My unique perspective of X-men in my own artistic stroke. I draw this artwork for a special documentary article about the world's uncanny superheroes published in our school paper when I was the chief Ed four years ago.(The X-men chronicles part 2 of 4, previously published in Panay News)
The X-men was branded as one of the most influential comicbook superheroes of all time. The creative team of the comicbook series injected new concepts both in the storyline and artworks. In return, the writers and illustrators gained massive fame with their innovative makeover of the mutant superheroes that pave way for the expansion of the comicbook series.
In 1989, there were only two bestselling X-men comicbook such as Uncanny X-men and X-factor. But in the late 1990s, there were already more than 10 X-men comicbook series oftenly called "x-titles" that consistently remained in the bestselling top list of Wizard, the comicbook authority in America.
But the plan to turn the X-men into live action movie was cut short for a while due to script and budget disagreements between the executives of Marvel Comics and the film's producers. It was only in 1999 when the project was revived and made into a reality. Since most of the Hollywood actors first eyed to portray the X-men characters are becoming expensive in terms of talent fee and their fame status, the filmmakers consists of producer Tom DeSanto and director Bryan Singer auditioned actors for the film.
Neophyte Australian actor Hugh Jackman got the part for the famous X-men character ever- Wolverine. Model-turned-actress Halle Berry was cast as Storm, Famke Janseen as Jean Grey and Patrick Steward known for his prominent part in Star Trek, the next generation TV series was tasked to play Professor Charles Xavier. Ian McKellen a British broadway actor and known as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy accepted the offer to become the X-men's archenemy, Magneto.
True to its comicbook counterpart, the debut film of the X-men deals with the social issues of discrimination and prejudice among the strange mutant population in the present world. They were hated and feared by normal humans for having unique and sometimes, misunderstood abilities. Bryan Singer as a director brought the cinematic mood of the film into the next level like what George Lucas did with Star Wars.
The lynchpin of the film is in the character. They've chosen Logan/Wolverine to focus the narrative, and the tale spreads out from there. Logan is the wander, the loner, no longer looking for answers. However, when he meets Professor Xavier the tragic figure becomes heroic, and he again is interested in solving the mysteries of his creation. Furthermore, the screenplay focused in the important goal of Xavier which is "co-existence between normal humans and mutants". Bryan Singer successfully introduced the existence of the X-men in the film especially Wolverine portrayed by Hugh Jackman. He not only gets the character, gives it weight, and looks like the character in the Marvel comicbook series. Most impressive is his ability to compliment the scenes he is in with veteran actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. These to cinema greats take the characters and instill in them an essence equal to that of a Shakespearean hero, or a villain in McKellen case. It is delightful to watch the visual poetry that is create on screen when these actors are together.
The struggle between Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful co-existence and Magneto's belief in mutantrace domination led their apprentices to take sides.
When filmmakers attempt to adapt comic material the pitfall exists where they can become caught up in the effects and window dressing that cloak a basic human drama. By stressing those elements the film often becomes quite comical. However, when they concentrate on the drama, they make the material accessible to a wider audience. With a good screenplay as a foundation, the next key that can make or break the film is casting. A balance needs to be struck between the characters and available talent. The biggest box-office draws are not necessarily right for the part. Sometimes, when an unknown or character actor takes on the mantel of a superhero it can turn them into overnight household name.
X-MEN posses a unique problem in the way the story has evolved over the past thirty-plus years, and the numerous heroes and villains that populate its universe. Executive producer Tom DeSanto and director Bryan Singer take these potential problems and work them to their advantage. Not since "Star Wars" has a film reinvented and reinvigorated a classic film genre. The lynchpin of the film is in the character. They've chosen Logan/Wolverine to focus the narrative, and the tale spreads out from there.
Logan is the wander, the loner, no longer looking for answers. However, when he meets Professor Xavier the tragic figure becomes heroic, and he again is interested in solving the mysteries of his creation.
X-MEN draws the audience in right from the start. The narration and opening sequence are unencumbered by credits. Bang, we are off and running. The emotional level is carried right into the next scene, and each subsequent one. By the time the audience gets a taste of the first complex visual effect they've been well primed. The effects flow from characters that we've begun to know. There is an organic aspect to them, and other then Mystique, there is acceptance by the audience for the fantastic.
