Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
2018
****
There was much talk following 2016’s Deadpool about how they should approach a sequel. Deadpool 2 was actually green-lit a couple of days before the first film was released but months later director/producer/co-writer Tim Miller left the film stating creative differences. Many speculated that it was Ryan Reynolds that was the problem, with the actor given more say and creative control, but the media and fanboys do need to calm down a bit, film makers can disagree and still remain on good terms. I dare say Miller left for his own integrity and it is often best for the project and everyone involved when someone who disagrees with the direction of story steps aside. It’s sometimes knowing when to leave that makes a good film maker. Miller later stated that he didn’t want the film to get bigger as is the case with most superhero sequels and that he wanted the follow up to retain the same DNA as the first. Fine. It’s a little odd though, because while Deadpool 2 may have more elements to it, its very much the same Deadpool from the first film and still true to the comic book origins. There was worry that the introduction of X-Force would overshadow the film’s main character but this isn’t at all the case, in fact, this worry is immediately addressed in full on Deadpool fashion. No one like a an actor who gets too big for their boots either but Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool are a different kettle of fish, it’s the perfect marriage, and when you hear that Miller left in the end because he wanted Kyle Chandler to play Cable while Reynolds’ overruled him to chose Josh Brolin, then I can’t help but side with Reynolds. I didn’t think much of Atomic Blonde but new director David Leitch has proven his worth as a 2nd unit director and as the uncredited director of the great John Wick. He does a great job with Deadpool 2, capturing many of the action scenes in the same vein as the comics while adding an extra level of comedy action. The film didn’t come without its problems, after Tim Miller left, actor T.J. Miller received Sexual misconduct allegations and seem to go off the rails somewhat and was later arrested for calling police with a false bomb threat. There were calls for him to be removed from the film but editing had already begun and re-shoots would have been impossible. The biggest tragedy was the death of stunt-women Joi Harris who died as a result of a motorcycle crash. Harris was not wearing a helmet because the character she was portraying, Domino, does not wear one in the scene, and there had not been time since she joined the film to create one for her to fit underneath the Domino wig. Veteran stunt double Melissa Stubbs had been available and willing to do the stunt, but the inexperienced Harris was preferred due to her skin color being a match for actor Zazie Beetz. This decision was criticized by multiple stunt professionals, with many noting that Harris' experiences racing motorcycles did not necessarily qualify her as an able stunt performer. This is unforgivable and everyone involved should be duly punished. It’s just a film, no one should die making it and for this reason I wouldn’t be upset if the film failed. It won’t because it is great and it wouldn’t be fair on those that had nothing to do with the accident but it doesn’t sit well. However, I will continue with the review of the film. It is not a carbon copy of the first. The plot is completely different and now that the character is established, the writers have come up with a clever and exciting scenario that is original and gives fans old and new, exactly what they want as well as a few treats they didn’t even know they wanted. Deadpool's abilities are explored to great creative effect and the pop culture references keep coming thick and fast. His digs at both Marvel, Sony and DC are direct and on point, although this time Sony do good by him and gives the audience some unexpected pleasures. The forth wall is broken many times, indeed, the forth wall is broken within the forth wall, without it ever seeming as complicated as it sounds. The introduction of X-Force could have been awful but the way they handled it was superb and incredibly funny. Brolin was the perfect Cable and Zazie Beetz’s version of Domino is far more interesting and likable than the Domino of the comics. Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus return from the first film and I still can’t get over how close Brianna Hildebrand looks to the Negasonic Teenage Warhead of the comics. They are joined by other established characters such as Bedlam, Shatterstar, Zeitgeist and Vanisher, who are all shown up for the floored characters they are. Juggernaut was a particularly impressive addition to the line up but I’m shocked there were no Vinnie Jones references. A new comer to the team was Peter, a normal guy who just wants to get involved. Peter steals the show somewhat in a way that no one else could other than in a Deadpool film. It was great to see Julian Dennison again following Hunt for the Wilder People as Russell "Hot Stuff" Collins, aka Firefist. His characters addition to the story made a lot of sense and I’m glad it wasn’t all just about revenge. I wasn’t too keen on the dream-like elements of the film each time Deadpool nearly dies but I expect them to make fun of this in Deadpool 3. The film is worth seeing for the mid-credit scenes alone to see Deadpool go through time and correct his and Ryan Reynolds mistakes of the past. It is more of the same (what we all want from Deadpool) with a few new ideas thrown in for good measure. The possibilities remain endless for Deadpool and I hope they keep them coming, because as tired as I am of X-Men and as brilliant as the MCU is, it’s good to have Deadpool somewhere in the middle causing trouble.

