To make things clear, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is just one of many Studio Ghibli feature films that will be playing through SM Cinema branches with the Studio Ghibli Fest 2025 launching today. Other Studio Ghibli feature films include My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises and Ponyo. All of those anime productions were directed by Miyazaki but in my personal anime viewing experience, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind remains the most memorable one.
A captivating piece of art from the 1984 anime feature film of Hayao Miyazaki.
To put things in perspective regarding the Studio Ghibli Fest 2025, posted below is an excerpt from the lifestyle news article of GMA Network. Some parts in boldface…
The Studio Ghibli Fest 2025 is happening this month, and six films from the highly acclaimed Japanese animation studio will be screened in select local cinemas.
SM Cinema announced the happy news on its social media pages last August 31.
“Six worlds. Endless wonder. One big screen. From Totoro’s forest to Chihiro’s spirit world, journey back into the imagination of Hayao Miyazaki and experience the timeless magic of Studio Ghibli,” it said.
Several classic Studio Ghibli films will be screened in select SM Cinemas nationwide from September 10 to 16.
Here is a list of the films part of the Studio Ghibli Fest 2025: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises, Ponyo, (and) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
These are the SM Cinema branches around the country showcasing the Studio Ghibli anime feature films. (source – SM Cinema)
Why Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is significant
Among the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is the one that resonates with me the most and I have a long history of viewing the anime feature film. The first time I saw it was in its mid-1980s, butchered English-dubbed version titles Warriors of the Wind on home video. Being so young back then, I was not aware of the original Japanese version and I simply enjoyed what was presented in English. The leading lady Nausicaä was renamed as Princess Zandra while the Ohm were referred to as gorgons.
For the newcomers reading this, the 1980s was not exactly a good time of anime productions being released in the West in English and alterations for the Western market was the norm. Warriors of the Wind was more than 20 minutes shorter than the original Japanese version.
In the early 2000s, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was released uncut with a new English-dubbed version (plus English subtitles with the original Japanese audio) involving the talents of Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman and Alison Lohman. The footage that was missing in Warriors of the Wind easily made the new version – released on DVD in 2005, Disney Blu-ray in 2011, GKIDS and Shout! Factory Blu-ray in 2017, and limited edition steelbook Blu-ray in 2020 – a must-buy for both fans and anime enthusiasts who enjoy classics.
I myself acquired the 2005 DVD of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by trading an old video game for it and enjoyed it a lot. I saw both the English-dubbed and English-subtitled versions in different times, and the complete footage added to my enjoyment of it. If I were to make comparisons, I prefer the 1984 film over Princess Mononoke (I had a Blu-ray copy of it).
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on Blu-ray disc format (limited edition steelbook version) is still available for purchasing online and you only need to click here. I wonder when will a 4K Blu-ray version of it be announced.
The Japanese movie poster from 1984.
What it is lacking for me is the experience of watching Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on the big screen inside the movie theater. This is why I am personally interested in replaying it at an SM Cinema branch during the week-long Studio Ghibli Fest 2025. At the same time, it is rare for anime classics to be screened in movie theaters here in the Philippines. As much as I love watching movies on Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray format in the comfort of home, the cinema experience is still the best way to watch a movie. Definitely better than streaming!
If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, cinematic trends, Blu-ray releases and more relevant stuff, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576
Welcome back, my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following topics and the related videos I found.
#1When Atari invaded Japan – Here in the Philippines, me and my friends played video games on the Atari 2600 consoles in our respective homes during the first half of the 1980s. What I did not know back then was the fact that Atari did its best to sell its console and video games in nearby Japan. It turns out, their console in Japan was the Atari 2800. Watch and learn about this particular part of video game history with the video of GTV Japan below.
#2 A look back at Superman: The Animated Series – When it comes to animated series of the 1990s related to superheroes, X-Men: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series are often remembered by long-time fans and geeks. The animated series of Superman, however, does not get remembered as much even though it had good quality animation and presentation. Of course, it should be remembered that the 1990s was the same decade when DC Comics had Superman killed, introduced the Supermen, brought Superman back to life and even had the Clark Kent identity destroyed which probably overshadowed the animated series. To discover more of Superman: The Animated Series, watch the video below.
#3 Examining the original 2099 comics franchise of Marvel Comics – You might have heard about 2099 among the many comic books Marvel published through the decades. The futuristic of Marvel’s shared universe originally started in late 1992 when the comic book speculator boom was still intense. It started strongly with Spider-Man 2099 followed by Ravage 2099, Doom 2099 and Punisher 2099. In the 2nd half of 1993, X-Men 2099 followed and even more related comic books got released. Of course, the 2099 franchise of the 1990s eventually ended. How and why it all happened like that, you can learn by watching Owen likes Comics’ video below.
#4 You, Me and the Movies’ Excalibur reaction – Excalibur is an epic medieval fantasy movie about the legend of King Arthur and his knights released in 1981. I first saw the film on TV in 1988 and it was an intriguing viewing experience. I replayed it on physical disc format in 2003 and eventually recognized Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne looking much younger. If you want to discover more of Excalibur through the reaction of You, Me and the Movies, watch the video posted below. It’s a fun watch.
#5 Assorted videos about Planet of the Apes (1968) – Planet of the Apes of 1968 is considered by many as a great science fiction film as well as a philosophical and intelligent viewing experience. While it is an engaging viewing experience, I find the concept of human evolution and the so-called genetic links between humans and apes to be nothing more than fantasies. Considering its fame, it is no surprise that a lot of YouTubers made their own videos about it and you can watch the selected videos below.
#6 A look back at Robotron: 2084 – Robotron: 2084 is a 2D, multi-directional shooting game first released in arcades way back in 1982. I never played the arcade version but managed to play it on an IBM PC around the mid-1980s. The history behind the game is quite rich in details and you can enjoy learning about it by watching the video of PatmanQC below.
Welcome back, my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following topics and the related videos I found.
#1Ashleigh Burton’s Logan reaction video – Finally, after posting several X-Men-related reaction videos on her YouTube channel, YouTuber Ashleigh Burton posted her reaction to the great movieLogan. As it is a great film, you must watch it entirely first. If you have seen it already, then I urge you to watch Burton’s reaction video below.
#2 Woke Hollywood continues to freak out over Donald Trump’s comeback as US President – Remember all those many Hollywood elitists who went all out to fool Americans to vote for Commie Kamala Harris for US President? A lot of them plus Hollywood media are still freaking out over Harris’ loss to Donald Trump (who pulled off the greatest American comeback ever). Watch the videos from Midnight’s Edge and RK Outpost below. Pay close attention to the details.
#3 1990s explanatory video about the Fighter’s History – Street Fighter II case – Back in the 1990s, Capcom USA sued Data East over the video game Fighter’s History for infringing on Street Fighter II. As part of its efforts defending Fighter’s History, Data East released to the media an explanatory video (lawsuit exhibit video) which was recently posted on YouTube for millions of people to watch for the first time ever. Watch it now.
