Official Thread ▐░•● X- Men Apocalypse ○● ┱ Beware And Be Warned ┲ This Friday ╄

Every ‘X-Men’ Movie Ranked from Worst to Best
BY ADAM CHITWOOD 20 HOURS AGO

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The superhero franchise is and has been king of the blockbuster box office for some time now, and with X-Men: Apocalypse heading our way next week it’s easy to consider it just another comic book adaptation in a sea of comic book adaptations. But in actuality, X-Men is something of a minor miracle of a franchise. Bryan Singer’s first film redefined what a superhero movie could be 16 years ago, and now over a decade and a half later and eight films deep, this franchise continues going strong. The longevity of this franchise is wildly impressive, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

So with Apocalypse’s release imminent, now feels like an appropriate time to go back and revisit the franchise thus far, from X-Men all the way up through this past February’s Deadpool. Below, I present to you my ranking of every X-Men movie from worst to best.

8.) X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Let’s get this out of the way: X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an unmitigated disaster. It wasn’t supposed to be a disaster, mind you—director Gavin Hood had just won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film—but disputes with the studio during production and an overall lack of vision lead to the garbage fire that we have today. The film is intended to be an origin story, but pretty much drops that aspect after the first act in favor of sprinkling in as many mutants as possible before finally melding together a hodgepodge of comics characters—both figuratively and literally—into the embarrassment that is this movie’s Weapon XI/Deadpool. It makes no sense, but little of this movie does.

The emotional throughline of the film (ie. Lynn Collins’ Kayla) is also dropped at the end of the first act before magically reappearing at the end for no good reason, and then there’s Liev Schreiber’s Victor Creed—Wolverine’s brother. There’s a fascinating brother story in here somewhere, but X-Men Origins fails to find it, instead opting to use Victor as a plot device serving another plot device, which would be Danny Huston’s Major William Stryker.

The film’s action is embarrassingly lackluster, the visual effects are sloppy and roughshod, and the storytelling is an absolute disaster. Pretty much the only non-terrible thing about the movie is Hugh Jackman, but even he has trouble selling some of the silliness this script calls dialogue. Oh yeah, this is also the X-Men movie where they let will.i.am. from the Black Eyed Peas play a mutant. Days of Future Past erased this film from the official canon, and it’s best to just continue pretending like it never existed at all.

7.) X-Men: The Last Stand

2006 is where things started to go south. X-Men: The Last Stand begins well enough, once again showing the team working together while introducing a new outside threat, but signs of the glut and monotony of the picture start seeping in just as Magneto begins forming his Brotherhood of Mutants. The Last Stand has two plot devices too many, as the film simultaneously tries to juggle the Dark Phoenix storyline, the prospect of a mutant cure, and the formation of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Had the filmmakers settled on just one of these and focused on fleshing that out from a character perspective, we could’ve been in for something more in line with the previous two features. But as it stands—and under Brett Ratner’s direction—the film is bloated and, frankly, pretty boring.

Granted, this is a movie that was racing towards a release date without a director. After Bryan Singer left the director’s chair, eventual First Class helmer Matthew Vaughn stepped in. But after developing the picture for a few months, Vaughn departed to attend to personal matters, and Ratner hopped into the driver’s seat of a fast-moving train. There was little room to hone the film to Ratner’s sensibilities, but that didn’t seem to matter as the filmmaker’s lack of sophistication is nevertheless plenty prevalent throughout the movie, as each new mutant seems to be crafted with an air of silliness rather than the grounded nature of Singer’s previous films.

The picture culminates in a forgettable and very expensive-looking finale, but the real drag is that from a story point of view, The Last Stand is one of the most significant films in the franchise—it kills off Cyclops, Professor X, and Jean Grey, three of the key characters of the series. That it does so with such flippancy is all the more frustrating, and luckily screenwriter Simon Kinberg would undo his own mistakes with the ending of Days of Future Past. Still, The Last Stand marks the moment where this series started getting really shaky, and it took a few movies until the ship could be righted.

6.) X-Men

The effect of 2000’s X-Men on the blockbuster landscape cannot be understated. Director Bryan Singer literally defined what a superhero movie could do by grounding the film with real emotions and real characters rather than approaching the whole thing as a disposable popcorn movie. I mean, the movie opens with Auschwitz during World War II—that takes gusto. And while in retrospect the scale ofX-Men feels quaint, its impact is still felt to this day, and as a standalone film it actually holds up pretty well.

