Pointless Multipack Theatre Vol. 22 - Origins And Endings: "X-Men 3: The Last Stand"/"Elektra"
Written: Jun 29 '08
Product Rating:
Pros: Both movies are decent
Cons: Both movies could be better, pairing is odd
The Bottom Line: Because there is a complete "X-Men" cinematic multipack, I ultimately won't recommend this adequate, if odd, bundle pack of super hero movies.
wlswarts's Full Review: X-Men: The Last Stand/Elektra
There is something weird about a multipack that has two average (at best) movies that are similar and only vaguely connected. After all, what do the marketers of multipacks think when they are bundling up DVDs for consumption by fans? Marvel Comics - the movie division - seems compelled to just bundle up whatever hasn't sold as robustly as they thought it would.
Case in point: "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" and "Elektra." The "X-Men" film is a clear sequel, it does not try to be anything other than that. It is a bold, unafraid sequel that progresses on the assumption that fans have seen at least the prior cinematic incarnation of "X-Men." "Elektra," by contrast, is mostly an origin story for the superheroine or anti-hero that came out of the "Daredevil" movie. Do the two work together? Not especially. If you were going to pick them up anyway, is this a good way to do it? Sure. If not, this is not the multipack to sell the viewers on rushing out to get it.
This is, quite simply, the original DVD release of each film without any additional discs, features or incentives to purchase the discs. They are offered together with minor savings in their original packaging, connected by shrink-wrap.
For those unfamiliar with "X-Men 3: The Last Stand," it picks up where "X-Men 2: X-Men United" (reviewed at: http://www.epinions.com/content_103982796420 ) left off. The X-Men team is recovering from the loss of Jean Grey. The love of her life, Cyclops, runs off to where she died only to discover he has the ability to resurrect her. Poor Cyclops. Jean isn't well following her return and it is at this inconvenient junction that Professor Xavier informs everyone that Jean led a troubled childhood suffering from something much like multiple personality disorder where she battled for control of herself with an alternate persona known as Phoenix. Well, the Phoenix has come home to roost and after a fairly violent battle, she joins Magneto and his Brotherhood in his war against normal humans.
And what's the bug up Magneto's butt this time around? Well, it seems an incredibly rich human has managed to concoct a "cure" for mutantism. He's giving every mutant a chance to become mundane and this causes some conflict within the X-Men, but brings Magneto throngs of supporters who want to destroy the cure and wipe out humanity. Storm and Wolverine lead the X-Men into battle to defend the humans and it's all pretty extraordinary in a summer blockbuster, special effects kind of way.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" suffers almost exclusively through its attempt to take on too much, without actually giving the viewers anything new. In the past two installments, the storylines have dealt with alienation and prejudice. There's not much more to do with it, so the "cure" problem is simply a minor variation on the old theme, albeit a clever one.
Worse, though, is that the bloodbath ensues as the plot executes itself is certainly nothing we have not seen before. Following the big fight in "X-Men," which seemed to kill off Toad and Sabretooth, "X-Men United" had giant battles that brought an end to Deathstryke and Jean Gray as well as other antagonists. So, while the scale of the assault on Alcatraz is bigger than the Alkalai Lake or Statue of Liberty battles, it is not fundamentally anything different. And because so many of the mutants involved are new and underdeveloped, there is a severe lack of emotional resonance to the scenes. Indeed, the most significant death in "X-Men The Last Stand's" climactic battles leads to an extreme "ho-hum, I know I've seen that before!" reaction.
It's not all bad, though. Indeed, outside the feeling that this is a movie we've already seen, there is much to recommend "X-Men: The Last Stand." Fortunately, it's a movie we have already seen that we enjoyed. The whole concept of a cure to mutantism is a compelling one and part of the problem with the movie is that it undervalues the emotional resonance of such an idea. And while there is outrage over the cure being used as a weapon against mutants, which is very real and intriguing, the idea then of voluntarily taking the cure is subjugated.
And the effects are quite cool. The make-up for Beast is absolutely brilliant. And in many of the big battle scenes, the special effects are flawless and bring the viewer in, which is what special effects ought to do. Special effects ought to support, not dominate. With Beast, they certainly do that. With some of the other mutants, they succeed as well.
The problems, then, are that the plots motivate the story and move it, not the characters. It is, for example, laughable to me that actress Halle Berry appears in this movie as Storm, given her public declarations after "X-Men 2" that she would not return unless her character was given character. Berry and Storm certainly appear in more scenes in this movie, but not with more character. She becomes an appendage, an accessory to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.
Similarly, the wonderful Anna Paquin, who was given such a compelling role in the first two installments, is neglected and shoved under a rug for most of the movie, leaving newcomer Ellen Page to take her place. And Page is not given much to work with, either. Come to think of it, the only new mutant presented that has a decent role is Beast.
It's hard not to love Beast, played adeptly by actor Kelsey Grammar. Grammar is genius casting for the role and he lives up to it. He shines in every scene he is in.