#4 Examining Final Exam – Have you ever seen the 1981 movie Final Exam? It was a low-budget, independently made slasher horror movie that looks inspired by Halloween (1978), Friday The 13th (1980) and even National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978). While it is a fact that the movie faded away into obscurity for decades, it suddenly gained attention among film buffs arguably because of its 2023 release on 4K Blu-ray format. Apart from that, Final Exam has a very interesting story of production and execution, and you can learn more about it in the two videos below.
#5 Spotlight on Predator 2 – While it is clear that the 1990 sci-fi action movie Predator 2 does not match the greatness of its predecessor, it still aged well and clearly succeeded in expanding the lore of the Predator entertainment franchise. It also established very creatively the link between Predator and the Alien film franchise. That being said, it is not surprising that the movie became the subject of several YouTubers’ retro movie review videos and movie reaction videos. Before you watch the selected videos below, I encourage you to watch the film first in case you have not seen it. Otherwise, enjoy the selected videos below.
#6 Halo 2 remembered – Twenty years ago this month, Microsoft launched Halo 2 on the original Xbox console with massive hype and success. I could never forget the excitement leading towards its launch followed by the fun I had playing the single-player campaign. The only problem I had with Halo 2 was the abrupt ending. Regardless, Halo 2 is still memorable and if you feel nostalgic about it, watch the video below. Remember, this is a look back at the time when Team Xbox invested a lot not only on Halo 2 but also on making Xbox fans happy with exclusive content.
Welcome back readers, fellow geeks and electronic gaming fans!
In this edition of the Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) series, we will take a look at another batch of retro gaming print ads – including arcade flyers – from the 1980s and 1990s.
For the newcomers reading this, Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) looks back at the many print ads of games (console, arcade, computer and handheld) that were published in comic books, magazines, flyers, posters and newspapers long before smartphones, social media, the worldwide web and streaming became popular. To put things in perspective, people back in the 1980s and 1990s were more trusting of print media for information and images about electronic games and related products.
With those details laid down, here is the newest batch of retro gaming print ads for you to see and enjoy…
1. Galaxian for Atari print ad
A unique approach to the art done by the advertisers.
Developed by Namco, Galaxian was a 2D sci-fi shooter that debuted in arcades in 1979. It was so successful and widely acclaimed, it got ported to varied game consoles and home computers as the years passed by. For its release on the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200, this print ad was created to catch the attention of fans and gamers by utilizing artwork that resembled the look of 2D sprites from the game. That being said, no screenshots of Galaxian on the Atari consoles were shown because the artwork used looked detailed and were attention-grabbing already.
2. 1943: The Battle of Midway arcade flyer
This is a fine looking flyer.
In 1987, Capcom released in the arcades 1943: The Battle of Midway which was their follow-up to 1942. The arcade flyer itself was designed to strongly promote the game using a combination of screenshots, short-but-clear text descriptions and the great looking piece of artwork which really emphasized the World War II concept. Behind it all, this game was made by Japanese developers with the Western markets in mind and the irony is that the game has players control Americans fighting the Japanese fleet.
3. Top Gunner arcade conversion kit flyer
Show this nice looking image to the woke nut or modern day Communist near you. Watch and observe his or her reaction.
To make things clear, Top Gunner is actually the run-and-gun game Jackal and the alternative titles was mainly used in North American arcade distribution and also reflected Konami’s move of coming up with titles inspired by blockbuster movies of the time. To promote its 1986 arcade release in America as a conversion kit, the advertisers had three models playing soldiers on a military jeep to immerse gamers into the core concept of the game – moving armed military jeeps from one location to another while fighting bad guys. The approach used for the visual concept is indeed inspiring, especially during the Cold War. Top Gunner/Jackal became a hit in both arcades and consoles.
4. Joust for Atari print ad
While I played Joust on console, I don’t remember seeing this print ad before.
Made by Williams Electronics, Joust was one of those early 1980s arcade games that eventually made its way to the Atari 2600 console which was massively popular in North America. Strangely enough, the artistic approach Atari’s advertising came up with for the console version of Joust was similar with that of the ad of the Atari version of Galaxian (see item #1 above) in which artwork was used to resemble the 2D sprites of the game. Regardless, the images of this ad showed what a joust looked like – a martial game between two armed combatants going against each other while riding an animal.
5. Kid Chameleon print ad
Can you relate with Kid Chameleon’s identity crisis?
During the early years of the Sega Genesis, Sega of America exerted efforts to make new games that were not only exclusive to their console but also stand out among the many 2D side-scrolling adventure games by coming up with a protagonist with a unique personality that could somehow resonate with young kids and teenagers.
Developed by their internal experts (Sega Technical Institute), the company released Kid Chameleon in 1992 and they came up with the above print ad that had detailed hand-drawn art of the lead character as well as a wordy text description which was a clear attempt to help young gamers (including teenagers) get connected with both the game and the protagonist. The advertisers even had space to spare to accommodate two screenshots of the game.
6. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (AKA T2: The Arcade Game) for Sega Genesis print ad
This print ad appeared on the many comic books I read long ago.
Back in the early 1990s, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a massive success in the global box office and this resulted in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popularity to soar very high while also establishing the Terminator as an essential pop culture figure. Apart from comic books and merchandise, video games based on the movie were made and the one that stood out the most was the arcade shooter game initially titled Terminator 2: Judgment Day (later retitled as T2: The Arcade Game).
The arcade mega hit eventually got ported to the Sega Genesis and this print ad really looked flashy with its visual presentation showing screenshots and a zoomed-in look at how the Terminator T-800 looked like in the Genesis version complete with a few explosions in the background. It should be noted that this flashy print ad cleverly concealed the visual downgrades and the redrawn images as the Genesis itself could never come close to matching the high quality visuals of the arcade version.
7. CYBERPad print ad
I never owned the CYBERPad, nor have I ever used one.
During the so-called 16-bit console generation (actually the 4th console generation), there were lots of licensed console peripherals made by independent companies in support of the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The company Suncom Technologies came up with the CYBERPad controller for the two consoles and they boasted in their print ad that the product had a programmable control pad that allowed users to create combinations for each game with convenience in mind. The CYBERPad also allowed the saving of the programmable moves and it had a rapid-fire feature and even a slow-motion function. The CYBERPad was made to make the gameplay experience more user-friendly.
If you look closely, this print announcement by GamePro technically advertised the game consoles, the arcade game and Lara Croft to its readers.
In 1999, GamePro magazine celebrated its 10th anniversary and to keep on resonating with gamers and maintaining the loyalty of their fans, they organized a reader sweepstakes with prizes worth over $25,000 to be won by the few winners. GamePro boasted a date with an unnamed model who played the iconic Lara Croft (Tomb Raider). Certain arcade machines plus the modern consoles of the time – including the brand-new Sega Dreamcast – were also at stake. The way it was presented, this GamePro print announcement was enticing to read.