X-Men’s greatest asset is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and it was a stroke of genius for Singer to hinge the whole movie on this character whose entire lack of familiarity with the mutant world mimics the vast majority of audiences. He’s our “in”, and Jackman plays it perfectly while also setting up a tremendous dynamic with Anna Paquin’s Rogue, the emotional center of the film. Rogue epitomizes the fear and self-loathing that comes with being categorized as “different” and/or “dangerous,” and Singer doesn’t shy away from the real-world parallels of the marginalization of this particular group of individuals.

Even 16 years later, the themes of X-Men are just as prescient, and it’s a testament to Singer’s handle on the film that it holds up in this regard. The action sequences are admittedly dated, but the rapport between the characters is the foundation of the movie, and this ensemble works terrifically off of one another—well aside from Halle Berry’s Storm, who maybe speaks 10 words in the entire movie. And the dynamic between Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan as a parallel of the Martin Luther King Jr./Malcolm X relationship is yet another one of Singer’s touches that made this film such a landmark achievement in its day.

While pretty much all involved would improve upon the foundation that was built withX-Men in future installments, it remains an effective and refreshingly (in hindsight) intimate superhero tale all the same.

5.) X-Men: Days of Future Past

In many ways, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the ultimate X-Men movie. It marked director Bryan Singer’s triumphant return to the series after departing following X2, and it finally melded together the old and new cast into one massive, All Star ensemble. And for the most part, Days of Future Past really works. The future-set sequences are wonderfully dynamic, and showcase various new mutant powers with the added bonus of killing characters over and over again thanks to the introduction of time travel. And the scorched earth setting is a terrifically unique touch that brings new shades to X-Men lore, giving fans a glimpse into a more sci-fi-leaning X-Menmovie.

But the bulk of the film takes place in the 70s, and that’s where it shines thanks once again to tremendous performances from Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence,James McAvoy, and Nicholas Hoult. McAvoy in particular gets the chance to stretch here as we’re introduced to a barely recognizable Charles Xavier, one riddled with guilt, shame, and exhaustion. Throwing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine into the mix was a stroke of genius, and he serves as a perfect go-between for the young and new cast. And then there’s Evan Peters’ Quicksilver, who steals the entire film with one jaw-dropping sequence and proves that judgment based on marketing materials can sometimes be way, way off base.

The film does start to drag a bit towards the end and Peter Dinklage is wasted as Bolivar Trask, and it’s not as visually arresting as its predecessor First Class. But for the most part Days of Future Past is a compelling and entertaining watch, with the slightly lengthier but more cohesive Rogue Cut actually turning out to be a smidge better than the theatrical version.


4.) Deadpool

The movie that Fox was so hesitant to greenlight turned out being the highest grossing X-Men movie yet. Granted, Deadpool is leagues different than any X-Menfilm thus far, and the first to be R-rated, but director Tim Miller’s foul-mouthed adaptation struck a major chord with audiences. And it’s a fun movie! Ryan Reynolds was pretty much born to play this character, and he injects Wade Wilson with the humanity necessary to emotionally ground the film. Deadpool’s strongest aspect is its progressive romantic relationship, as Morena Baccarin not only plays a fine foil for Wilson, but the depiction of their relationship is refreshingly confident and rejects the traditional gender dynamics found in most Hollywood blockbusters. And while getting Vanessa back ultimately serves as the driving plot point of the film, the character reacts to Wilson’s selfish actions appropriately.

Miller does a solid job of crafting a genuine superhero movie on a very tight budget, and while the scale of the film does indeed feel small, Miller excels with action—especially in the final set piece. But the juvenile nature of the humor tends to get a little monotonous, and the comedic dynamic between Deadpool and his blind roommate is one heavily relied-upon gag that simply doesn’t land. Nevertheless, the movie works more often than it doesn’t, and the violent and humorously antiheroic nature of Wilson provides a delightful change of pace for the X-Men universe.

3.) X2

Upon release, X2 was heralded as a superior sequel and potentially genre-defining superhero film. And indeed, the film is quite good, but on a recent rewatch it doesn’tquite hold up as the new classic some claimed it would be. There’s a sluggishness to the middle of the film, and its 133-minute runtime is surely felt as movie drones on. But it builds to a terrifically bittersweet finale, with director Bryan Singer teeing up the Dark Phoenix saga perfectly (only to see it come crashing down in The Last Stand) and also wrapping up the film’s political themes quite nicely.

