The penultimate installment in our X-Men 3 special centers on Professor Charles E. Xavier, played by british actor Patrick Stewart. In the past fifty years Stewart has attained a distinguished career in theatre where he has performed various characters in Shakespearian productions. He made a name for himself on television by playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987-1994 and in the Star Trek spin-off movies Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Patrick Stewart (Charles E. Xavier/Professor X)

…on his interest in continuing on with X-Men
The first two movies were very good. And the ongoing story based on this franchise has a lot more mileage in it. And a lot of storylines both for individual characters as well as the overall world of mutants and mutation that I think has a lot of drama. I continue to find my character still fascinating and absorbing, and perhaps more than anything else, it’s the ensemble aspect of these films. I’ve always enjoyed that sense of company work and with this we’ve come back with fundamentally the same group of people.

…on his role
He’s still running the school, he’s still leading the X-Men, he is still fighting for mutant rights, still believes in the essential goodness of human nature that mutants will be accepted into society - unlike Magneto, who continues to believe that it’s only through force and the use of violence that mutation can be accepted in society.

…on the disagreement between Xavier and Magneto
There is one body of opinion, led by Magneto, that mutants must rule the Earth and they must do it through violence. And then Professor Xavier’s point of view which is that there should be acceptance and absorption of these mutants into general society.

…on Xavier’s conflict
Well, there’s a primary conflict for Xavier in this film, and it’s within himself. And it’s the conflict concerning his past treatment of Jean Grey, whom at the very beginning of their acquaintance he knew that he had someone of extraordinary power in his school. And as he became increasingly aware of that power, he sought to control it, to minimize it by applying to Jean Grey a series of what he calls “psychic blocks” that prevented her power from being fully expressed. He felt that this was the only way that she could be kept safe, as well as the rest of society, because of the potential for destruction that he felt existed within her.

…on Beast
I think the only character that I have any close contact with in this film is Beast, which is a delight for me because I happen to be a fan of the actor who plays that role, and who’s playing it magnificently. I’m speaking of course of Kelsey Grammer. Audiences are going to be stunned by their first sight of him and he has found a tone for the role which steps so delicately between a truly terrifying-appearing individual and the charming, intelligent, witty creature.

…on the meaning of the film
The one, perhaps dominant, quality which sets this apart from the other two is its intense emotion. Feelings are exploding all over this movie, partly because of the threat and the danger that is everywhere to our principal characters.

…on the end
Even now, being so accustomed to what can be achieved through technology and through computerization, I am so excited by some of the grand, climatic, epic effects with which this movie is going to end.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our final update in our X-Men 3 special focusing on director Brett Ratner.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

Today’s X-Men 3 special centers on Cyclops, played by James Marsden. The american actor has appeared on Ally McBeal and in films such as Zoolander, The 24th Day, The Notebook and The Alibi. Marsden won recognition through his role on X-Men and X-Men 2 and will next be seen in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (as Lois Lane’s love interest Richard White) and Disney animated/live action hybrid Enchanted.

James Marsden (Scott Summers/Cyclops)

…on the relationship with Jean
Scott’s in mourning because Jean’s gone. After the second film, you know but there’s this undeniable sense of homecoming if you will with Jean’s character. Scott’s mind is elsewhere, he’s not even thinking about the cure, he’s not thinking about anything other than Jean and he’s feeling like this isn’t over yet.

…on the cure
The idea of the cure is the humans way of a not so radical solution to the mutant problem, much less radical than the Mutant Registration Act from the first film which is basically like tagging animals, tracking them and placing restrictions on them. This is their way of saying we won’t have an all out holocaust, we’ll give you an opportunity to be us, we’ll cure you of your mutancy. I think the reaction of most mutants is that [the offer] is a slap in the face because most of them view their mutancy as a good thing.

…the relationship with Wolverine
Scott’s still in a place where it’s difficult to take steps forward in a relationship with regards to Wolverine but I think that the time between when they met on the first film and now, they may not hang out with each other outside of the mansion but I do think that there’s an underlying respect for each other. I think that Scott and Logan both look at each other like just two different animals.