9. Smash T.V. for SNES print ad
Smash T.V. was a lot of fun on both arcade and console.
The arcade hit Smash T.V. made its way to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1992 and the publisher came up with a print ad that had captivating artwork, six screenshots and a text description that emphasized that a lot of fun awaits gamers on the console version. In my view, this old ad is still amusing to look at.
10. David Robinson’s Supreme Court print ad
It was a smart move by Sega to get NBA superstar David Robinson as the endorser of this basketball video game exclusive on the Sega Genesis. This ad was published many years before Robinson finally won an NBA championship.
As part of its strategy in competing with Nintendo during the 4th console generation, Sega of America was focused on producing exclusive sports video games for the Genesis console backed by endorsements of sports professionals. In 1992, they released David Robinson’s Supreme Court on the Genesis and unsurprisingly their print ad used a large, stylized image of the NBA superstar dunking backed with an exciting text description plus screenshots showing the game’s use of the isometric view for gameplay. This is still worth looking at.
11. Taito’s “heat wave” print ad
An amusing and creative way to sell video games.
If your company lacks money to effectively market your video games individually, you can try making a single ad promoting them together. This is what Taito did in this print ad which showcases multiple games for different platforms and they used artwork of a player experiencing the so-called heat wave. This is a nice stroke of creativity on the part of Taito.
12. Jurassic Park Interactive print ad
This was a creepy print ad promoting the 3DO-exclusive Jurassic Park Interactive.
When it comes to video game consoles, having exclusive games is essential as long as they are of high quality, highly playable and enjoyable. The 3DO company acquired a license of the Jurassic Park movie and made the exclusive game Jurassic Park Interactive hoping it would sell a lot and lift up 3DO hardware sales.
This print ad, which features a zoomed-in image of the Raptor from the game, was more focused on selling the 3DO console than the video game as seen on the descriptive text. 3DO ran a promo selling the console which would entitle the buyer to get Jurassic Park Interactive and another game free. Nothing was done to describe the console’s multimedia capabilities of showing videos, images and graphics of the game (which was essentially a collection of mini-games). This print ad shows ignorance on the part of the 3DO company and the ad maker as it showed desperation happening really early in the console’s life. Notably, Jurassic Park Interactive was the only video game adaptation to use actual footage (note: the faces of the actors were edited out) and music from the film.
13. RoboCop 2 print ad
You want to become RoboCop to save the city of Detroit from criminals?
Way back in 1990, RoboCop 2 was a big hit in cinemas here in the Philippines and in some places around the world. As typical of the time, licenses to make video games based on the movie were released resulting in RoboCop 2 games for multiple platforms. The print ad featured two different images of RoboCop – one from the movie poster and the other from an official artwork. The descriptive text does a fine job to immerse readers into the story concept of the game but showing only two screenshots was a lackluster effort to sell the game.
14. Star Trek: The Next Generation – Echoes from the Past print ad
Space…the final frontier waiting for Sega Genesis gamers.
Released in 1994, Star Trek: The Next Generation – Echoes from the Past delivered the Star Trek TNG adventure experience to Sega Genesis gamers. In fact, it is the exact same experience that SNES gamers got the same year. In reality, Star Trek: The Next Generation – Echoes from the Past is actually a port of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Future’s Past on the SNES and the screenshots on the print ad are giveaways about it. In fairness to the ad makers, this print ad never attempted to deceive gamers that it promoted a totally different Star Trek TNG game.
15. Dinosaurs for Hire print ad
This print ad caught my attention and made me interested in the game and the comic book series. Even though it was small, Malibu Comics’ logo was still recognizable.
Dinosaurs for Hire (sometimes referred to as Tom Mason’s Dinosaurs for Hire) was a 2D side-scrolling platform adventure game based on the comic book series of Tom Mason. Published by Sega, it was a Genesis-exclusive game and this print ad had a catchy text description, a few screenshots and the eye-catching artwork of a triceratops facing the viewer. This print ad is still good to look at. If you’re thinking about searching for existing copies of the game, I encourage you to also read some Dinosaurs for Hire comic books before playing. By the way, Tom Mason also wrote several comic books of the Ultraverse.
Welcome back, my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following topics and the related videos I found.
#1In-depth look at the making of Silent Hill – It has been over twenty-five years since Konami released Silent Hill on PlayStation. That horror-themed adventure game added to the evolution of horror gaming and it stood out differently from Capcom’s Resident Evil series of survival horror games. I recently viewed a very in-depth video by thegamingmuse who spent a lot of effort researching the game development history of Silent Hill, who the creators were and what challenges came along the way leading to the game’s eventual release. The video is over a hundred minutes long but I assure you it is full of details that will give you insight about how the game materialized.
#2 Electric cars are still very dangerous and deadly – I mentioned before that no matter how nice the promotions are, electric cars are still dangerous to have as they can spark fire randomly, damage properties nearby and even kill you. In recent times, there were these two electric cars in different locations that sparked into flames randomly. One of them was not even charging at all while being parked in a residential community’s parking area. That electric car suddenly caused a huge fire that destroyed many cars parked nearby while also forcing many residents to leave their units. The fact is electric vehicles are not safe and are not reliable. The future of the automobile is absolutely NOT electric. Watch and learn from the videos below.
#3 Star Trek: Generations reaction video by Popcorn in Bed (PIB) – Before I first saw Star Trek: Generations in the cinema in 1995, I was excited over the promised cinematic crossover between the iconic captain James T. Kirk and captain Jean Luc Picard. Having seen a mix of movies of the original Star Trek crew plus episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the concept of a crossover was really intriguing. After watching Star Trek: Generations, I left the cinema disappointed not only because the Kirk-Picard crossover (William Shatner and Patrick Stewart together on-screen) was not so great but also because the pacing and direction were not cinematic in execution. In fact, I find Star Trek: Generations’ concept more suitable in comic book format.
Of course, the flawed movie has its fans and slowly it is being discovered by YouTubers for the first time in their lives. Popcorn in Bed (PIB) recently posted the reaction video of Star Trek: Generations and she previously spent months watching all the seven TV seasons of Star Trek TNG. How would she react to the movie and how it impacted her, you have to watch it below.
#4 Terrorist state Iran’s hatred towards Israel explained – With its evil regime that started in 1979, Iran is both a terrorist state as well as the center of evil in the entire Middle East. No matter how many times a Democrat-led United States bowed to them and made desperate deals with them, Iran’s top leaders kept cheering (in their local language) death to America, England and Israel. In other words, Western ideals and democracy are completely unacceptable to Iran’s evil regime. The Ayatollah regime of Iran is so wicked, their government even brutalizes Iranians who do not follow their ways.