Singer proves adept at juggling even more mutants this time around without the film ever feeling overcrowded, and indeed Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey in particular get the most TLC, while Halle Berry actually gets a story arc this time around as she’s closely tied with Alan Cumming’s impressive turn as Nightcrawler. Jackman is the backbone of this franchise, and as Wolverine anchored the first X-Men, it’s only fitting that he continues to drive the story in X2. But what’s impressive about the sequel is that Singer manages to continue this thread while also fleshing out the supporting characters around him, with Brian Cox’s William Stryker serving as the franchise’s best non-mutant villain thus far.

In terms of action, Singer doubles down from the get-go with the tremendous Nightcrawler White House sequence. It’s a terrifically thrilling sequence that’s then followed up by another visually arresting scene in the form of the museum sequence, which may not be an “action set piece” per se but is wonderfully engaging nonetheless. And Singer also continues to flesh out the social parallels between theX-Men franchise and the real world, with Bobby’s “coming out” scene remaining a pinnacle scene of the series.

While not quite a top tier superhero movie all these years later, X2 remains a fun and engaging watch by any measure and certainly one of the more thematically ambitious films of the franchise.

2.) The Wolverine

Aside from Deadpool, the scale of The Wolverine is the smallest of the X-Menuniverse films, and yet the stakes of the movie feel so much bigger than the majority of the films in this particular franchise. By zeroing in on one character and anchoring the entire film with the emotional existential crisis of Hugh Jackman’s titular mutant,The Wolverine illuminates new shades of the most prolific character in the X-Menuniverse, and it does so with refreshing grace and sensitivity. Wolverine’s past hangs heavy over all of his actions in this particular film, even though he’s surrounded by strangers. And that only makes his actions and motivations that much more empathetic, as Jackman turns in his best X-Men performance to date as a lonely, wounded, and world weary Wolverine.

Director James Mangold takes advantage of the Japanese setting fully, never hinging the film on tropes or stereotypes but instead finding new ways to flesh out the film’s “stranger in a strange land” themes. The Wolverine is the most visually impressive and dynamic X-Men film to date, and the bullet train sequence alone may stand as the franchise’s best action sequence so far. Intimacy is key with this particular film, and it informs everything from the fight scenes to the villain choices. And while the film disappointingly devolves into a more traditional superhero movie in its third act, the majority of its runtime is devoted to revealing new shades of Jackman’s iconic character through dialogue and character interactions, with Rila Fukushima’s fellow mutant Yukio in particular providing a fantastic companion to The Wolverine.

Brief but key appearances by Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey haunt the film and its hero, and indeed The Wolverine in many ways feels like a culmination for the franchise given that Jackman’s character was our first introduction to the world of theX-Men. In a less ambitious filmmaker’s hands one can imagine the rote and opportunistic version of the Japan-set The Wolverine, which makes Mangold’s iteration of the film all the more impressive. He and Jackman have a tall order in trying to top this Western-tinged standalone film for the character, as it remains one of the best X-Men films thus far.

1.) X-Men: First Class

By the time X-Men Origins: Wolverine rolled around, the particulars of the X-Menfranchise were so muddled that it was not only tough to keep track of who’s done what, but it was hard to care. So going back to the beginning via a prequel seemed like a solid enough idea in order to offer new shading to some of these iconic characters, but the masterstroke came in setting Matthew Vaughn to direct and co-write the picture with Jane Goldman. The result, X-Men: First Class, is a delightful and surprisingly emotional 60s romp that offers audiences a chance to be reintroduced to these iconic characters with new—and spectacular—interpretations. It’s impossible to overstate just how lucky this franchise turned out to be when rising stars Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult soon after became some of the most in-demand performers working today.

Seriously, 50% of the brilliance of X-Men: First Class comes down to casting, and Vaughn knocked it out of the park. Fassbender not only brings a sly imposing quality to the character of Erik Lensherr, but he also opens wholly new emotional keys to the character, turning in a downright tremendous performance as Erik’s revenge arc forms the emotional center of the movie. But McAvoy is no slouch either, and his suave take on the young Charles Xavier is a downright delight, while Lawrence brings a marvelous complexity to the character of Mystique that makes the character a vital part of the X-Men franchise and not simply Magneto’s henchwoman. Hoult gets a somewhat smaller focus here, but his take on the self-conscious Dr. Hank McCoy is impressive nonetheless.