Logan

Dir: James Mangold

2017

*****

I have to take my hat off to director James Mangold, the X-Men franchise has pushed the superhero/comic book genre forward over the years but I'm not sure any superhero film has been as bold and daring as Logan is. Deadpool was great, it was true to its comic origins and Marvel have been going great guns over the years in developing intelligent Avengers characters and stories but Logan, loosely based on the Old Man Logan series by Mark Millar, feels like the first real authentic comic adaptation. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely nothing like the comic where Logan lives in a future whereby the super villains won, the heroes are dead and the world is conquered and divided between them, but it is set in a dystopian future where only Logan and a couple of other heroes are left, the rest being wiped out by two very different but tragically realistic scenarios. This isn't X-Men: Apocalypse though, this is worse, this is real life. This isn't a superhero film either, not in the classical sense anyway, this is a brilliant neo-western. There were aspects of James Mangold's 2013 The Wolverine that I really liked, the aesthetics in particular and the fact the character moved away from familiar surroundings but it was still a superhero film covering familiar territory. Logan is the first real 'What if?' realization and something I've been wanted Marvel, DC, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal and anyone with comic book adaptation rights to make. Now DC win over Marvel when it comes to 'Elseworlds' vs 'What if?' but that is largely thanks to the many Batman alternatives and books such as Superman: Red Son. However, some of the best writers (mostly from 2000AD) also revamped the Marvel characters and Fantastic Four, Avengers and X-Men enjoyed some pretty amazing alternative stories. Logan feels a bit more 'Elseworlds' than 'What if?' but it is what real comic fans have been waiting a long time for. The story makes far more sense than the comic and it is so much better. It's proper dark too, which is another long overdue element for the genre. It is amazing what can be achieved with clever writing over excessive special effects too, the film's big action scenes probably costing very little money or time to produce. To try and place Logan in the X-Men universe would be a bit pointless but then the Wolverine series hasn't had to fit in with the other film's continuity much, somehow being exempt for no real reason. The comics are all over the place and no one really cares, so I'm quite glad the films are now following the same pattern. I'm not sure a superhero film has ever been so gritty, Deadpool is very different, the mainstream non-comic book reading cinema audience might have been shocked by it but the characters readers had been lapping him up for years and were just relieved when the adaptation was faithful to the source material. For me, Hollywood (or at least a part of it) is saying it has decided to make a comic book adaptation, that it is faithful not in story but in style and in soul. A comic book film for comic book lovers, finally, and it seems everyone else likes it too. Many have pondered the reasons why Hollywood has had so many difficulties adapting Superheros/Comics into film but no one ever states the obvious; they are made by big fat greedy producers who have never read a comic in their lives. They know of a character and make a film based on their assumptions of who or what that character is. Hugh Jackman has declared Logan to be his last Wolverine appearance, so maybe it was always looked upon as a film with little risk attached to it, but money is money, this is hugely risky and to have this amount of violence and unhappy action, with a much higher rating than any superhero film before, is a tremendous gamble and one I applaud the studio for taking. The film is a solid four star film but for its boldness, and because I just loved it, I'm giving it five stars. It's real, it's gritty, it is the best of two genres, it's authentic, it's super violent (like it should be) and the performances are heartbreakingly good. Plus, Stephen Merchant plays a mutant, Richard E. Grant plays a mad scientist and Eriq La Salle wields a shotgun and it's not a camp comedy!