For Iran, the existence of Israel (the land that God designated to the Jewish people) unacceptable and their hatred towards them is so powerful, they sponsored terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to launch waves of attacks to destroy the Jewish state. Terrorist state Iran is doing what Satan always wanted and the evil regime is still obsessing with dominating the Middle East with destruction and the imposition of their religious beliefs on others. Iran is also obsessed with world domination and they will also attack Europe and America. To find out more, watch TBN Israel’s compelling video explaining Iran’s hatred towards Israel.
#5 The high number of deaths caused by electric cars that went wrong – Going back to electric cars, I posted a video that discusses in detail a hot issue that electric vehicle fanatics and the mainstream news media do not want to talk about – the high number of deaths caused by electric cars that went wrong. Watch it now.
#6. Kamala Harris simply cannot be trusted – In recent times, Kamala Harris appeared in several TV shows to reach out to as many voters as she could as the US Presidential Election gets closer. Harris has huge problems: dishonesty, inconsistency and a distorted view of reality. In other words, the Democrats’ presidential nominee is very out of touch with reality and she does not seem to care much about the American people who have been suffering from rising crime, the higher costs of living, the deterioration of public order in connection with the rising number of illegal aliens in America, and much more.
In short, Harris is so woke, she has no real solutions for the American people. She cannot even define herself clearly as she is obsessed with identity politics, vibes and wokeness. She cannot even focus on policy and governance. Kamala Harris is clearly unfit to become President of the United States (the Democrats will have to CHEAT AGAIN to elect her). Watch and learn from the selected videos below.
#7. Understanding America’s Electoral College – In light of the US Presidential Election happening on November 5, 2024, now is a good time to learn about the Electoral College and how it works on electing the next President. Contrary to popular belief, the popular vote does not determine the winner of the election as there is a state-by-state mechanism and the ones who actually determine the winner are the electors. Confused? Watch the two PragerU videos below.
#8 Dragonslayer reaction video by You, Me and the Movies – I was a very young boy when I first saw Dragonslayer inside the cinema back in 1981 here in the Philippines. Being so young, I was not yet aware that the fantasy movie was a Disney-Paramount joint effort. The public word of mouth back then was that the movie was a visual spectacle as it had Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) work on the special effects while the Go Motion effects were handled by Phil Tippett. To make things clear, I am NOT a fan of Dragonslayer but I should say that YouTuber You, Me and the Movies recently posted their movie reaction of it which is entertaining to watch.
#9 The elimination of Hamas terrorist leader Sinwar plus the attempted attack against Israel’s PM Netanyahu – In recent times, I posted about the unexpected elimination of Yahya Sinwar who was the leader of the Iran-sponsored Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks against Israel. Sinwar was a mass murderer and a real-life demon who always hated Israel and the Jewish people. He was also one of the favorite terrorist allies of Iran. Apart from Sinwar, Iran had its Lebanon proxies Hezbollah attempt to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only to fail. The war against Islamic terrorism continues and the TBN Israel news video explains the details for you all.
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the year 1994 to explore the official comic book adaptation of the movie Star Trek: Generations.
Star Trek: Generations was a cinematic production that symbolically served as the passing-of-the-torch from the original Star Trek crew (led by Captain Kirk) to the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew (led by Captain Picard). The most highlighted feature of the movie was the crossover between Kirk and Picard followed by working together to stop the villain. It was a crossover that fans wanted for some time prior to the film’s release.
In my experience, Star Trek: Generations was a disappointing movie as there were lots of flaws here and there. Most notably, the Kirk-Picard crossover (with William Shatner and Patrick Stewart in their most iconic roles) was nothing special as its payoff to all the build-up that preceded it was so small.
Unsurprisingly, there was comic book adaptation of Star Trek: Generations that appeared in the local comic book stores which I intentionally avoided reading back in 1994 as I anticipated the movie. Recently, I finally got to read it.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at the Star Trek: Generations comic book adaptation, published in 1994 by DC Comics with a story written by Michael Jan Friedman and drawn by Gordon Purcell based on the cinematic story by Rick Berman, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga.
The cover.
Early story
The story begins with a retired James T. Kirk landing from his orbital skydiving activity in the presence of his long-time crew members and friends Pavel Chekov and Montgomery “Scotty” Scott. In response to Chekov’s reminder that they are to attend the launch ceremony of the USS Enterprise B (NCC-1701-B), Kirk as he is enjoying retirement and prefers to do other things like tri-elliptical jumping. Kirk also states that he swore he would never set foot on a starship again.
The next day, Kirk, Scotty and Chekov attend the ceremony at the Enterprise B greeted by journalists. Captain John Harriman personally tells Kirk that he read about his missions when he was in grade school.
Not so long after the Enterprise B launched into space, a distress call was received from a transport ship helplessly caught in some kind of energy distortion (with one other ship near it)…
Quality
The crossover encounter between Star Trek’s two most iconic captains – Kirk and Picard.
As an adaptation, this comic book is surprisingly faithful to the source material for the most part. While this adaptation does not contain 100% of all the details and scenes of the movie and there were some scenes that were shortened for brevity but it certainly has quite a lot of content for readers to absorb. In fact, it will take two full readings to truly grasp the story, get to know the characters and understand the sci-fi details that Michael Jan Friedman brought from the movie script into literary format.
Like the movie, this adaptation tackles the themes of destiny, time and loss which were emphasized through Picard and Soran. While Picard would not dare to make alterations to cope with the deaths of two relatives he loved, Soran (who previously lost family members in a tragedy and temporarily made it to the a very desired realm) willingly makes tremendous acts to fulfill his goal even it means costing tremendous death and destruction along the way.
Worf, Riker, Troi and Data on the bridge of the Enterprise during their encounter with the Klingons’ Bird of Prey.
When it comes to storytelling, this one is more about the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew facing a crisis. The scenes of Kirk and his original crew members served as a glorified prologue designed to give moviegoers (as opposed to readers) one final act of heroism by the iconic captain. Kirk doing the heroic stuff early in the story was pretty much a tribute to his past while conveniently serving as a subtle build-up for the Picard-Soran conflict and the Nexus (Star Trek’s distorted version of Heaven) leaving not much left for the Kirk-Picard crossover.
Anyone who loves Star Trek: TNG will be delighted to see their favorite characters like Picard, Data, Riker, Deanna Troi, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Geordi La Forge and Worf here as they each had good chunks of the spotlight. If you saw the movie before reading this comic book adaptation, you will be able to spot the notable lines of dialogue they said on the big screen. As details from the movie had to be compressed for this adaptation, those who got turned off by the excessive screen comedy by Brent Spiner as Data (note: this reflects the emotion chip activated in the character) will be delighted to see the funny acts were heavily toned down in favor of maintaining the narrative.