Stay tuned for our final two installments with Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner talking X-Men 3 in the next two days!

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

Our X-Men 3 special is approaching its end, with three more cast members plus director Brett Ratner left to go. Today’s installment features Kelsey Grammer, the american actor of Cheers and Frasier fame. Grammer took up the role of Dr. Hank McCoy, who carries the mutant name Beast. Beast is the most prominent addition to the cast of X-Men and works as the Secretery of Mutant Affairs, giving the mutant population a voice in the government. Kelsey Grammer has won four Emmys and is the first actor in tv history to receive multiple nominations for playing the same role (Dr. Frasier Crane) on three different shows (Cheers, Wings, Frasier).

Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/Beast)

…on the challenge of playing Dr. Hank McCoy
When I signed on for the job I realized that I would be doing my first full prosthetic foray and I must say I have mixed emotions about it. It’s okay and very effective in terms of playing the character but it’s a little bit stilting at the same time though. You have to work a little bit harder to get that mask to take on your energy. On the plus side your intellect will always shine through the eyes and these are my eyes and they’re not covered.

…on the subjects X-Men 3 touches upon
I like the idea in terms of the X-Men movies is that they’re about people feeling like they’re outsiders. We’ve all felt that way. They also have heart. The films aren’t about anything unless they have heart, and that’s what I like about the X-Men, they care about each other.

…on the story
It revolves around this new information, or [more precisely] a new drug that’s been distilled from this young boy that was born with a particular mutant gene that diffuses mutancy in others. They’ve harvested this quality or property from him and they’ve managed to get it into a delivery system so that the mutants can actually be turned back to what you would call normal people- human beings, homo sapiens not homo super sapiens. Briefly that’s the story and then the two sides align on that issue, one that’s very, very radical and extremist and willing to fight and die for it and to destroy the rest of the world.

…on his role
Beast is Doctor Hank McCoy, Secretary of Mutant Affairs and he ends up remaining Secretary of Mutant Affairs as I know it now, but at some point he discovers that it is important to him in this situation to stand shoulder to shoulder with those of his kind and fight for a principal.

…on the conflict with the cure
Hank being so extremely mutated, being so not human is particularly conflicted about what it might be like to have a moment as a regular guy, and then he realizes of course that it’s not his destiny. True bravery means seizing your fate and trying to do the world some good anyway.

We’ll have our final three installments with James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner talking about X-Men 3 in the next three days, check back daily so as not to miss them!

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

Today’s X3 special focuses on the second major addition to the X-Men, Angel, played by Ben Foster. Fan-favourite Angel is one of the original X-Men, having made his first appearance in Stan Lee’s and Jack Kirby’s X-Men #1 comic in 1963. After making guest appearances on several television shows, Ben Foster is working on his acting breakthrough following a recurring role on the HBO series Six Feet Under and roles in 11:14, The Punisher, Hostage and now X-Men: The Last Stand.

Ben Foster (Warren Worthington III/Angel)

…on his role
I play Warren Worthington III - Angel. He is the son of a very wealthy entrepreneur who, with full understanding from his son, has spent a lot of time, money and effort investing in the creation of the cure for mutancy.

…on Warren’s conflict
When we meet Warren Worthington III, he’s coming into conflict with himself, not so much his father, but as a metaphor of many metaphors within the legacy of X-Men. These are human beings with extraordinary capabilities, and coming into conflict with those. So Warren’s conflict is a beautiful one which is having to decide what kind of life he wishes to live, and how truthfully he can live that. And in this particular issue, it’s hard for him to live in society with giant wings on his back - it’s hard to fit in. So when we meet him he is looking to make his life easier.