Director Bryan Singer makes good on his promise of delivering a character driven story with special effects. With a running time of 92 minutes, the film is pared down to a respectable fighting weight. It's satisfying, but leaves you wanting to know more, which is exactly what Lucas did with the first "Star Wars" film. There is a feel to the pacing and development of X-MEN that is reminiscent of the classic fantastic serials like "Flash Gordon." X-MEN easily earns director Bryan Singer his place in cinematic history alongside directors George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg.
In X-MEN, the casting is the thing! To quote Bryan Singer, "God Bless Hugh Jackman." He not only gets the character, gives it weight, and looks like the character in the Marvel comic series. Most impressive is his ability to compliment the scenes he is in with veteran actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. These to cinema greats take the characters and instill in them an essence equal to that of a Shakespearean hero, or a villain in McKellen case. It is delightful to watch the visual poetry that is create on screen when these actors are together.
An important element to the success of the production is the score. Singer and DeSanto have saved the film from the plague of pop songs in the score. Michael Kamen's classical score shines through accentuating the film's dramatic moments, creating a foundation by adding atmosphere and mood.
The film's core theme "fear the rest, trust a few" draws relevance in its social aspect and paranoia among the different few. Sometimes what we don't understand seemed outcast and taboo. X-men emphasize the relevance of having real people to trust and a family to belong when the world turned its back on you.
But the loyal fans of the X-men were in discontent with the outcome of the film due to the fact that it failed to follow the same storyline in the comicbooks and many characters were not included in the film. For some, the film lacks lavish special effects and costume enhancement.
Fortunately, it was a blockbuster film and ranked as sixth biggest film of 2001. Meticulous film critics praised Bryan Singer's attempt to make the storyline and the character's display of powers in a believable perspective. But in the midst of success and excitement for the expected sequel of X-men, Singer is preparing to turn a tragic saga from the comicbook storyline into a reality that once cataputled the world's hated heroes into a name bigger than any fictional superheroes, not even Superman or Spiderman.
X-men: The Last Stand will be shown in the local cinemas on Wednesday, May 24, 2006. Check out the movie's website at http://www.x-menthelaststand.com/ for a 7-minute video clip teaser and character profiles.
(to be continued)
In 1989, there were only two bestselling X-men comicbook such as Uncanny X-men and X-factor. But in the late 1990s, there were already more than 10 X-men comicbook series oftenly called "x-titles" that consistently remained in the bestselling top list of Wizard, the comicbook authority in America.
But the plan to turn the X-men into live action movie was cut short for a while due to script and budget disagreements between the executives of Marvel Comics and the film's producers. It was only in 1999 when the project was revived and made into a reality. Since most of the Hollywood actors first eyed to portray the X-men characters are becoming expensive in terms of talent fee and their fame status, the filmmakers consists of producer Tom DeSanto and director Bryan Singer auditioned actors for the film.
Neophyte Australian actor Hugh Jackman got the part for the famous X-men character ever- Wolverine. Model-turned-actress Halle Berry was cast as Storm, Famke Janseen as Jean Grey and Patrick Steward known for his prominent part in Star Trek, the next generation TV series was tasked to play Professor Charles Xavier. Ian McKellen a British broadway actor and known as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy accepted the offer to become the X-men's archenemy, Magneto.
True to its comicbook counterpart, the debut film of the X-men deals with the social issues of discrimination and prejudice among the strange mutant population in the present world. They were hated and feared by normal humans for having unique and sometimes, misunderstood abilities. Bryan Singer as a director brought the cinematic mood of the film into the next level like what George Lucas did with Star Wars.
The lynchpin of the film is in the character. They've chosen Logan/Wolverine to focus the narrative, and the tale spreads out from there. Logan is the wander, the loner, no longer looking for answers. However, when he meets Professor Xavier the tragic figure becomes heroic, and he again is interested in solving the mysteries of his creation. Furthermore, the screenplay focused in the important goal of Xavier which is "co-existence between normal humans and mutants". Bryan Singer successfully introduced the existence of the X-men in the film especially Wolverine portrayed by Hugh Jackman. He not only gets the character, gives it weight, and looks like the character in the Marvel comicbook series. Most impressive is his ability to compliment the scenes he is in with veteran actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. These to cinema greats take the characters and instill in them an essence equal to that of a Shakespearean hero, or a villain in McKellen case. It is delightful to watch the visual poetry that is create on screen when these actors are together.