More on the quality, this adaptation also exposes many of the weakness and flaws of the movie itself. I am talking about the film’s lack of consistency when it comes to emphasizing the most important concepts of the story. Throughout the story, Kirk’s early heroic act had no real impact when the narrative focused on Star Trek: TNG nor was it a solid build-up for the crossover with Picard. The script emphasized the Nexus quite a lot but in different points as the narrative switched between focusing on Picard and Soran. That being said, the way the story was told made it easy to forget about Kirk and Picard coming together. Like in the movie, the Kirk-Picard crossover failed here too.
While the movie is indeed a very flawed source for this comic book, the adaptation spared readers from the monotony of the many pointless moments and sequences that moviegoers went through. This is understandable because brevity was needed to capture the cinematic story into literary format with the limited number of pages allocated.
If there is anything consistently good here, it is the art of Gordon Purcell who proved to be capable of capturing enough of the actors’ likenesses to make the characters recognizable. To be clear, the replication of the actors’ unique looks happened from time to time only.
Purcell did a great job making Scotty (close-up at right) look so much like actor James Doohan.
You will see certain parts of the comic book showing Captain James T. Kirk looking like William Shatner and Captain Picard looking like Patrick Stewart. There were certain pages in which Soran had Malcolm McDowell’s face, Scotty looked so much like James Doohan and more. Ironically, Purcell fell short of capturing likenesses of Marina Sirtis as Troi and Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher.
Apart from drawing the characters, Purcell nicely visualized the look of the film and his own take of the memorable saucer crash of the TNG crew’s Enterprise had a of power and impact worth seeing. Lastly, he the artist did a good job drawing the starships.
At the very end of this adaptation were a few pages that emphasized the challenges of adapting the movie into literary format which was worth reading.
Conclusion
The scene of Picard revealing to Deanna Troi the deaths of his two relatives (obviously without Patrick Stewart’s emotional moment).
The Star Trek: Generations (1994)comic book adaptation is clearly flawed like the movie it was based on. Many of the movie’s weaknesses (including the ever disappointing Kirk-Picard crossover) made it in this comic book but the ironic thing is that the story in literary format flowed with a better pace and Gordon Purcell’s art was really attractive to look at. In fact, I can clearly say that Star Trek: Generations works better as a comic book than as a film.
Overall, the Star Trek: Generations (1994)comic book adaptationis satisfactory.
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from watching the movie and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
We all know that the 20th Century Fox franchise of X-Men movies has ended and everything cinematic about Marvel’s famous mutants are now in the hands of Marvel Studios. From the year 2000 to 2020, the original X-Men cinematic universe produced a whole bunch of movies (including spinoffs) which ultimately led to uneven results with regards to commercial success, critical feedback, artistry, production values and cultural impact. Even so, 20th Century Fox-produced X-Men movies generated more than $6 billion in ticket sales worldwide.
When it comes to the spinoff movies, I like Logan the best (sorry, Deadpool).
For the main X-Men movies, the one film that really delivered the great stuff and tons of fun for me was none other than X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). For one thing, the movie had two generations of X-Men cinematic performers (the original team led by Patrick Stewart and the newer ones from X-Men: First Class led by James McAvoy) and its story literally had them linked together with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as the living bridge between them. To put it short, it was a cinematic crossover story made with X-Men fans in mind. That film scored highly with critics and most moviegoers, and it grossed almost $750 million worldwide which makes it the highest-grossing X-Men movie ever until now.
It has been years since X-Men: Days of Future Past made waves in the cinemas and through post-theater businesses like Blu-ray, cable TV, pay-per-view, streaming and the like. Along the way, movies like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame collectively raised the standards of Hollywood superhero movies in varied ways. I should state that X-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand did not age well.
To find out if the 2014 X-Men film aged well or not, here is my retro review of X-Men: Days of Future Past directed by Bryan Singer with a screenplay written by Simon Kinberg with a story done by Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn.
A great image of the cinematic X-Men, both the old and newer cast.
Early story
The story begins in the dark future. Countless mutants and human allies have been caught and imprisoned by very sophisticated Sentinels (operating for an unnamed authority that also has armed human personnel as watchers) which continue to hunt more of them down along with any humans caught aiding them. In Russia, a small X-Men team composed of Colossus, Kitty Pryde, Iceman, Sunspot, Bishop, Warpath and Blink take action when they realized that the Sentinels found their hideout. Kitty Pryde, who by this time gained the new ability to send a person’s consciousness back through time, runs along with Bishop to hide in a vault to send his consciousness into the past. Fortunately for them, their teammates delayed the unstoppable Sentinels enough to succeed.
Some time later at another location, an aging Charles Xavier, Magneto, Wolverine and Storm arrive to meet with Kitty Pryde and her teammates. Xavier gives the team an in-depth history lesson about the Sentinels which were created decades earlier by the late Bolivar Trask who was assassinated by Mystique (who believed she could make a difference for her fellow mutants). After the assassination, Mystique got caught by the authorities and became a live experiment for scientists working for the government. Her DNA helped accelerate the development of the Sentinel program which made them able to adapt to most mutant attacks and powers.
A plan gets formed for Kitty Pryde to send Xavier back through time to his younger self in 1973 to prevent the assassination from happening. Kitty states it’s too risky for the old Xavier to go through time as it may kill him. Wolverine volunteers to take Xavier’s place as his healing factor (regeneration) will ensure his survival with the process. Xavier presses Wolverine to convince the 1973 Charles Xavier to help prevent the assassination given the fact that he was a broken man at the time.
Wolverine arrives in his younger self’s body in New York of 1973. He makes his way to the mansion of Charles Xavier. As it turns out, Xavier’s school has been closed for some time and has been decaying…
Quality
Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Hugh Jackman as Beast, Charles Xavier and Wolverine respectively.
Considering what was made and what were presented through this movie, the creative team and the cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past literally scored a home run here resulting true greatness! Bryan Singer, whose previous X-Men directorial job was 2003’s X2, finally struck gold with regards to storytelling, directing and, finally, spectacle (previous his big weakness).
In terms of storytelling, this movie, first and foremost, is not a faithful adaptation of the classic Days of Future Past storyline at all. In fact, there was no need for it to be faithful. What the screenwriters came up with was a loose adaptation which allowed them to craft a more original story that involved the established X-Men characters (from the early movies) and the other X-Men characters (who started in 2011’s X-Men: First Class) and have them set apart in terms of time periods (similar to what was done in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations, but much better and more compelling in writing). The result is a crossover tale with Wolverine being the traveler through time.
The Sentinels are clearly terrifying and unstoppable!
The great news here is that the script has very strong structuring done and even had enough space to briefly acknowledge events and characters from the first three X-Men films plus 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine as canon. All of these add to the narrative very well and when the stakes were raised, the overall plot made sense. Let me add that it was a smart move for the writers to raise the stakes in the two time periods during the final act of the movie, which really made the story more engaging to viewers. I should state that having two conflicts happening simultaneously on screen in this X-Men movie was done efficiently and without ever becoming confusing nor messy.