…on the connection between the audience and the characters
The backstory that is implied is that it has not been an easy life with this disfigurement, although aesthetically angel wings may be considered beautiful to some - it certainly makes you stick out. And I think as a young person you would like to fit in, you want to be liked, you want to be like everyone else. And I think that has to do with the success of the series of X-Men, that we all as human beings feel different, we all feel that we don’t fit in, we all feel we’re not good-looking enough, we’re not smart enough - we’re just not enough. And we wish that we were part of the group. But the wonderful thing - the ideal element, I believe, or the inspiring element, at least for myself, about the series, being a fan of it - has been that these are individuals who come into collision with themselves, and have to fight for who they are, as difficult and as challenging as that can be.

…on the popularity of superheroes
I looked at the X-Men legacy as an absolute honor to be a part of. The X-Men series, the X-Men legacy is as close to any mythology we have. There have always been superheroes. This is not new. I’ve been asked many times, “Why do you think superhero movies are doing so well right now? Why are they so popular?” And I think they’ve always been popular. There have been the Roman gods, the Hindu gods. These are all very real, with human characteristics. These are sexual beings. These are damaged human beings who also have amazing capabilities, like all of us. Like all of us! We’re all really amzaing, and we’re all profoundly damaged. And we’re all trying to connect and contend with our differences.

…on the wings
Getting up at four-in-the-morning to get wings glued to my back was not the most rewarding way to wake up. Seven o’clock rolls around after they’re on - you’re walking different! You can’t help it. You put on pyjamas, you’re going to feel like you have pyjamas on. You put on a tuxedo, “You know, I have a tuxedo on.” You have wings on, “Yep! Yeah, I can fly!” That’s great! That’s a good morning.

…on the deeper meaning of X-Men
I’d say that being a mutant and then the development of a cure for mutancy can be taken for whatever metaphor one wishes to take it. It is not specific, in my opinion. I know that the first X-Men was related to civil rights to some degree. The second one, it was no secret, Bryan Singer discussed it as a film about coming out. And I believe this one, The Last Stand, is dealing with the responsibility of accepting yourself.

Be sure to check back daily to find out what the likes of Kelsey Grammer (Beast), James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner have to share about X-Men 3.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

While our X-Men 3 special hits half-time, we’ve got canadian actress Anna Paquin sharing her thoughts on the latest X-Men film and her character Rogue. Paquin was one of the youngest actresses ever to win an Oscar (at the age of twelve in 1994 for her supporting role in Jane Campion’s The Piano) and has been central to the X-Men series since the first movie. She has also appeared in films like Fly Away Home, A Walk On The Moon, Almost Famous, Finding Forrester, 25th Hour and The Squid And The Whale.

Anna Paquin (Marie/Rogue)

…on the return to the X-Men
I’ve loved being a part of this saga of the X-Men since the first one. And just the idea of getting to come back and revisit these characters again and pick up where we left off and take them further - it’s just really exciting.

…on her role
Rogue is pretty much coming into her own more as an adult, as far as trying to figure out how she really feels about her mutation -about her abilities or limitations, however one might see them, and is in a place where she feels more confident to make decisions for herself as to how she’s going to handle her life.

…on the relationship between Rogue and Bobby
Obviously because Rogue can’t ever touch anyone, it makes things a little bit complicated with her boyfriend, Bobby, whose attentions are starting to perhaps wander towards Kitty Pryde, who, as far as her mutation, is able to have physical contact with people. And being as how we’re all young and that’s a rather significant part of any young relationship, or any relationship, it’s a source of conflict between them. Because I think as she’s getting to have more feelings about herself, I think she knows that she can understand why someone would really, really love her and really want to be with her if they can’t have this one thing. And I think because she’s so insecure about it, she starts questioning his motives and questioning whether or not he’s really going to be continuing to be faithful to her. And so there’s kind of a lot of tension going on there.

…on the deeper meaning of X-Men
The reason these movies connect with so many people is that everyone’s felt different at some point and everyone’s struggled with that, and in whatever way, big or small, in their own lives. And I think everyone’s had to make decisions about how they want to treat other people that they may perceive as different.