Vaughn has a blast capturing the entire film with nods to classic 60s cinema, though he’s careful never to devolve into parody or kitsch. He brings a smooth playfulness to the franchise while maintaining an overall air of sophistication, which is no easy task. It not only injects the series with a revitalized vigor, but also results in the most satisfying film of the bunch thus far. The formation of the team and origins of these central characters are joyful to behold, but beneath it all there’s an air of despair and tragedy, foreshadowing the schism to come. Vaughn uses the large ensemble cast to acknowledge the varying ways people handle being different, and it concludes in an appropriately operatic finale that’s simultaneously triumphant and heartbreaking. It’s this confident handle of tone, phenomenal performances, and wildly entertaining story that make X-Men: First Class the best X-Men movie thus far.

 

Ekm Multi Booking Started | First Day 22 Shows

 

#XMen frenzy... IMAX Wadala [Mumbai] has organized 6.15 am show of #XMenApocalypse... Shows the craze for Hollywood films in India.

 

157. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
എക്സ് മെൻ: അപോകാലിപ്സ് (2016)

Language : English
Genre : Action | Adventure | Fantasy
Director : Bryan Singer
IMDB : 7.8

ബ്രയാൻ സിംഗർ & എക്സ് മെൻ - എനിക്ക് രണ്ടും ഇഷ്ടപെട്ട കാര്യങ്ങളാണ്. എക്സ് മെൻ ആദ്യ ഭാഗം മുതൽ കാണുന്ന ഒരു സൂപർ ഹീറോ ഫ്രാഞ്ചൈസിയും ബ്രയാൻ സിംഗർ ചിത്രങ്ങൾ എന്നും പ്രിയപ്പെട്ടതാണ്. ഈ വർഷത്തെ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ സൂപർഹീറോ ചിത്രങ്ങളിൽ ഒന്നാണല്ലോ അപോകാലിപ്സ്.

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ഇത്തവണയും സ്ഥിതി വ്യത്യസ്തമല്ല, ഭൂമിയിൽ ജീവൻറെ നിലനിൽപ്പ് തകർക്കാൻ വരുന്ന സൂപ്പർ വില്ലൻ, അവരെ തകർക്കാൻ എക്സ് മെൻ. അമരനായ mutant എൻ സബാഹ് നൂർ നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകൾക്കു ശേഷം ഭൂമിയിലേക്ക്‌ തിരിച്ചു വരുന്നു, ശക്തിയുള്ളവർ മാത്രംഭൂമിയിൽ നിലനിന്നാൽ മതി എന്ന അജണ്ട ഉള്ള സബാ നൂർ പുതിയ ആൾക്കാരെ തന്റെ ടീമിലേക്ക് എടുക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ എക്സ് മെൻ, ഈ പദ്ധതി തകർക്കാൻ വേണ്ടി ശ്രമിക്കുന്നു. ആ ശ്രമത്തിൽ അവർ വിജയിക്കുമോ?

www.avfshot.blogspot.com

ഉള്ളത് പറയാമല്ലോ, ക്ലീഷേകളുടെ പൂരപ്പറമ്പ് ആണ് എക്സ് മെൻ അപോകാലിപ്സ്. mutant കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞു നിൽക്കുന്നു ചിത്രം. ഗ്രാഫിക്സ് ഒരു രക്ഷയുമില്ല, 3-ഡി കാണുന്നതായിരിക്കും അഭികാമ്യം, അതിനുള്ള എല്ലാ മരുന്നുകളും ചിത്രത്തിൽ ഉണ്ടെന്നു 2-ഡി എനിക്ക് തോന്നി. എക്സ് മെൻ സീരീസിൽ ആദ്യം മുതൽ കണ്ടു വരുന്ന അതേ കഥ തന്നെയാണ് ഈ ചിത്രത്തിലും ഉപയോഗിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്. അത് കൊണ്ട് കണ്ടു കണ്ടു ബോറടിക്കുമെന്നുറപ്പു. പക്ഷെ ബ്രയാൻ സിംഗറിന്റെ ഗ്രാഫിക്സിന്റെ ഉപയോഗവും,സീനുകൾ അടുക്കി വെക്കുന്നതിലുള്ള അവസരോചിതമായ ഇടപെടൽ മൂലം ചിത്രം നമ്മളെ മുഷിപ്പിക്കാതെ തന്നെ മുൻപോട്ട് പോകും. ടൈം freeze ചെയ്യുന്ന സീൻ ആകർഷകമായി എടുത്തിട്ടുണ്ട്. പശ്ചാത്തല സംഗീതം നന്നായിരുന്നു. ജോൺ ഒട്ട്മാനാണ് സംഗീതം നിർവഹിച്ചത്.