Apart from the narrative, the portrayal of the X-Men was, indeed, spot-on. Noticeably, the major characters here were Charles Xavier (both old and young), Wolverine (both old and young), Mystique, Magneto (specifically the young version), Beast and Bolivar Trask. Strong writing was evident in the dialogue of the mentioned characters, as well as in those with minor roles. Through dialogue alone, I easily recognized these cinematic characters.
Michael Fassbender delivered his best performance as young Magneto.
Given his strength in telling stories, I should say that Bryan Singer succeeded in executing the script into cinematic narrative. Not only that, he succeeded in getting really good performances from the cast. James McAvoy (young Xavier), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Michael Fassbender (young Magneto) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast) were evidently more confident and more comfortable in reprising their characters (note: they debuted together in X-Men: First Class).
The old cast composed of Patrick Stewart (old Xavier), Ian McKellen (old Magneto), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Halle Berry (Storm), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) and Daniel Cudmore (Colossus) all made a very welcome return. To be specific, it was only Patrick Stewart among them who had the most engaging dialogue with Ian McKellen being a distant second to him. As most of the film was set in the past, it was understandable that the old cast’s dialogue would not be that rich which translates to limited performance. The filmmakers tried bouncing back with mutant variety by having Bingbing Fan as Blink, Adan Canto as Sunspot and Booboo Stewart as Warpath, who all provided nicely in the action scenes and special effects use.
Bingbing Fan and Booboo Stewart as Blink and Warpath.
Hugh Jackman’s performance as Wolverine in this movie is the most unique of them all. Not only does he have to play TWO versions of his character, he as the only member of the old X-Men cast spent a great deal of time interacting with the newer X-Men players. The great news here is that Jackman has great chemistry with James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult and Michael Fassbender, which ultimately justified the crossover! Speaking of McAvoy, his scene with the older version of his character is very memorable and a highlight! Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask is excellent but to my surprise, he is not exactly villainous nor did he express cruelty. He’s more of an obsessed scientist and as such, Michael Fassbender’s Magneto easily overshadows him when it comes to being the main antagonist. This is surprising but not exactly a problem.
More on the anti-hero factor of the movie, I should say that the Sentinels in this movie are the most dangerous and the most intimidating non-sentient, scientific antagonists since the Terminator. Being programmed to deal with mutants, the Sentinels are unrelenting and often used violence to complete their objectives. The futuristic Sentinels, which are evolved versions thanks to Mystique’s DNA, are so formidable the mutants cannot simply defeat them. Even the 1970s Sentinels are quite formidable.
As mentioned earlier, I do confirm that Bryan Singer really outdid himself on delivering the spectacle back with support from the special effects team, the stunt team and the like. The action scenes involving the X-Men are top-notch, in fact they make the action in Singer’s previous X-Men films look minor in terms of creativity, quality and fun! The computer-generated effects in this movie still look great by today’s standard, although some CGI used in the floating stadium sequence looked rushed. Also it was quite a marvel to see Wolverine and Beast face-off with a 1970s Sentinel in the final act. I should mention that the slow-motion sequence involving Quicksilver (played by Evan Peters) is one great and funny spectacle to watch, well worth replaying!
Conclusion
Jennifer Lawrence in her best-ever performance as Mystique.
I declare that X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is the best-ever X-Men movie I have seen and it has aged very well! Its overall quality is very great and the combined talents of director Singer, the cast, the writers and all the technical teams justified it all. By today’s standards, this X-Men movie still stands very high among all superhero movies of Hollywood ever released! As an X-Men film, this one is truly epic and the true highlight of all X-Men movies under 20th Century Fox. As a time-travel film, this one has a very unique approach and it should be noted that director Bryan Singer approached James Cameron to talk about time travel, parallel universes and the like.
More on personal viewing, I can say that this film greatly entertained me in the cinema back in 2014, and it still succeeds in doing so whenever I replayed it on Blu-ray in the comfort of home. If there is anything I regret, it’s the fact that I never saw this movie in the IMAX cinema.
If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), visit Amazon for the Blu-ray release as well as the 4K Blu-ray combo release. There is also the Rogue Cut of the movie also on Blu-ray.
Overall, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is highly recommended!
+++++
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, comic book collectors and X-Men fans. I’m about to review an issue of Marvel Comics’ What If monthly series which was published 1990 and was related to the X-Men as the central figure of the comic book is Charles Xavier (AKA Professor X).
To put things in perspective, Charles Xavier is forever known as the founder and leader of the X-Men. Within the Marvel Comics universe, he is one of the most powerful telepaths as well as a genius in science and genetics. He is a paraplegic who can do quite a lot and make an impact on the delicate relationship between his fellow mutants and the humans. In the movies, Xavier was portrayed by Patrick Stewart (first performance as Xavier in X-Men) and James McAvoy (first performance as Xavier in X-Men: First Class). Given his legacy of helping mutants gain rights through peaceful means, Charles Xavier has been compared with Martin Luther King, Jr. Going back to the comics, Xavier has a step brother named Cain Marko who became the X-Men villain Juggernaut.
With the background lesson done, we can now take a look back at What If #13, published by Marvel Comics in 1990 with a story written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Vince Mielcarek.
The cover drawn by Jim Lee.
Early story
The story begins in New York in the so-called near future. Graffiti artists attempt to run away from a team of mutants riding a floating vehicle. As Thunderbird is about to hit one of the humans, Cyclops stops him. Suddenly the mutants receive a telepathic message from their big boss who turns out to be Charles Xavier the Juggernaut.
Xavier is leading the effort against a group of humans who have been conspiring against them. Xavier declares, “They must be stopped—for the good of mutantkind!”
The X-Men in this particular story are fascist storm troopers policing a wretched, helpless humanity…
Quality
Xavier-Juggernaut with the X-Men and the invading Fantastic Four.
I can start by say that this comic book written by Kurt Busiek has one of the most compelling what-if scenarios that reflect not only its concept (of Charles Xavier becoming Juggernaut) but also the Marvel Comics universe as we know it. As dedicated X-Men fans know, Cain Marko was the one who touched the ruby in the cave which made him the mainstream Juggernaut. In here, the scenario was altered to make Charles Xavier become Juggernaut and the radical changes did not end there. Without spoiling the great stuff, I can say that this is one great exploration of an alternate version of events that affect not only the X-Men and their villains but also the many other superheroes of the Marvel universe as Xavier-Juggernaut went all-out with his dedication to mutantkind. I can say that in this story, symbolically speaking, Xavier easily outclasses the extreme Magneto on prioritizing mutants over humans.
