X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]

5 Comments

1. trashcanman

   October 1, 2010 at 4:46 pm

   Review by trashcanman for X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   While it’d be impossible for any films to do justice to Marvel’s legendary team of super-powered mutants, I really feel that these films are almost as good an adaptation as we could have hoped for. The casting was strong, the action was solid, most of the characters were portrayed memorably, and the stories largely stayed true to the spirit of the X-men. The first film felt a little rushed due to the sheer number of characters introduced, but all things considered it was a very enjoyable film for both the uninitiated and old-school X-fans. Hugh Jackman was spot-on as Wolverine, the most iconic X-man and arguably the hardest to cast and Famke Jansen was a fantastic Jean Grey for at least the first two films. Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellan (Magneto), and Rebecca Romjin-Stamos (Mystique) also delivered outstanding performances playing their respective comic icons. The story was a nice update of the comics and followed Rogue’s induction into Professor X’s school for mutants and Magneto’s first big terrorist attack on mankind. All-in-all, a satisfying start to the series. The second film really kicked the series into gear and introduced more of our favorite X-men, including Nightcrawler (whose opening sequence was the highlight of the film), Pyro, and Iceman. The story involves Wolverine’s past and the government’s attempts to control the ever-growing mutant population. The result was one of the greatest comic book films ever made that firmly cemented the developing series as one to watch. For some ridiculous reason, at this point the powers that be decided that the third film would be the last. This was a bad choice that made no kind of sense, upset the films’ fans, and severly hurt the quality of the third film. Ah, the third film; a mixed bag to say the least. The plot deals with two classic storylines involving a cure for mutants and the legendary Dark Phoenix. My personal list of complaints is a long one, but I’ll just hit a few in this review. “X-men: The Last Stand” tries to cram two movies’ worth of material into one film that is too short to begin with. The introduction of the Phoenix was obviously forced and no care was taken in this storyline which is one of the all-time classics in comic history, and the result is several pointless character deaths and gaps in logic, like why an all-powerful entity is content to hang out at an aging terrorist’s side and just look menacing for most of the story. The series’ former darling, Rogue, is reduced to a brooding plot-nuisance, has no real influence on the story, plus she never gains the fantastic powers she obtained in the comics that made her such a powerhouse of a character and a personal favorite of mine. On the other hand, more classic characters are given parts such as fan-favorite Kitty Pride and Collossus (both of which had cameos in X2), Angel, Multiple Man, Beast (played nicely by Kelsey Grammer), and the almighty Juggernaut (whose battle with Kitty was as awesome as it was unexpected). But as many characters as there were that made it into the three films, there were so many great ones that were reduced to either tiny, unnamed cameos in the series, or forgotten altogether. No Gambit, Emma Frost, Sinister, Apocalypse, Scarlet Witch, or Havok to name just a few. Furthermore, the final film’s resolution in extremely unsatisfying and leaves little doubt that this franchise as we know it is dead, though they do leave us a glimmer of hope. There are talks of Wolverine and Magneto spin-offs and possibly a New Mutants project; promising ideas, but hardly a substitute for the ensemble we know and love. Still, in the end, I really did enjoy X3 as a film as it did have several great stand-up-and-cheer moments; it just upset me as a fan of the comics and as a fan of the the movies because there wss so much more that could have and should have been done with this series. In the end, whether you’re a fan of the comics, the cartoons, or just a fan of sci-fi or fun movies in general, you really shouldn’t miss out on these three movies. The series is full of memorable characters, fantastic battles, sly humor, references for hard-core fans, and, of course, the classic X-men social commentaries about discrimination and the importance of both individuality and cohesiveness. There doesn’t appear to be much in the way of special features from the first two films on this edition; but for about $10 a flick, I’ll let it slide since it is still a hell of a bargain. Highly recommended set.

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2. Joseph Coe

   October 1, 2010 at 3:55 pm

   Review by Joseph Coe for X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   X-Men 1.5, The X-Men Collection, and X-Men The Last Stand (Collector’s Edition) are all packed with DVD extras. The X-men Trilogy is missing most of “fun” stuff collector’s are looking for. If you just want to watch the movies this is a great buy. If you like all that nifty bonus material (ex. Wolverine/Deathstrike Fight Rehearsal an In-Depth Behind-the-Scenes Exploration) stick with other separate releases.

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3. Rick L. Parrish

   October 1, 2010 at 3:14 pm

   Review by Rick L. Parrish for X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   Well, you know how good the movies are, so the big question is ‘is the transfer worth the added expense of buying blu-ray?’. The answer is yes.
   
   The transfers are crisp and clear and wonderful in their visual detail. The sound is revelatory. The packaged price saves you money. That should be all you need to know.

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4. Tyler S.

   October 1, 2010 at 2:59 pm

   Review by Tyler S. for X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   I got to hand it to Fox, they really mastered this blu-ray trilogy. I was unimpressed by the lack of the Spider-man trilogy’s special features. I think anything being re-released onto blu-ray should have something new besides video and sound quality. This box set is almost overloaded with features that kept me watching for hours and hours.

   I found some of the features to repeat themselves, but for the most part they were worthwhile. My absolute favorite was the one-hour special on the history of X-men comics found on the X3 special features disc. I felt that alone gave me the ultimate satisfaction for purchasing this set. I had the previous dvd copies, and this was a huge step in the right direction. Thank you Fox!

   Your blu-ray quality is about what you would expect for the series. The first movie was in 2000 so I was most interested in that transfer. X-men had the most apparent positive transfer. The other films have your standard blu-ray quality. I wouldn’t necessarily rate the films individually because you have all seen them by this point. It is a great trilogy, with a rough third part. I enjoyed the Singer movies a lot more than Brett Ratner’s take.

   If you’re looking for a feature-packed blu-ray boxed-set this is a must have. Don’t buy in to those empty box trilogies they put out with nothing on them. They will release a better version in time and it will aggravate you that you didn’t wait. I give my example on the Spider-man trilogy. Will all these movies being such great hits, I can comparitively say that 20th Century Fox really did us justice on this release, and I hope more distribution companies recognize the bar that they have set. Remember for those of you who dislike the features in the first place, it makes everyone happy to have an abundance of them. The regular movie watchers can watch the film occasionally and be done. Then the nerds like me can watch all the features and get our moneys’ worth. Putting out these box sets with nothing on them only satisfies a certain audience. The X-men Trilogy has paved a path for future franchise blu-rays to follow.

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5. sec127

   October 1, 2010 at 2:34 pm

   Review by sec127 for X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]
   Rating:
   This is a great DVD set for anyone who are fans of the films. These are three great films with memorable charecters, fantastic special effects and action sequences as well as some very witty humor. They are also a great social commentary on todays society.

   here is what this set contains

   DISC 1- X-Men
   
   -2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen presentation
   
   -Deleted Scenes
   
   -Charlie Rose Interview
   
   -Mutant Watch featurette
   
   -Hugh Jackman Screen Test
   
   -Storyboards
   
   -Art Gallery
   
   -Animatics
   
   -Trailer

   DISC 2- X2: X-Men United
   
   -2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen presentation
   
   -Commentary by Director and Cinematographer
   
   -Commentary by Producers and Writers

   DISC 3- X-Men: The Last Stand
   
   -2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen presentation
   
   -Commentary by Director and Writers
   
   -Commentary by Producers
   
   -Deleted Scenes with optional Director Commentary
   
   -Alternate Endings with optional Director Commentary

   BUY THIS DVD SET!

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