Hardcore Fans vs. The General Public

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2006)

It just comes down to this.
If you're a hard core purist fan, you'll be angry at the disregard and respect for stories, truths and characters of the legendary series. You'll be let down by the lack of character development that Bryan Singer had been building up so much, as well as the amount of screen time given to some of your favorite characters.
If you only know X-Men from the movies, you'll probably like it b/c it's filled with non-stop action and emotional moments that you probably didn't see coming. With some really cool special effects. Especially the Golden Gate bridge scene, that was fun.
I am one of those people who find themselves being a little bit of both. I have a huge respect for the comics and the old-school continuity, although I honestly never read the comics as a kid. I'm a combination of dorky comic wannabee guy mixed with cool sports playing wannabee guy. So i'm still not sure what I think about this film.
The story didn't follow continuity, but it is a film. Not a comic book. Does a film have the right to create its own canon or continuity in order to appease the masses? In order to fit into its typical 3 episode format? A film obviously doesn't have the ability to go into detail with every character as Comics do. So its tough to appease the hard core fans, and if you take the time to go into every detail, you slow down the pace for the non hardcore fans.
I saw the film with fans of the movies, not comic buffs, and they liked it a lot. They were super excited and blown away by some of the choices in the story.
The story... Also, Brett Ratner came into this project with everything pretty much already done. He honestly probably didn't have much to do w/ the script. I would assume at least.
Having said that the directing and cinematography didn't seem to be amazing, just good enough to work.
The story was intense and overwhelming, despite destroying any previously respected continuity. But thats why we have comics. Comics will continue to hold up the legacy of Xmen, while the films will give us a fun chance to see something cool.
Having said that, the characters weren't developed and it was rushed and all kinds of stuff. It was lame to see more screen time given to that fake Hollywood version of Kid Omega than to Collossus or Juggernaught.
Oh well. i had fun while watching it, but I usually let myself go and take whatever is happening on the screen for what it is. Then i go into film school kid mode and dissect it. But i had fun.
So that's where the opinions will be different. It was cool for non-fans, painful for big-fans. Oh well... i had mindless fun watching it, and at least we still have the comics to uphold the history of X-Men and how it really went down.