X-Men : Le commencement

Michael Fassbender mène la danse et James McAvoy ainsi que January Jones sont à la traîne. Le volet le plus fun et le plus dynamique de toute la série. (24/07/2011)

Ne vous laissez pas tromper par les évaluations élevées. Vaughn ne continue pas là où Bryan Singer s'est arrêté, il est plus proche de la trilogie de Ratner. Cependant, ce qui distingue Vaughn de Ratner, c'est l'équilibre entre l'enfance et la maturité de la narration (les deux sont présents, Ratner était seulement enfantin), beaucoup plus de personnages et un rythme beaucoup plus rapide (dans un mode normal, le film durerait trois heures) et beaucoup beaucoup plus d'action épique over-the-top, qui ne semble jamais débordée ou surpayée. La poussée vers les paramètres du spectacle coloré et attrayant pour les yeux, qui conquiert même les adolescents (pour qui les œuvres de Singer étaient inutilement psychologiques), confirme et allège le fait que la meilleure scène d'un film bourré d'action est l'apparition de quelques secondes de "go-fuck-yourself!" de Hugh Jackman, affalé dans un bar gris et enfumé. Les créateurs prouvent par cela qu'ils ne mènent pas la narration dans cette nouvelle direction simplement parce qu'ils ne sauraient pas la gérer dans le style de Singer, mais parce qu'ils savent qu'ils peuvent mener cette direction pop à la "perfection" et ainsi satisfaire un large public mieux que quiconque avant eux. Parmi les acteurs, Michael Fassbender est clairement en tête et pourrait être le nouveau Ethan Hunt ou James Bond (la deuxième meilleure scène du film, également dans un bar, est celle de Fassbender en Argentine), et Kevin Bacon joue très bien le méchant. James McAvoy est moyen en tant que Charles Xavier, ce qui est un peu décevant. Le reste du casting est juste moyen, bien que la pléthore de mini-rôles iconiques de second rôle d'acteurs cultes procure plus de plaisir (Platt, Ironside...). (01/06/2011)

Phenomenal! Vaughn brings the series back to where it originally started. As a comic book movie that uses its brain where others flex their muscles, it doesn't for a moment compromise on the audience-appealing spectacle, which doesn't lack wit, exaggeration, and... action. It is mature in its acting, plot, and direction, with no dead spots or lapses in pace. I’ll have more to say (hopefully) after the second viewing. Now I am just reveling in the memories of a film that was satisfying in every way. PS: There is nothing for me to add the second time either. Except that Fassbender rules like nobody’s business. Perfect in every detail. (02/06/2011)

Somehow I can’t bring myself to give this movie five stars, mainly because I’ve never been exactly fond of X-Men. The movies were great, but I never thought, like with Watchmen, that they were perfect and that I would devour every movie that had the word X-Men in the title. Anyway, I don’t mind X-men and that was also the reason why I gave this movie a go. However, I must say that this film is probably the best thing that could have happened to the franchise, because in addition to great actors, it features an absolutely perfect story, which, if you do not know the source material, you do not know how it will develop in the next moments. And that it will eventually develop differently than is customary in American films? That’s the icing on the cake. If I said a moment ago that actors were great, then I need to repeat that because they were truly divine. That goes for probably everyone who appears in the film, and there are a lot of characters. For example, the one-minute cameo of Hugh Jackman is totally great. The same goes for the special effects. I felt a bit sorry that X-Men weren’t closer to my heart. But if another film is made, which could easily happen, I will think about going to see it at the cinema. It seems that I’ve grown fond of X-Men after all. (29/12/2012)

A fun blockbuster, but Singer’s X-Men are still better. Those two hours went very fast and I certainly wasn’t bored, but after the excellent reviews and trailers, I can’t help but feel mildly disappointed. It’s just too shallow and straightforward, played only for effect (so many dramatic looks!) and without any depth. There are some very silly moments (for instance, when Eric moves the big satellite), though fortunately, they are outnumbered by the cool ones. But even in the strongest moments I had the feeling that it could be more polished (Eric agitated in the concentration camp, Shaw’s attack on the CIA, the flying submarine), and the number of scenes of the type “the characters stand stiff waiting for something to happen, and when something does happen, they start moving on command” was above the tolerable limit. I didn’t leave the cinema with negative feelings, though – the last half hour is quite bombastic – but I still feel that it could have been better. PS: The most surprising thing today was the rosy hell of the trailer for The Magical Duvet. Someone must have thought it has the same target audience. :-) (02/06/2011)