and Magneto and Xavier tells him that he will always be there to stop him. In the next scene, Xavier informs Logan of place to go where he can search for his origins and so Wolverine takes off on a motorcycle (stolen from Cyclops) and heads into X-men Part 2.
Here¹s what I think of the characters.
Wolverine: Pretty cool, but he gets his butt kicked way too much by Sabertooth and Mystique. Not as tough as he is in the comics, not as short either, but definitely one of the better written characters. He is Canadian. He is "older than he appears". He does say "Bub". He gets nightmarish flashbacks to when his adamantium was put in. He also gets nearly all the good lines.
Rogue: Modeled after the early Rogue. Not much here, but her isolation and horror at having her power. She opens up to Wolverine and he protects her emotionally and physically. She also develops a flirtation with Iceman. At the end she gains the locke of gray hair. Performed with a Southern accent.sometimes.
Prof. X: A softer, gentler Captain Picard. He falls into a coma halfway through the film and conveniently wakes up at the end. Best bit is when he controls Sabertooth¹s mind to attack Magneto. He also walks in one sequence where he is in Senator Kelly¹s memories.
Jean Grey: She is quiet and in the background most of the time. Not as powerful as she is in the comics. Does have a romance with Cyclops, she rejects Logan¹s affections. Famke Janssen does fine with an underwritten role.
Cyclops: I though Marsden was pretty cool. His best scene is in one edit I saw and not in another. He bickers with Wolverine after he sees Jean with him. This is the "Stay away from my girl" scene. In one cut it¹s all he says, in another he explains that he doesn¹t have to say it because she is his girl. He gets many nice moments, such as when he smiles at a child in a train station. The one thing I didn¹t like was that near the end he says the line "goddammit". Very unlike Scott Sommers, but maybe it will be taken out.
Storm: Why is she in the movie? She walks around and says lines that any character could have said and then flashes her powers occasionally. Definitely, not as tuff as in the comics and the accent is silly.
Magneto: A waste of Mckellan. A great setup in the concentration camp is never touched on again except for a flash to the serial number on his wrist. He looks silly in the helmet, but thankfully it is only in one scene. He never gets into a big battle with anyone, just restrains people and rambles on. His best scene is with Xavier early in the movie. When he feels Xavier probing his mind he remarks on it and uses his power to rattle Xavier¹s wheelchair.
Sabertooth: Appears to be quite dumb in the movie. He says only a few lines. Generally he is big and throws people around a lot.
Toad: The worst x-character ever is made decent by Ray Park¹s performance. He has like one line in the film, but he is good in the fight scenes and adds attitude. He even mocks the X-men with a little dance at one point. A whole lot of really big tongue action going on.
Mystique: The most surprising. Only a few lines, but great fighting and sexy sexy sexy. She has a presence on screen that most lack. Maybe it¹s just the make-up but she is pretty darn cool. Cooler than the comic anyway.
In summation, the movie is ok. It has fairly loyal depictions of the characters and the performances are mostly good. Weaknesses would be weak dialogue and a very simple and ridiculous plot. Stay away if you are not a comic fan. But that¹s just my opinion.
The mysterious and brilliant,
Daryl Zero
Alright... now for the screengrabs of the print. Daryl did a great job covering his tracks. First off he sent everything through completely anonymous mail servers, then he trimmed the pictures to the letterbox shape they were... leaving the 'Property of 20th Century Fox' burn in at the top, while removing any other incriminating numbers or codes that tend to always hang in the bottom black border on work prints. Who knows... The mysterious and brilliant Daryl Zero could be anyone from an executive to someone working on the film to a relative of one of them... or... perhaps the tape has leaked out there in the underground world. I don't know and I don't want to know. The last think I want is some Fox hired investigator diggin in my garbage every Thursday looking for discarded envelopes. So if you have this tape... DO NOT SEND IT TO ME!
These pics are of scenes we haven't seen before. Magneto being separated from his mother in the concentration camp, Rogue and her boyfriend in bed and Wolverine in the introductory pit fight opposite whomever he's fighting.
Personally... everything Daryl has said has simply made me more anxious to see the movie for myself. It sounds like, while not perfect, that it might very well be a movie that I dig. I am holding back any judgement until I see the thing with my own eyes... and he highlights so much that sounds right in this piece... that I'm excited. Here's the pics... And of course... I'm sure some of you still feel this is bullshit. That's fine... I'll see you in line in mid-July....