എക്സ് മെന്നിലെ എന്റെ ഏറ്റവും പ്രിയപ്പെട്ട ഒരു കഥാപാത്രമാണ് വൂൾവറീൻ. അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ എൻട്രി മാസ് തന്നെയാണ്. കുറച്ചു നേരം മാത്രമേ കലിപ്പ് പുള്ളി തന്നെ. സുന്ദരിയായ സോഫീ ടർണർ ജീൻ ഗ്രേ ആയും റ്റൈ ഷെരിടാൻ സൈക്ലോപ്സ് ആയും വേഷമിട്ടു. മൈക്കൾ ഫാസബെണ്ടർ, ജെയിംസ്‌ മകവോയി, ജെനിഫർ ലോറൻസ്, നികോളാസ് ഹൌൽറ്റ് എന്നിവർ അവരവരുടെ റോളുകൾ നല്ല രീതിയിൽ അവതരിച്ചു. ഒസ്കാർ ഇസാക്ക് ആണ് വില്ലനായ സബാഹ് നൂറിൻറെ വേഷമിട്ടത്. തരക്കെടില്ലാത്തതായിരുന്നു.

എല്ലാ സൂപർ ഹീറോ ചിത്രങ്ങളിലെയും പോലെ, വില്ലൻ ഒരു സംഭവമായി കാണിക്കുകയും, പിന്നീട് ക്ലൈമാക്സിനടുത്തെത്തുമ്പോൾ വില്ലൻ വെറും ശൂന്യൻ ആവുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു.
ഫസ്റ്റ് ക്ലാസ്, ഡെയ്സ് ഓഫ് ഫ്യൂച്ചർ പാസ്റ്റ് എന്ന ചിത്രങ്ങളുമായി താരതമ്യം ചെയ്‌താൽ വലിയ മെച്ചമില്ല.
ഒരു പോപ്‌കോൺ ചിത്രം എന്നതിലുപരി പുതിയതായി ഒന്നും വാഗ്ദാനം ചെയ്യാത്ത ഒരു സാധാരണ പടം.

എൻറെ റേറ്റിംഗ് 6.5 ഓൺ 10

പ്രിയപ്പെട്ട സീരീസിന്റെയും നിലവാരം കുറഞ്ഞു പോകുന്നതിൽ അതിയായ വ്യസനം ഞാൻ ഈ ഘട്ടത്തിൽ രേഖപ്പെടുത്തി കൊള്ളുന്നു.

 

#XMenApocalypse opens to 50% occupancy across India... Hollywood takes on Bollywood yet again.

 

#XMenApocalypse opens to 50% occupancy across India... Hollywood takes on Bollywood yet again.

 

It was another week when the initial honors went to a Hollywood release as X Men - Apocalypse opened better than the Hindi release Sarabjit. The opening of the Hollywood release is not great as it opened to just about decent collections but still that is enough to beat Sarabjit.



The opening of Sarabjit is low at around 15%. The content of the film seems to be for North India but though the opening there was better than other places, it was still not upto the mark. The opening in both Punjab and Delhi was not uto the mark but if the film is too pick up these areas can go up fast as is dominated by high end multiplexes.



Sarabjit will have an open field if it can score on word of mouth as holdovers are coming to the end of their runs and though the competition of X Men - Apocalypse has opened better the gap can be made up easily over weekend if Sarabjit has the reports. Delhi and Punjab will have to pick up fast if the film is to have chance at the boxoffice.



The film has further problems in Punjab that it is facing competition from a Punjabi film Kaptaan and although Kaptaan has also just opened to average numbers it dominates the screen sapce in Punjab.