Comic book concept aside, Kurt Busiek’s writing here is really excellent. Not only did he capture the traits of Xavier as he turned him into the alternate Juggernaut, Busiek also emphasized the many twisted events in the Marvel shared universe with sufficient details. The details implemented made the scenarios really believable. His script for this comic book was brought to life by Vince Mielcarek who did a good job making the characters recognizable (note: there were a lot of superheroes and villains here), showcasing the wide scope of changes made on people and places (in relation to Xavier-Juggernaut’s actions) and there was good pacing with the visuals.
Conclusion
Charles Xavier as you’ve never seen him before.
What If #13 (1990) is great to read and it is a must-have with its story alone. Apart from showing the concept’s deep impact on the Marvel Comics universe, I also enjoyed the way Kurt Busiek blurred the boundaries that separated good and evil. If you are an X-Men and you want to see something different with the mutants – especially Professor X – then you you will find a lot to enjoy here. This is a great alternate superhero story and definitely more people should be aware of this.
If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of What If #13 (1990), be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $30 while the near-mint copy of the newsstand edition costs $60.
Overall, What If #13 (1990) is highly recommended!
+++++
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Released in 2006, X-Men: The Last Stand was the third movie of Marvel’s mutants which made $459,359,555 worldwide establishing new box office records at the time including the Memorial Day weekend opening and a single-day record for Friday openings. It was also the highest grossing X-Men movie until X-Men: Days of Future Past exceeded it in 2014.
While the first two flicks were directed by Bryan Singer (who literally abandoned this movie in favor of the big letdown Superman: Returns), this one was done by Brett Ratner who is best known for Rush Hour films. For the superhero concept of the film, Ratner clearly depended on the script by Simon Kinberg (who directed X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and Zak Pen (X2: X-Men United).
The story begins some time in the past with Charles Xavier and Magneto visiting the house of a little girl named Jean Grey whose power of telepathy and telekinesis make her dangerous. Her own father thinks she has an illness. In another scene, a young boy desperately tries shaving off something on his back which turned out to be a mutation. To put it short, the prologue establishes the two concepts this movie tried to emphasize – the Dark Phoenix (from the classic comic book storyline by Chris Claremont and John Byrne) and the Mutant Cure (in reference to one particular episode of the 1990s X-Men animated series).
The result? A rather unfocused narrative that bogged the movie throughout. In the present day, Charles Xavier and the X-Men are no longer hiding from the federal government (which in turn has Hank McCoy/Beast as part of the US President’s cabinet). A cure that can neutralize the mutant gene has been revealed and eventually Jean Grey suddenly returns back to life in front of Scott Summers/Cyclops. Then trouble in the story (and for this film in particular) sets in.
Dark Phoenix and Professor X.
On storytelling, the lack of focus on a central concept really dragged this movie down even though the filmmakers made attempts to link them together. This is a very unfaithful adaptation of the Dark Phoenix Saga – instead of showing the Phoenix Force as a cosmic entity the filmmakers used the dual-personality concept in Jean Grey. There are no alien civilizations (read: no Lilandra) involved nor anything related to outer space (a key element in the comic book storyline). With regards to the cure concept, Rogue in this film makes a move to be cured loosely following what was shown in the animated series.
Having these two concepts connect to each other showed Magneto getting motivated to rally the mutants to oppose the humans. Jean Grey meanwhile gets controlled by the Phoenix personality and gets very destructive with power which makes her an asset to Magneto and his brotherhood of evil mutants.
As the filmmakers struggled to tell the story, the social relevance and symbolism emphasized in the first two films got weakened. The core concept of mutants getting isolated and discriminated by humanity simply because they are so different became much less relevant here.
As if that was not bad enough, the characterization also changed for the worse. Magneto here became one-dimensional as a villain and the way he reacted to Charles Xavier’s destruction in front of him and Jean Grey reflected bad screen writing. Any true X-Men fan would know that even though he and Xavier were adversaries with a past friendship, Magneto should have been outraged over his old rival’s destruction and strike at Jean Grey (even if it is suicidal for him to fight a more powerful entity, the Phoenix).
For his part, Charles Xavier turned out to be a manipulator of Jean Grey’s mind making him look as evil and manipulative as Magneto. Jean Grey, despite actress Famke Jansen getting more screen time than before, ended up as a visual tool and was clearly NOT the central figure of the story rather she ended up being a tool of power by Magneto. By today’s standards, Jansen’s portrayal of Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix pales in comparison with Sophie Turner’s performance in X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
More on characterization, the triangle between Iceman, Rogue and Kitty Pryde was executed with no real depth and only served to show Anna Paquin’s character search for the means to be normal (because Rogue absorbs the power and life of people she touches) which ended up being not so meaningful for viewing. Young adult Angel’s (one of the original X-Men in the comics) minutes-long presence in the movie only served to showcase special effects. Storm’s prospect of succeeding Xavier as leader of the X-Men and the school was sloppily done. Oh yes, the showing of multiple mutants (in supporting roles, non-speaking roles or as mere background characters) that weakened the narrative of the first two films was even worse here. As a result, there’s quite a lot of fan service in this movie.
Going back to storytelling, I should say that the early demise of Cyclops (played by James Marsden for too little screen time due to his work with Bryan Singer on Superman Returns) and Charles Xavier were attempts by the filmmakers to raise the stakes and even shock viewers. The problem is that the third act of the film became more of an action and CGI bonanza ultimately failing to justify the loss of Cyclops and Xavier. The story ended with not much impact on me as a viewer and the late scenes showing Magneto recovering a little of his power (plus the post-credit scene about Xavier’s survival) were unsatisfactory. By comparison, X-Men: Dark Phoenix concluded with satisfaction.
Performances? The actors did what they could with the weak screenplay. Patrick Stewart played Charles Xavier managing his school but gets burdened heavily as Jean Grey returns with the Phoenix in her (which makes Xavier feeling guilty over his past manipulation of Jean’s mind). Ian McKellen played a one-dimensional Magneto (forget about the reasonable fighter for mutants you saw in the first two films) and really had little room to flesh him out. Clearly this version of Magneto, even though he has a lot of screen time here, is rubbish when compared to the cinematic Magneto in X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is clearly the hero of this movie and was given a lot to do showing a deeply concerned Wolverine as well as showing him with lots of action on-screen. His emotional reaction towards Jean Grey near the end of the movie was believable. Halle Berry meanwhile failed yet again to capture the leader in Storm from the comic books.
Another thing to mention regarding the weak script is the lame attempt at humor in the film. Just look at the exchanges of words between Wolverine and Beast which only made me frown instead of laughing.
Exchange 1
Dr. Hank McCoy: Wolverine. I hear you are quite an animal.
Logan: Look who’s talkin’.
Exchange 2
Logan: Well, for all we know, the government helped cook this up.
Dr. Hank McCoy: I can assure you, the government had nothing to do with this.
Logan: I’ve heard that before.
Dr. Hank McCoy: My boy, I have been fighting for mutant rights since before you had claws.
Logan: [to the Professor] Did he just call me boy?