…on Rogue’s personal battle with the cure
Rogue is constantly struggling with self-acceptance. I mean, is she going to choose to live her life as a mutant, and with her abilities be basically segregated into a very tiny minority of people who never get to have relationships. And is she going to let that eat her alive, or is she going to accept herself? And in this case she’s actually being offered an option, she can either be cured and change her life forever, or accept who she is and continue living with this struggle. And it’s a really huge decision that she ultimately has to make.

Be sure to check back daily to find out what the likes of Ben Foster (Angel), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner have to share about X-Men 3.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

The relationship between Mutants and Humans has reached a fragile stability, with the US President (Josef Sommer) and the Secretary for Mutant Affairs, Dr. Hank McCoy (Kelsey Grammer), together coordinating a widespread search for the militant mutant Magneto (Ian McKellen). But when the biopharmaceutical company Worthington Labs announces it has found a ‘cure’ that can suppress all mutations, Magneto starts recruiting an army to go to war with the humans. Meanwhile, Professor Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart) diplomatic endevours are distracted when Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), believed to have died at Alkali Lake, makes a miraculous return. But a seemingly limitless destructive force has been unlocked inside her.

The making of the third X-Men film has the potential to be turned into a movie itself. Throughout production, the project went through significant overhauls, restarts and release date shifts, most noticeably every time a new director came on board - there were a few. Bryan Singer, who directed the first two films to great critical acclaim, looked all set to take the reigns on part three, but abandoned the X-Men in favor of fixing a problematic Superman franchise that had just parted ways with Brett Ratner. Singer, who took most of his production crew onto Superman, was open to returning to the X-Men after completing his Superman film, but 20th Century Fox decided against waiting, contracting Layer Cake helmer Matthew Vaughn to direct X-Men 3 instead. Vaughn oversaw several script treatments and a big bulk of preproduction, only to bail out nine weeks prior to principal photography, unable to commit to a long term production schedule for family reasons.

In an ironic twist, Fox brought Brett Ratner on as the next replacement, and the Rush Hour and Red Dragon director saw-through the shoot and post-production in what little time was left to meet the studio’s scheduled summer 2006 release date. To say that Ratner wasn’t on the top of the X-Men fanbase’s wishlist would be an understatement, fans and many critics regarded his involvement with skepticism and often even contempt, sentiments caused by the director’s lack of pedigree and experience with character-driven films. The fact that the first two X-Men films were so character-centric made for much of the franchise’s appeal (at least amongst critics and less blockbuster-oriented audiences), so there was a current of unease over whether or not Ratner would desecrate the series by shifting the focus from character to action.

After finally having the chance to judge whether or not my own fears would be confirmed, I’ve come to the following conclusion: the film has some strong points, but I left the theatre fuming nonetheless. Let me elaborate. On the one hand, the film looks gorgeous and polished, and certainly ups the ante on the first two action-wise. Some of the set-pieces are mezmerizing to behold (Magneto doing his thing on, or rather with, the Golden Gate Bridge), and the magnitude of new characters makes way for plenty cool new powers to be showcased (Kitty Pride unsubstantiating herself, Multiple Man creating copies of himself, Stacey X producing her Shockwaves, Spike going hedgehock). It’s especially refreshing to see Magneto’s brotherhood finally equipped with Mutants who look to be more than simple cannon-fodder (Pyro, Callisto, Stacey X, Spike, Multiple Man, Dark Phoenix), although there are still some who fit that mold (Juggernaut, Arclight, Psylocke).

But on the other hand, the film has its downside, and it’s huge. The more action-heavy direction makes for a higher pace, yes, but the editing is horrendous. Not only does the film not flow well at all (one of the main strengths of movie one), the movement of the characters from one location to the other is often triggered by circumstancial scenes (mostly manifest in unconvincing lines of dialogue) that feel like nothing more than excuses to move the characters around. Example, and you might want to skip this part and continue with the next paragraph if you’d prefer to avoid spoilers: A grieving Cyclops has travelled up to Alkali Lake, the location where his fiancée Jean seemingly drowned at the end of X2. He screams his lungs out and shoots laser beams into the water, which unexpectedly causes Jean to reemerge from a whirl and lots of bright light. After some hugging and kissing the film cuts back to Professor X at the mansion, who tells Storm and Wolverine they must travel to Alkali Lake quickly, as something terrible has happened. They find Jean (and Cyclops’ shades), and return her to the mansion. A few scenes later, we learn that Cyclops is dead - sort of as an afterthought.

