X-Men First Class

[Navarre]

heh But wouldn't it have been a controversial thing if the writers had included a Charles/Erik romance back in the day? That would have been so crazy I think I would have actually approved.

[@lantis]

I think you're imposing what you already know about Magneto on to the character in those scenes you mention Navarre.  When I saw the scene where he was leaving I took Erik's choice to stay as a willingness to try another path, not as a bonding moment.  He had already failed by himself once, he knew he needed help to accomplish his goals.

Aside from recruiting other mutants together, there was really nothing Erik and Charles did together that would have given them any different relationship than what Charles tried to have with everyone.  The feeling I got when Erik turned was more of a, "I lost one of them" feeling than a major betrayal by a close friend.

I also think at the end it would have been more powerful if instead of admitting he was reading Mystique's mind he had told her, "I didn't have to this time."

[Navarre]

I also think at the end it would have been more powerful if instead of admitting he was reading Mystique's mind he had told her, "I didn't have to this time."

So agreed! I was expecting that line, would have been satisfied by that line, and disappointed I didn't hear it.

[@lantis]

So after thinking about it and letting my initial opinion fester, I have realized why I didn't think this movie was more than just passable.  I don't think movies are the proper medium for X-men live action stories.  Ensemble movies just take an extra level of effort to be great, and even then you end up never developing major characters due to time constraints.  First Class ended up just being a story about Charles and Erik with some side plot involving Mystique and Beast.  Everyone else was just a static character thrown in as a plot device of some kind.

Shows like Community, Lost and the first season of Heroes have shown TV is a great place to tell an ensemble story.  The fact that Heroes succeeded for as long as it did proves that people would also watch a weekly hour series like the X-Men.  The only reason the Avengers movie has a chance of working is because there have been other movies to develop the characters prior.

This movie was good, but I don't think the next film can go anywhere without being another Charles vs Erik story featuring mutants you don't have to care about due to the constraints of cinema.

[Navarre]

It's a good point. But then, a standalone movie for Beast or Havok or someone wouldn't sell either.

A television series would be good though.

[@lantis]

The fact that a Beast or Havoc standalone wouldn't work was part of my point.  They can't do standalones of X-men characters, and really shouldn't because then you get stuff like X-Men Origins:  Wolverine.  Having a television show lets you have that kind of focus without taking them out of the X-men setting.

[Gaumer]

The heart of the X-Men has always been relationships...well, at least a neighbor to the heart.

It takes time to make those relationships mean as much to the audience as it does to the characters.

[@lantis]

If Disney let ABC greenlight No Ordinary Family, they can't do much worse approving a superhero concept that actually works.  And if they don't mind pissing off some people they could always do a Smallville style show on ABCFamily with all the teenage angst new mutants would be going through at school.

[Navarre]

I'm concerned that the fate of Heroes, NOF, and The Cape has put the networks off from superhero shows. It shouldn't but it might.

[Gaumer]

I'm concerned that the fate of Heroes, NOF, and The Cape has put the networks off from superhero shows. It shouldn't but it might.

Bad shows are bad shows, superheroes or not. This is what the networks must get over.

[@lantis]

NOF actually made it through an entire season.  So even a bad superhero show can be a viable option for a network so long as it has enough viewers.  Something with a recognized brand could ensure at least a slight profit.

[Navarre]

I'm concerned that the fate of Heroes, NOF, and The Cape has put the networks off from superhero shows. It shouldn't but it might.

Bad shows are bad shows, superheroes or not. This is what the networks must get over.

I agree with you. We need to get the networks to agree with us too.

[The Mighty King Cobra]

I'm concerned that the fate of Heroes, NOF, and The Cape has put the networks off from superhero shows. It shouldn't but it might.

Bad shows are bad shows, superheroes or not. This is what the networks must get over.

I agree with you. We need to get the networks to agree with us too.

No, you need to get a couple of million viewers to agree with you, too.

[@lantis]

I'm concerned that the fate of Heroes, NOF, and The Cape has put the networks off from superhero shows. It shouldn't but it might.

Bad shows are bad shows, superheroes or not. This is what the networks must get over.

I agree with you. We need to get the networks to agree with us too.

No, you need to get a couple of million viewers to agree with you, too.

More accurately, a couple hundred Neilson box owners.  Or alternatively get a network to agree to get rid of this archaic ratings measurement tool.

[peter21caldwell]

This entertaining prequel is more like James Bond meets The Dirty Dozen than a comic book story about mutants with superpowers.