X-Men: Requiem War

April 29, 2009 @ 11:37 am

re v3.21

wow! great watch! there are some technical issues still present (audio glitches, a few odd transitions…) but otherwise a great way to experience the xmen saga.

creativity in editing is very enjoyable and now we have a brand new xmen!

i agree completely with boon’s review, too. 8/10 looking forward to a v4?

April 8, 2009 @ 10:58 pm

It’s really really long still, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need out of your superhero movie.
There were a couple of transitions wherein it was all too clear that we were looking at a different Hugh Jackman. Other than that, the amalgamation of the first two movies was downright brilliant. I thought it was an interesting twist to have Magneto in prison from the beginning, still somehow orchestrating things a la Al Capone from Alcatraz. The “Last Stand” portion of the movie really did seem to drag in comparison to the part consisting of the first two movies.

As to technical aspects, which as I often state, I am not adept at and therefore not attuned to some types of errors, I can’t complain. I had to adjust the volume a few times due to fluctuations, but for the most part the audio seemed only slightly below the quality on my DVDs. If there were any hard cuts in the video, they were not bothersome enough that I remember (I watched it two days ago, so it’s still pretty fresh). Bear in mind that I tend to be a lot more lenient for these sorts of things than with the plot/entertainment part.

If you have the spare time, or you’re like me and you can sometimes watch movies while you do your boring job, you HAVE to pick this one up (assuming you own the trilogy already, of course).

March 22, 2009 @ 5:31 am

I have to say, I was not expecting much. X-Men was enjoyable enough, X2 is one of the great comic book movies, and X-Men: The Last Stand was practically a Sci-Fi original with a more notable cast. But color me impressed. I’ll try and break my concerns down film by film.

X-Men’s editing was brilliant except for some minor details. “I’ll have Jean braid your hair” was a good line, and it’s absence is missed, but Rogue’s stripe appears out of nowhere. From what I can tell, she got it from absorbing Wolverine. Just a few quick flashes of the Ellis Island sequence would have improved that scene, just to emphasize the point a little more.

X2 was the weakest job, I felt. Your goal of a darker world is well-realized, but the X-Men were not completely bleak, and some overzealous editing cuts out much of the humor that made the original film great. A lot of that humor came from the interactions of the younger X-Men during the mansion attack and the scenes at Bobby’s house, both of which, I felt, should have remained more or less intact, and once again the loss of one of the funnier lines of the movie proved detrimental. “No beer?” “This is a school.”

X-Men: The Last Stand fared much, much, much better thanks to your cuts, but with the re-insertion of a few scenes, it could be better. The Danger Room sequence, as stupid as it may have been at times, was some of the only true character moments in the film, and the loss of the Bobby/Rogue/Kitty triangle renders Rogue’s decision to seek the cure makes more sense. Angel’s formal introduction with his father trying to cure him, and his subsequent escape could be thrown back in, just to show the nasty side of Worthington, and so his appearance at the end wouldn’t be as awkward.

All in all, I was surprised that I missed the younger X-Men plots as much as I did, but as I said, reintegrating several scenes, and less editing of several included would make for a much better edit. One that could be labelled the quintessential X-Men cinematic experience. As it stands, a solid 8.5/10

March 16, 2009 @ 2:40 am

I just watched this last night.
Although the last hour dragged on a bit, the first 2 hours flew by and kept me very much interested.
Since it has been so long since I have seen X1 and X2, I couldn’t tell which part was from which movie most of the time. It is quite seemless and much more entertaining than either original movie.

Great work and thank you for your efforts.

8/10.

I was hesitant to get the Trilogy as well but I have changed my mind, since I was actually left wanting more :)

March 13, 2009 @ 9:22 am

Some expert work here. :)

The blending of films #1 and #2 is often ingenious – you’ve paid maximum respect to storytelling and technically the editing is wonderful.

It’s a shame that film #3 by comparison has glaring weaknesses in its script (though a good story idea) and in its overblown CGI sillyness. It’s clearly the work of a different director, too, but overall I thought you made a pretty good fist of trying to integrate a lousy 3rd movie into films #1 and #2.

Thanks for your efforts Wraith.

8/10 from me.