X-Men: Apocalypse

Dir: Bryan Singer

2016

**

Matthew Vaughn's rather sleek and sexy X-Men:First Class almost seemed to come out of nowhere in 2011, with little hype in the grand scheme of things and with rather heavy anticipation. It was a huge hit, Vaughn got the style down perfectly, it was new but it also alluded towards the classic X-Men era of the 60s. X-Men fans and those new to the franchise were equally happy. Producer Bryan Singer took notice. Singer had made quite an impact with the original X-Men in 2000 and it is fair to say he gave the superhero/comic book genre the kick up it's bum it needed and made everyone else up their game. X-Men2 was even better and broadened the X-Men universe considerably, it was now a major franchise. However, soon after X2's success, Singer was given an offer he couldn't refuse. X-Men was his baby but when he was offered directional duties on the new Superman reboot, Superman Returns, he knew he'd have to hand it all over to someone else. Unfortunately that someone was Brett Ratner. X-Men: The Last Stand isn't bad but it is nowhere as good as the previous two films. Superman Returns on the other hand was abysmal. The franchise had to be rebooted, hard given that quite a few people had died in the last installment, so a prequel really was the only way. Singer decided to come back with a bang, he missed the last of the original films and the first of the new and decided to draw a line in the only way he could, he made a sequel to both films within one film. Not only did it work, it worked beautifully. X-Men: Days of Future Past  was very clever and went a long way in sorting out all the annoying continuity issues and bringing the franchise around full circle and starting afresh. It was a set up for the series to go forth and prosper. Unfortunately, its first step is somewhat of a stumble. For starters, the intro-scene is horrible. The audience is forcibly flushed head-first through a u-bend of nasty CGI and dodgy effects showing 'stuff that has happened' in the last few thousand odd years, skipping most of it, focusing on the Mona Lisa, the Nazis and then straight on to the the 1980s because  nothing much happened in the last 4000 years really. And why did it fast-forward to the early 80s? It's like the last scene of the last film never happened. Also, the cast have not aged twenty years, the original film only came out five years ago but somehow we're supposed to believe most of the cast, who are mostly in their twenties, are actually in their early forties. Michael Fassbinder's Magnito is supposedly in his early fifties, but looks every bit the thirty-eight year old that he was while filming. All that aside, there isn't even anything that suggests it is the 80s. First Class dripped 60's chic, Apocalypse features one 80's song, an arcade machine and Michael Jackson's jacket from thriller. The characters all seem rather different to. The new X-Men are given next to no development and it seems that Singer is so confident he's covered all the time-line continuity issues, he's forgotten the basics. Characters suddenly forget they've ever met one another, when it really wasn't that long ago they had been fighting either each other or alongside one another. These are forgivable niggles I suppose, what isn't forgivable however is the dreadful CGI. Some of the special effects are among the best I've but some are probably some of the worst, even by straight to video, bargain bin, cheap sci-fi horror standards. It is, at times, a bit Batman Forever looking. The costumes look like they're made out of plastic and the sets are very average looking. There is no striking scene by which most big blockbuster films are remembered for, in fact, it looks like a combination of all the previous film mixed up in one but out of laziness rather than as a clever acknowledgment. It's as if the intelligence/originality budget was all spent on the last film. Apocalypse, or En Sabah Nur, is the worst super-villain in years (maybe even on par with BvS's Doomsday), I'm a big Oscar Isaac fan but is his first big stinker, although I don't really blame him but rather how his character was written. An all powerful mutant hell-bent on the destroying the world and killing everyone in it should be scary, but he isn't, not in the slightest. Half the cast look like they don't want to be there, as if franchise fatigue has really kicked in and to be fair, most of the cast could do better. It's a good few steps back from the previous films, indeed, a carbon copy of the least impressive installments. In one particular scene, whereby some younger X-Men are seen leaving a showing of Return of the Jedi, a comment is made that 'The third film of the trilogy is always the worst', with The Last Stand clearly being the intended focus of the joke. The Last Stand is a masterpiece compared to Apocalypse, with Apocalypse lifting most of The Last Stand for all of its best bits. Apocalypse's few highlights are copies of scenes from previous films, sure each member of the X-Men have their own limited powers but how they are used specifically can be traced to either one of the films in the series. The big happy surprise isn't even a particularly big surprise. It's the sort of clunky mess of a superhero film you'd expect from the genre before Singer's original X-Man paved the way. Talk about slamming on the breaks and going full reverse.

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Dir: Bryan Singer
2014
****
Bryan Singer is back in control of the X-Men franchise, and although I don't think he deserves to be, he does a great job here with what is the fifth in the series. It's that point in the franchise whereby the older generation of original actors meet the new generation of younger actors, it's happened countless times in other sci-fi franchises but I'm not sure if any has been as successful without feeling a tiny bit contrived. X-Men: Days of Future Past is everything an X-Men fan could hope for, there are a few characters missing and I'm not sure about Mystique/Raven playing the pivotal role that she does but it did give the film an overall feeling of originality. The questionable stadium scene was better than the Golden Gate Bridge scene in the third film but it was only just forgivable, at least it served a purpose this time. I liked the addition of a young Quicksilver and Peter Dinklage's Bolivar Trask and the addition of the 1960's and future versions of the Sentinels and thought the idea of time travel was very clever. The overall story was very original and kept me guessing the whole time. Never predictable and continually exciting, just like a Superhero film should be. I welcome Singer back to the franchise, long may it continue.

X-Men: First Class
Dir: Matthew Vaughn
2011
****
As an origin movie; 2011's X-Men reboot (of sorts) X-Men: First Class, is pretty impressive. Apart from a couple of factual errors regarding dates, it's pretty solid. I liked the fact that they didn't get ahead of time with their technology, it was very fitting with the classic comics of the time. There was also an element of tongue in cheek about it that I think only an Englishmen (Matthew Vaughn) could deliver, at least I think it worked rather well here when more than often it doesn't. The cast is ace, McAvoy and Fassbender are brilliant, the only bit of re-casting I would do would be to replace January Jones but only because I can't stand her and the character of Emma Frost deserved better (she's more than just a body). Twenty something Beast was a bit of a surprise too, he looked like one of the monsters that would always be in the back ground in The Muppet Show, so I liked him but couldn't take him too seriously. Also, and I'm a full on comic nerd so bare with me, if Magneto and Mystique know where the X-Men base is having trained there, how do they spend the best part of the first and second films looking for it? I'm sure all will become clear in the many sequels this films deserves. If you really have to re-boot a franchise, this is how you do it!