Which brings me to my next point of criticism: almost all of the characters are functionless, feeling like they are only there to be there (I wrote that line to mirror one of Storm’s great bits of dialogue in the film: “If you want to be with us, than be with us”). Having the film filled with so many characters makes it even worse, as it leaves no room for any proper focus and grants none of the characters a proper arc. Ratner spends a considerable amount of time establishing certain characters, only to drop them almost completely halfway in. Angel (a forgettable performance by Ben Foster) is the most prominent casualty: the cure storyline is introduced through him (his father is the scientist who’s behind the remedy) as we see him first (in the second introductory sequence of the film) trying to clip his wings off in shame as a boy and later ‘volunteering’ to be the first to take the cure, but after that all we get to see of him is Angel batting his wings in the air in three scenes and showing up at the mansion in another. Ben Foster has probably three or four lines in the entire film.

Jean Grey fares hardly any better. The Dark Phoenix plot is supposed to be the film’s other main storyline (at least that’s how Ratner establishes it: the film’s opening scene is a 20 year flashback of how Xavier and Magneto visit a young Jean Grey at her family’s house), but after having explained how she’s not only a more powerful mutant than both Xavier and Magneto, but also schizophrenic (the other half of her consciousness, tagged Phoenix, represents pure lust, joy, and violence, recreating Famke Janssen’s role as the Bond Girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye), she’s got not much more to do than kill a whole lot of people (humans and mutants alike) and stand around at Magneto’s.

Hank McCoy (Kelsey Grammer), alias Beast, is the most prominent new addition to the rank of mutants, and he suffers the reverse effect, which isn’t any better. While he is privy to a lot of screentime, plenty to do and a considerable amount of dialogue, his character isn’t established at all beyond being the Secretary for Mutant affairs. There’s some backstory that’s heavily alluded to - he seems to be great friends with Xavier and Storm, as is evident in a scene in which he arrives at the mansion, and he’s got an old uniform which barely fits him anymore stowed away there - but that’s all the information we are treated to.

A further problem is that a fair amount of characters (if the film still permits the use of that expression) feel completely inconsistent with how they were depicted in X-Men 1 and 2. In a pointless teenage love triangle subplot, Bobby/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) pursues his growing attraction towards Kitty (Ellen Page) in plain view of his girlfriend Rogue (Anna Paquin), losing any and all sensibility and consideration he used to show (especially towards Rogue), while Rogue herself goes from being shy and solemn to angry and downright bitchy. Rogue is marginalized to near invisibility in this film, but Ratner and his screenwriter crew still found just enough space to annihilate the character’s integrity by the end of the film, my personal highlight on the negative side of X-Men 3. John/Pyro (Aaron Stanford) is both inconsistent - he’s literally unbelievably bloodthirsty - and useless, mostly standing in as Magneto’s secretary. At least his tandem force display with Magneto is pretty neat.

On a less character-specific level (for that is the plain Ratner is operating on), I must say that most of the emotional scenes were completely off-beat. The film features three major deaths, evenly spread, and only one manages to capture a bit of sympathy, in spite of the fact that all three of them are characters we care for. The first death, as mentioned earlier, we even only hear about after the plot has already progressed quite a bit further, the second one is the one that works (thanks to its spectacular choreography and some unexpected sympathy from another character), and the third one seems absolutely pointless, because not thought-through: the problem isn’t solved, it’s gotten rid of, and that’s weak storytelling. This coincides with the dazzling resolution of the cure storyline, when after a bit of action (okay, quite a lot actually) and lots of destruction absolutely everything seems to be - miracously - back in order. And you can’t help but wonder why, because other than Magneto being immobilized and the Worthington Labs’ access to the source of the cure being removed, not much else has changed. To cap it off, the closing scene is a speculative trick at trying to force a cheap plot twist down our throats.