If there is anything positive at all with this movie, it is the spectacle (action, stunts and special effects). If you want to watch an X-Men movie without thinking too much and just enjoy the spectacle, The Last Stand is heavily loaded! The scope of destruction (including the major showcase of Magneto’s power with the Golden Gate Bridge) is also great and helped this weak movie look epic (even more epic than the better film X-Men: Dark Phoenix). There is also a big battle of multiple members of Magneto’s brotherhood attacking the soldiers at the Alcatraz facility. Action is where director Brett Ratner is good at and it temporarily helped this film feel fun to watch. The visual design and special effects are of good quality as well.
One last positive thing to mention here is the casting of Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy/Beast and his performance was, indeed, superb. I really saw the scientist, the intellect and the fighter of Beast from the comics translated nicely in cinematic form.
A striking shot as a result of Magneto’s power.
By today’s standards of superhero movies, X-Men: The Last Stand unsurprisingly went from big-budget disappointment to what is now an overall bad movie that just happens to have some fun action sequences. As far as adapting the Dark Phoenix Saga from the comics, this film is definitely inferior to X-Men: Dark Phoenix. X-Men: The Stand does look good when compared to the terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
If you are a true fan of the X-Men or if you are moviegoer who wants the best superhero cinematic experience, I won’t recommend watching X-Men: The Last Stand.
But then if you are a moviegoer who cannot do anything except hate and uncontrollably bash the new movie X-Men: Dark Phoenix, then maybe The Last Stand will be your bout of fun.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrascoand follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
While I barely enjoyed the original X-Men movie back in 2000, I still had hope that its sequel would be better, more engaging and more entertaining. That hope of mine was realized on April 30, 2003 when I saw X2: X-Men United (or X-Men 2 in some countries around the world) in a cinema here in the Philippines.
Commercially X2 grossed $407,711,549 worldwide and that is 37.58% more than what its predecessor made. It also gathered several positive reviews from movie critics back then and its overall success proved that there was indeed more room for artistic and commercial growth for further superhero movies. I remember leaving the cinema happy and satisfied, looking forward to more X-Men films.
Kelly Hu’s screen time as Lady Deathstrike was short but she really stood out in her fight with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
So how did it all come to such an outcome in 2003? In my honest opinion, director Bryan Singer and his creative team learned from their shortcomings in the previous movie, create an engaging story without necessarily faithfully adapting elements of the graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (a rather unholy story) and ramp up the enjoyment factor.
The story opens with Nightcrawler cleverly breaking through the security in the White House in an attempt to attack the President of the United States. That opening clearly showed how clever and creative the filmmakers got to not only deliver the thrills but also emphasize visually the gap between humans and mutants. To put it short, that opening sequence is still awesome to watch.
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) returns to the mansion and tells Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) he found nothing in Canada. Wolverine wanted to know more about his unknown past but Xavier refuses to help him even though he set the deadly loner on a path.
In Washington D.C., military scientist William Stryker meets with the President (along with a fake Senator Robert Kelly who is actually Mystique in disguise) and gets authority to launch a secret operation on the mutants. Along the way, Mystique learns about the location of not only the plastic prison containing Magneto but also that of a secret base. The secret attack on Xavier’s mansion and the escape of Magneto then sets of the crucial events for the rest of the movie.
X2 can be described as a film laced with lots of improvements over its predecessor technically and creatively. I see more of the literary Wolverine in Hugh Jackman this time around while Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen showed even more traits of the literary versions of Charles Xavier and Magneto respectively. Anna Paquin showed more confidence in playing Rogue while Halle Berry and Famke Jansen showed similar results with their characters. Allan Cumming and Brian Cox are solid additions as Nightcrawler and Stryker (who is not a military scientist in the present day of the graphic novel) and they mixed well with the returning cast members.
Mystique and the soldiers.
Like its predecessor, symbolism was used to emphasize the gap between humans and mutants on the big screen. The scene wherein Bobby Drake/Iceman showed to his parents his uncanny ability to freeze emphasizes his reluctance to show the truth about himself…something that could potentially break the family. William Stryker, meanwhile, keeps mutants company for as long as he has control over them and combined with the fact that he bore a hatred for mutants (note: something unfortunate happened to his family), he can be compared to a slave owner from centuries ago.
When it comes to spectacle, X2 is definitely more thrilling and more action-packed. The filmmakers knew how to balance the screenplay’s exposition and dramatization with action when it is needed on the right time. The standout action sequence is undoubtedly the fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike (played by Kelly Hu).
The script is stronger this time. With key members of the X-Men separated during the first half of the film, character development sets in nicely. The link between Wolverine and Jean Grey got emphasized somewhat while Cyclops is away. Also Magneto delivered the film’s most memorable line: You should have killed me when you had the chance!!!That line is a nice throwback to the past friendship between Xavier and Magneto.
Like the 2000 movie, liberties from comics were implemented for “cinematic presentation.” Anyone who read Wolverine’s origin with Weapon X can tell that William Stryker was never part of it. As for adapting the 1982 graphic novel, this film is clearly unfaithful and the filmmakers decided to take the easy route on selecting certain elements to make a screenplay that can be deemed bankable by the movie studio.
Unsurprisingly there are flaws here and there. Freezing people’s movements done by Xavier is unbelievable. As a telepath he can read people’s minds, manipulate their perception, make himself invisible to others by warping their perception and even reprogram minds but freezing people is not one of those abilities. Also considering Xavier’s persistent use of his telepathy, he failed to detect before entering the plastic prison (to meet Magneto) that a trap was set up for them.
As for Jean Grey’s heroic sacrifice near the end of the film, that one took me out of the movie. She left the jet without anyone noticing, stands in front then uses her power to prevent the rushing water from touching them while slowly lifting the jet (which for some reason could not operate properly) to let X-Men survive. It sure is dramatic and it is one of Famke Jansen’s most notable moments in cinema (apart from her erotic acts in GoldenEye) but it goes against what X-Men fans know. Any X-Men fan can tell that Iceman could have used his power to freeze the water and Storm could have manipulated the weather to help out. Heck, Cyclops could have gone out and launch a massive optic blast at the water.
Another obvious flaw is the large cast of characters which prevented the film from further implementing anymore character development. The love triangle aspect continued from the previous movie barely moved forward as James Marsden’s Cyclops (a leader in the comics) was literally set aside. Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat in this movie was only used to emphasize a seconds-long chase and show off the filmmakers’ visual effects.
By today’s standards, X2: X-Men United is no longer the great superhero film it was in twenty-o-three. It is, overall, a good movie and clearly it is a major improvement over its predecessor. The many improvements on the overall quality, engagement and fun factor of X2 made 2000’s X-Men look more like a dress rehearsal.
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For more X-Men insight, check out my latest article about X-Men: Dark Phoenix and my review of Logan.
Author Carlo Carrasco 