The struggle between Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful co-existence and Magneto's belief in mutantrace domination led their apprentices to take sides.
When filmmakers attempt to adapt comic material the pitfall exists where they can become caught up in the effects and window dressing that cloak a basic human drama. By stressing those elements the film often becomes quite comical. However, when they concentrate on the drama, they make the material accessible to a wider audience. With a good screenplay as a foundation, the next key that can make or break the film is casting. A balance needs to be struck between the characters and available talent. The biggest box-office draws are not necessarily right for the part. Sometimes, when an unknown or character actor takes on the mantel of a superhero it can turn them into overnight household name.
X-MEN posses a unique problem in the way the story has evolved over the past thirty-plus years, and the numerous heroes and villains that populate its universe. Executive producer Tom DeSanto and director Bryan Singer take these potential problems and work them to their advantage. Not since "Star Wars" has a film reinvented and reinvigorated a classic film genre. The lynchpin of the film is in the character. They've chosen Logan/Wolverine to focus the narrative, and the tale spreads out from there.
Logan is the wander, the loner, no longer looking for answers. However, when he meets Professor Xavier the tragic figure becomes heroic, and he again is interested in solving the mysteries of his creation.
X-MEN draws the audience in right from the start. The narration and opening sequence are unencumbered by credits. Bang, we are off and running. The emotional level is carried right into the next scene, and each subsequent one. By the time the audience gets a taste of the first complex visual effect they've been well primed. The effects flow from characters that we've begun to know. There is an organic aspect to them, and other then Mystique, there is acceptance by the audience for the fantastic.
Director Bryan Singer makes good on his promise of delivering a character driven story with special effects. With a running time of 92 minutes, the film is pared down to a respectable fighting weight. It's satisfying, but leaves you wanting to know more, which is exactly what Lucas did with the first "Star Wars" film. There is a feel to the pacing and development of X-MEN that is reminiscent of the classic fantastic serials like "Flash Gordon." X-MEN easily earns director Bryan Singer his place in cinematic history alongside directors George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg.
In X-MEN, the casting is the thing! To quote Bryan Singer, "God Bless Hugh Jackman." He not only gets the character, gives it weight, and looks like the character in the Marvel comic series. Most impressive is his ability to compliment the scenes he is in with veteran actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. These to cinema greats take the characters and instill in them an essence equal to that of a Shakespearean hero, or a villain in McKellen case. It is delightful to watch the visual poetry that is create on screen when these actors are together.
An important element to the success of the production is the score. Singer and DeSanto have saved the film from the plague of pop songs in the score. Michael Kamen's classical score shines through accentuating the film's dramatic moments, creating a foundation by adding atmosphere and mood.
The film's core theme "fear the rest, trust a few" draws relevance in its social aspect and paranoia among the different few. Sometimes what we don't understand seemed outcast and taboo. X-men emphasize the relevance of having real people to trust and a family to belong when the world turned its back on you.
But the loyal fans of the X-men were in discontent with the outcome of the film due to the fact that it failed to follow the same storyline in the comicbooks and many characters were not included in the film. For some, the film lacks lavish special effects and costume enhancement.
Fortunately, it was a blockbuster film and ranked as sixth biggest film of 2001. Meticulous film critics praised Bryan Singer's attempt to make the storyline and the character's display of powers in a believable perspective. But in the midst of success and excitement for the expected sequel of X-men, Singer is preparing to turn a tragic saga from the comicbook storyline into a reality that once cataputled the world's hated heroes into a name bigger than any fictional superheroes, not even Superman or Spiderman.
X-men: The Last Stand will be shown in the local cinemas on Wednesday, May 24, 2006. Check out the movie's website at http://www.x-menthelaststand.com/ for a 7-minute video clip teaser and character profiles.
(to be continued)
writer's note: for me, this is one of my most memorable articles I wrote for comic characters that has became my art icon. X-men 3 was a massive hit amid mix reviews and departure of the film's orginal director- Bryan Singer who worked for Superman Returns. Check the last two part for the concluding stories.
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