X-Men: The Last Stand is a spectacular affiche because its a monumental failure: a few brilliantly executed action sequences cannot hide the fact that the film has almost zero emotional resonance and lacks any depth that would keep it clear from being shallow. The intriguing ideas behind the plot are revealed as nothing more than promises not kept, and following the first two film’s innovative approach of combining superhero action with character-driven stories to critical and financial success this is a bitter pill to swallow.

Posted in Reviews •

Today we focus our X-Men 3 special on the dutch actress Famke Janssen. Her character Dr. Jean Grey, believed dead at the end of X-Men 2, makes an incredible return. But something has been unleashed inside her, and threatens to wreck havoc on anything standing in its way. Famke Janssen has appeared in films such as 007: Goldeneye, Deep Rising, Rounders, The Faculty, Made, Don’t Say A Word, I Spy and Hide & Seek. She’s been a part of the X-Men series since the first film, released in 2000.

Famke Janssen (Jean Grey/Phoenix)

…on the challenge of her role
This character was extremely challenging to play because there are multiple personalities and because we decided to kind of make her go back and forth between the old Jean Grey - the controlled person - and the new Phoenix.

…on Jean Grey
She’s part Jean Grey and part a lot of other things. She’s just a very instinctual creature with a lot of emotions and very little control over all of those powers.

…on the love triangle
Jean Grey and Logan in the last two films have had a flirtation - have clearly had interest in one another, but the problem’s always been that Cyclops was around and Cyclops was Jean Grey’s fiance. And I think that Jean Grey at the time was very conflicted between the cerebral, normal, calm, collected side of her which Cyclops represented and the more animalistic, instinctual side that Logan represented to her.

…on the story and how it has progressed
In this case we’ve been living with these characters for such a long time that I think we now actually can spend the time really exploring many more things and I think that’s the wonderful thing about this movie is that we’re exploring different relationships between the characters, we’re exploring the limits that we can take in terms of where we take the story and the action and everything has just been… it’s just bigger than it’s been so far, and it’s fantastic.

Be sure to check back daily to find out what the likes of Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ben Foster (Angel), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner have to share about X-Men 3.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

The third installment in our X3 special centers on the british stage and film actor Sir Ian McKellen, who plays Eric Lensherr (Magneto) in Brett Ratner’s X-Men 3: The Last Stand which opens in cinemas today. McKellen has twice been nominated for an Academy Award and is best known for his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has had an illustrous career with a versatile portfolio, having appeared in films like Last Action Hero, Six Degrees Of Separation, Richard III, Apt Pupil, Gods And Monsters and, more recently, The Da Vinci Code.

Ian McKellen (Eric Lensherr/Magneto)

…on the conflict between Magneto and Xavier
It’s the old argument between him and Professor X, his best friend in years gone by, in which they argue how do people who are on the fringes of society relate to society as a whole and Magneto of course is fairly positive that people should stick up for their own individuality and not just try and fit in and conform but to say ‘no, I’m different and proud to be different.’ ‘Glad to be gay’ would be something that someone like me might well say which Magneto might well say of his own mutancy - ‘glad to be a mutant.’

…on the good and the bad
I think one of the enjoyable things about X-Men is that villains and heroes are not quite the words to use - good and bad, I mean who is good and bad? You know, even the politicians in this story are doing their best - they’re not wittingly setting out to upset people, to make the world a more uncomfortable place, although that’s what happens. So I think perhaps there isn’t an easy sort of James Bond villain knocking around. It’s a bit more sophisticated than that and there’s good and ill behaviour in all of us.

…on the passion in the film
I think number three of the movies is pretty consistent with the other two and in my view it’s the most exciting story. It’s the one that’s got most passion to it and I think there’s perhaps a little bit more opportunity for the actors to play out scenes in their relationships with each other in a way that in the first movies wasn’t possible perhaps.