X-Men: The Last Stand (AKA X-Men 3,  X3)
Dir: Brett Ratner
2006
***
After Bryan Singer left the franchise in the lurch it was all downhill (and Superman Returns turned out to be a huge mistake, making it all the more disappointing). Brett Ratner didn't do too badly but the loss of a couple of writers really did show. Zak Penn is reliable but I think it was Simon Kinberg's input that shows where the story went wrong. You could say that the biggest crime was to kill off some of the much loved characters but this was a boldness I can't help but admire, as sad as it was to see. My main gripe was that they went for action over story. The story was strong but the, often ridiculous, special effects and action cheapened it somewhat in my opinion. The Golden Gate Bridge scene being a good case in point. It seemed like quite the sad ending to a trilogy, extinguished just as it was getting good and never seeming like it was intentional. Again, extended cast were great but Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut? It looses a star from me for that casting decision alone!

X2: X-Men United (AKA X-Men 2)
Dir: Bryan Singer
2003
****
2000's X-Men seemed to come from no where and had a huge impact so expectations for the sequel were high. I loved the way Singer and co explored the ideas of mutantism, where it originated from, who it effects and how it would work (or not work) in a modern society. The divide between the mutants makes for brilliant storytelling and Singer really takes advantage of this and it is obvious that screenwriter David Hayter knows his comic books. I thought the scene whereby Professor Xavier's school was under attack is one of the best scenes in Superhero/comic book film history. Clever writing by passionate fans, this is why X2 works so well and why it is my favorite of the franchise. The original cast are brilliant, the additions only make it better.

X-Men
Dir: Bryan Singer
2000
***
We really do have Bryan Singer's first X-Men film to thank for the influx of successful superhero/comic book films made since 2000. The 1970s Superman showed that a superhero comic character could have success at the cinema and that the film could be serious, without campy comedy or a silly story. Batman had his turn in the 90s but unfortunately both franchises lost their ways. X-Men brought the magic back, showed how to do it right again and also introduced the world to some of Marvel's superheros for a change. By this point many of the characters were well known and much loved, I don't think the risks were as high as they were with better known and more popular characters, like Superman and Batman, but Singer still had to get the balance right and thankfully he did (shame he couldn't repeat it later on in his Superman stint). I've only given it three stars because I think that is what the overall film deserves, I'm more grateful for the door it opened than I am in awe of what it is. The casting is perfect, that I think is at the heart of what makes it work and why people love the franchise. The effects, story and action are all great, maybe not by the standards of films made 10 years later but they certainly had the right impact at the time and paved the way for the rest.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Dir: Gavin Hood
2009
**

I think the first Wolverine origins story was a total wasted opportunity. The film flashed past all the interesting bits in the opening credits, it would have been great to have seen a little more of the brothers at war and then to see more of the special team of mutants on a few more missions. There was at least a trilogy's worth of story right there, the rest of the film seems a bit weak in comparison to what could have been. Gambit, one of my childhood favourites of the comics, was also a huge let down and don't even get me started on Ryan Reynold's Deadpool. There were a few nice surprises though and Hugh Jackman is always a joy to watch, particularly as Wolverine. Liev Schreiber was also brilliantly cast. The special effects were quite good for the best part but the scene whereby Wolverine looks into the old folks mirror is truly awful and really was the turning point for me in wondering if the film was all that good or not. Supposedly, thanks to the poor reception of the film, they abandoned the idea of more singular origin stories for the other X-Men. X-Men First Class is good but I can't help but think the franchise (X-Men universe) would have been richer by somewhat separating the X-Men over several films. Not that anyone is tiring of Jackman's Wolverine though, long may he continue.

The Wolverine
Dir: James Mangold
2013
**
The Wolverine is clever in that it continues on from where X-Men: The Last Stand left off and although it doesn't ever say X-Men origins: Wolverine didn't happen, it chooses to forget about it. A reboot without actually having to reboot if you like, an opportunity so that they could forget about the less than adequate first solo-outing and make a really good film worthy of the character. Unfortunately this isn't the case. It's painfully predictable and makes the first film look like a masterpiece. It's woefully dull, charmless and forgettable. The big Robot Samurai ending is a particular kick in the teeth for Wolverine fans, Marvel is doing well with its other films, why can't it get it's most popular character right? Sony need to get on it.