Alas, he is the acting bright spot here. Patrick Stewart and Anna Paquin who are usually powerhouses on the screen are given almost no screentime. Famke Janssen's part is reduced too often to blinking and Sir Ian McKellen is challenged to show us nothing new and he lives up to the challenge. Ben Foster, who ruled the third season of "Six Feet Under" is a wet noodle in "X-Men 3," being given a character with serious and difficult concepts to express and have those challenges brushed aside ridiculously quickly.
For those who have not seen "Elektra," this is both an origin story and a sequel to "Daredevil" (reviewed at: http://www.epinions.com/content_92158791300 ). Essentially killed in "Daredevil," Elektra's body was taken to a mystic who was able to resurrect her. Under the tutelage of Stick, a blind martial arts master, Elektra trained and became an even more formidable warrior. However, Elektra and Stick part ways on unfriendly terms and Elektra begins her life anew as a deadly and infamous assassin. This is where the film begins.
Elektra is hired, using an agent named McCabe, to commit various assassinations. While on a short vacation from the killing business, Elektra receives a new job paying an obscene amount of money. However, circumstances cause her to defy the orders and she finds herself protecting the individuals (a father and daughter) she had been sent to execute. She takes the pair on the run from the Hand, a committee of assassins who employ supernatural warriors. Within the Hand, there is a schism, and the son of the leader of the Hand, a young warrior named Kirigi, seeks to ascend to the leadership of the assassins guild. With his small gang, Kirigi sets out to capture Mark and Abby Miller and kill Elektra.
One of the aspects of "Elektra" I enjoyed the most was not knowing anything about the villains. Thus, the entrance of such adversaries as Stone and Tattoo were interesting and genuinely surprising. In fact, the entrance of Stone is one of the best villain entrances I can recall in movies. His exit, however, is somewhat baffling considering his strengths. "Elektra" is populated by intriguing villains in Kirigi, Typhoid, Stone and Tattoo. The only awkward aspect of not knowing anything about the characters is the lack of understanding how the other three villains survive being in close quarters with Typhoid (she is incredibly lethal).
As for the heroine? Elektra is interesting and not as dark as I had anticipated. While I figured she would possess some of the brooding of a Batman-type character, there was almost none of that. It is somewhat unfortunate, as her character is interesting, yet somewhat nonsensical. One moment, she is a heartless assassin, the next she is rethinking her life. The movie covers that, though, and it is explained away adequately. Indeed, there is little left in terms of character development for a second film; Elektra's emotional journey in this one is so significant.
Somewhat disturbing as well is the "winner take all" attitude of the film. This may seem odd coming from someone who does not enjoy when a movie belabors setting up a sequel, but the strength of Elektra's emotional journey and the resolution to the battles between herself and Kirigi's band tell a very complete tale with almost no room for a follow-up.
Elektra's costume is fabulous and it is easy to watch the movie with Jennifer Garner as Elektra. One of my few reservations going into "Elektra" was with the costume and hairstyle. Unlike much of "Daredevil," Elektra is not endowed with long curls and a tight black outfit. Instead, her hair is straight, her outfit is red and revealing. In short, my reservations with Garner as Elektra in "Elektra" was that I believed that her appearance and mannerisms might be too distractingly similar to those of Sydney Bristow, Garner's character on "Alias" (reviewed at: http://www.epinions.com/content_340069813892 ). I am pleased to say that Garner never once slips in her facade to reveal either herself or any other character she has played. She is distinctively Elektra here, through and through.
I am also not a big fan of special effects, but the computer generated effects in "Elektra" are pretty spectacular. The work with Tattoo, especially, works quite well.
So, why not go see this movie? Well, photographically, much of the movie is surprisingly poor. Lighting in the scenes is excellent, especially a scene featuring a gazebo a night that uses a lot of camera angles but only one light source; the lighting direction remains wonderfully constant. But there are several points in the movie, both during battles and at the very end of the film, where the edges are somewhat hazy and dark. Because it changed obviously throughout various portions of the movie, I am left to conclude that this was a choice by director Rob Bowman. It is a choice that does not work terribly well.
The only other detraction from "Elektra" is its pacing. "Elektra" starts quite slow. While it is providing varying amounts of characterization, it feels slow, it feels like a setup. Once Elektra defies the Hand and sets the movie in motion, the story and pacing become much more regular, less uneven and anything but slow. Indeed, once Elektra and her group leave McCabe's residence, the movie seems of very even pace and is quite engrossing. Unfortunately, I believe that's about halfway through the movie.
The only other note is that this is a PG-13 movie. Parents who are squeamish about sending their children to movies with a lot of graphic deaths need not fear "Elektra." If anything, "Elektra" is somewhat disappointing in the tone as it fails to establish a sufficient air of menace by revealing fully how bad the villains are. On at least two occasions, people that are killed by the villains are cut away from before their actual deaths. This no doubt helped "Elektra" achieve PG-13, as opposed to "R," but it also leaves some ambiguity about at least one of those deaths and in some ways weakens the quality of evil in the villains.
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