…on Magneto’s power
Magneto is being marked out as being different from everybody else. He has a specialty - he has a quality that nobody else, nobody else has. He can control the magnetic field surrounding metal. To have that gift is as bewildering as it’s exciting, I expect, but for Magneto as for the other mutants it’s been in a sense, his disadvantage.

…on his role
Whether you think that Magneto has been badly treated by the world at large because of his own behaviour or because of his innate qualities of mutancy, is part of the fun of watching the story unfold. But when you realise, as anyone who saw the first movie does, that Magneto’s early life was spent in one of the labour camps of the Third Reich - where people were imprisoned for their innate qualities or belonging to a particular race or having particular political views or religious views, it doesn’t really make any difference - it’s another aspect of how a majority can be cruel to a minority within society.

…on the story
The movie as usual, like the comics, is settled on the moral division between those like Professor X who think that mutants should integrate with society and those like my character, Magneto, who think that mutants should be proud of their difference and celebrate it and fight for their superiority over the rest of society.

…on the cure
I think it’s distasteful to most of us if we think about it - to cure somebody because they’re different - it’s a horrible concept, really. Particularly when mutants have so much to offer and so many amazing and apparently super-human qualities and perhaps we should all be wishing that we had them rather than trying to destroy them.

Be sure to check back daily to find out what the likes of Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ben Foster (Angel), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner have to share about X-Men 3.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

The second installment in our X3 special centers on the american actress Halle Berry, who plays Aurora Munroe alias Storm in Brett Ratner’s X-Men 3: The Last Stand which opens in cinemas this week. Halle Berry won an Academy Award for her role in Monster’s Ball (2001) and has also been in films such as Bulworth, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Swordfish, 007: Die Another Day, Gothika and Catwoman. Berry as Storm has been an integral part of the X-Men series since the release of the first film in 2000. X-Men 3: The Last Stand sees her character in her most prominent appearance yet.

Halle Berry (Ororo Munroe/Storm)

…on her role
I think that Storm definitely has a point of view this time around. I think that was lacking in the other two. It was a big ensemble cast and she was very much a part of that, but she never really had a very clear point of view. This time you know exactly where she stands, you know what she’s fighting for, and you have a better understanding of how passionate she is about what she believes in.

…on the feeling of being part of the film’s action
She’s worn a cape for three movies now, and finally in this movie she gets to fly and be part of the action and the fighting. I’ve always wanted to do the combat scenes aswell, because in the comic books she does. And so this time Storm is really a part of the action of the movie.

…on the stunt scenes
I didn’t have a lot of training for it. You go on wires, you take your brave pills and you go up there, and you just trust Simon Crane, our stunt coordinator who is wonderful, so you just put your trust in his hands and you go up there and go for it. And I got to do most of my stunts on this, which I always love to do.

…on the story
What this story is all about is: if you’re a mutant, should you take a cure? That’s basically a one-liner on what it’s about. And if you had the opportunity to cure yourself, would you? And why would you? And this implies to me that we are admitting then, if we take this cure, that something is wrong with us. And that we’re not whole individuals and worthy of being part of the society the way we are. And to take the cure would totally send the wrong message, in my opinion. Because what I think makes all the mutants and X-Men so beautiful and makes people so beautiful is that we’re all different with our own idiosyncracies.

…on the cure
The real villain in this is the looming question of the cure. I wouldn’t say that it’s a character, I think you do meet new villanous characters, more characters that are part of the Brotherhood this time around. But the real villain is the social question. And I think that’s a hard villain to fight because it’s very subjective - what’s right and what’s wrong? What’s right to one person is wrong to someone else. So that’s a villain that’s is very hard to fight, which makes this X-Men movie so interesting and very compelling.

…on the battle
My character opposes the cure. She’s struggling to really understand why someone would want to change who they are. In the country where she comes from she’s a goddess, she’s revered. Her powers and gifts make her special and someone to be admired. And in this country, in this world in which she is living, she’s now shunned because of those things. She’s struggling with that question we are all struggling with: who are we really? And are we really okay the way we are? And are we okay with the way people perceive us?

Be sure to check back daily to find out what the likes of Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ben Foster (Angel), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner have to share about X-Men 3.

Official film synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •

Brett Ratner’s X-Men 3 opens in cinemas this week, and to coincide with it X-Realms is launching an X-Men 3 special. Starting today, we’ll feature one cast member each day sharing his/her thoughts on the new X-Men film and his/her character. Leading the line is Hugh Jackman, who stars as Logan/Wolverine in the film. The australian actor has also appeared in films such as Swordfish, Kate & Leopold and Van Helsing, and will next be seen in Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, two projects very high on X-Realmers’ must-see lists.

Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine)

…on the story and the conflict
What I love about this film, this particular film, is that the stakes are very high. It’s not just another bad guy that we have to defeat, there’s a conflinct that is intrinsically massive for the X-Men to overcome. All the X-Men have to come together to fight it, and Wolverine has some serious obstacles in this.

…on his role and its various guises
Wolverine, in the comics, is like 5’3, he can heal himself, so he’s almost indestructible. But what he has is this incredible determination and heart that’s the size of Texas, that’s what really makes him powerful. In the comic books they call it the ‘berserker rage’ when he just switches over into this mad white rage and he’s virtually unstoppable. Now for the fans that’s a great moment, and that’s one side of Wolverine that you see very clearly in this picture. But the other side of Wolverine that is hidden is his incredible heart and his connection to – very few – people, but he does have it. He’s very much a part of the family of X-Men, even though he’s kind of gruff and he will complain that he tries to stand back. But when push comes to shove and he has to protect someone he’s the most loyal person there is.

…on Wolverine and how he’s a nice guy at heart
Wolverine is not a nice guy, but at heart he’s a good guy. He’s the reluctant hero, that character or archetype of Han Solo or Mad Max or Dirty Harry. Those kind of characters have been a staple really in action movies for a long time.

…on Wolverine’s fighting style
What’s interesting about X-Men 3 is I worked with Simon Crane who’s the second unit director, he’s a fantastic action director. And he said, look, what you’ve done with the character fighting wise has been great – but what we want to explore is that classic Wolverine berserker rage, which is in the comic books a lot, where he gets this white rage and just goes berserk. And so there’s quite a bit of that in this. And he said, I also want to introduce a style. I deliberately in X-Men 1 and 2 had a fighting style that was more what I call ‘Mike Tyson’, it was like a barb roller. Here’s a guy who’s not pretty, who’s not martial arts in any way, but he just slashes and dices and usually wins.

…on the many characters
X-Men movies really are character movies. They’re about ten, fifteen characters you feel for and you can relate to. Now you may not relate to all of them, but there’s always going to be one or two that you really relate to. The comic book has, for thirty, forty years, been incredibly successful because beyond the fantasy of these stories and characters there is something intrinsically human about them. There are frailties, there are vulnerabilities, and you see that in every character. Teenage kids relate to it in drugs, because at some point every teenager feels like a mutant. They feel different, they feel misunderstood, they feel like the minority. But there’s that within all of us, you can be forty, fifty, sixty years old and there’s something to relate to there.

…on the fine line between good and evil mutants
It’s not clear cut, good guys – bad guys. On both sides of the fence there are grey areas. Wolverine’s a good example. He’s on the side of the good guys but he has a horrific past. And he’s not a nice guy at all. He’s not the guy you take home to meet your parents. He’s kind of an edgy character. And even with Magneto, who’s supposedly on the ‘bad side’, you can feel for him and you understand his point of view. Emotionally, you can connect to him.

Be sure to check back daily to find out what the likes of Halle Berry (Storm), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ben Foster (Angel), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and director Brett Ratner have to share about X-Men 3.

Official synopsis: In X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, the final chapter in the “X-Men” motion picture trilogy, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

Posted in Commentary, Movies •