Customer Reviews

X-Men 1-3 Box Set (6 Disc) [DVD]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first saw X-Men I was pretty impressed and held off buying the DVD of it because I was aware a sequel would be made. The thing is thou I was always under the impression that X-Men wasn't a trilogy. It's true that the sequel were only made because the first film was a success right?

So if like me your fairly convinced that the box only says 'Trilogy' on as a sort of vague marketing campaign, you might be pleased to find out that the movies are closer connected than previously thought (at least by me).

'SLIGHT SPOILERS'

For people who've enjoyed the first XMEN movie, its good to hear the DVD version included is an uncut version... well sort of. Actually the truth is you can watch the film with deleted scenes cut back in. This means that unlike famous re-cuts such as Apocalypse Now REDUX or Blade Runner, the film isn't a new version. Its the same, except frequently a short scene will play through. Needless to say it isn't seamless, the added clips often mean you'll have to watch parts of the film twice not a lot of the film, but its noticeable), also the new scenes are darker than the rest of the film and some special effects don't look quite up to standard.
This is all fine, you can still view the film without these scenes, but by doing to you find out so interesting stuff, that had it been left in, would have made the three films more of a Trilogy (!) rather than just a set of films. For example, in one deleted scene Rouge (a mutant character who can't touch other people's skin without harming them) asks if the professor can cure her. This scene is cut, however, it's interesting to keep in mind that Rouge does eventually opt to be cured in the 3rd film. Its a real shame that this scene and other examples like it aren't left in the film.

As special features go, its really the deleted scenes on all three DVDs that makes them. Each film comes with a 2nd disk (making 6 in total) telling you more about the film's production. I was fairly disappointed with the first features disk with XMEN, as I knew the film inside out from renting and seeing it on TV I was a little annoyed that the special features are pretty 'bear bones' mostly filmed on bog standard hand held cameras with not great sound, inter-cut with interviews with the actors that pop up again on part of the special features of XMEN2 and 3.

The features get hugely better with the 2nd film, telling you more about the comic book that the films are based on as well as deleted scenes and much more in-depth documentaries on production. There is a certain honesty about the interviews, but its not with out its shameless promotion: 'this movie is great'. The features don't offer much on the films other than how they were made. YES, these films are all widely well received, but its also well known that actress Hallie Berry and director of the first 2 movies Bryan Singer are not good friends. Their rocky relationship about the structure of Berry's character 'Storm' is undocumented, and you can see where the argument stems from as XMEN's (XMEN One) deleted scene are majority scene with Storm in.
Another character left on the floor in a large way is Cyclopes, whose relationship with Wolverine is much stronger when uncut.

But this is the big cribbed with XMEN, especially the third film, there are piles of characters, and the truth is you really need to be involved with the story by the time you get the 3rd, and to a lesser extent to 2nd, film.

CONCLUSION
This set is perfect for fans who've been holding off buying the DVDs until now, the films are great and the special features are above par for the most part excluding the rather dull first disk. However, and this is important! The audio commentary of XMEN3 has writers and director both mentioning an upcoming director's cut 'in five years'.

To be honest with you the manor this is mentioned in isn't entirely serious, and I wouldn't be surprised if I were a mean joke. But it is true that two more XMEN movies are planned, so if your a purest you may want to stay away. But for under £20 (or £12 at HMV >_>) its a bargain for any movie fan.

I bought the X-Men trilogy on Blu-Ray after reading a review which gave it one star. The reviewer stated that a good upscaled DVD would be about the same quality. Not true. I also have the trilogy on DVD.
I have watched all three films and the transfers are nothing short of X-cellent (forgive me ;-). The pictures are pin sharp and the DTS Master Audio soundtrack is top notch.
My favourite of the three films is X-Men 2. The opening action scene looks the business, the best of all of the super hero genre of films in my humble opinion.
I have yet to watch the bonus features discs. The box set i purchased has 3 of them.
I consider this box set to be great value for money and a must for all action hero fans.

Firstly, the films. The first X-Men has often been credited with reviving the superhero genre which hadn't been seen properly since the 80s and early 90s, courtesy of the Richard Donner/Richard Lester 'Superman' films and Tim Burton's 'Batman' films. Some say Blade is the reason we now see at least one superhero film released each year, but really Blade wasn't mainstream enough due to its higher rating (despite being an extremely entertaining film). No, if you trace it back, the first of the mainstream superhero films of this generation was probably X-Men. And it's definitely a quality film, focusing largely on character and setting up the motivations, relationships and tensions of the main characters, with a decent (but not great) collection of action sequences. As a story it works very well, and as an intro to the series it's one of the better ones around, but you get the distinct feeling something more is coming.

X-Men 2 (or X2 as it was marketed) delivers on the promise of the original. Without sacrificing story or character development, it adds stunning action and some great twists into what was at the time one of the best superhero films ever made. In fact, until The Dark Knight was released, it was difficult for me to decide which was the best superhero film: Spider-Man 2 or X-Men 2. Really, this film does have it all.

X-Men: The Last Stand is generally regarded as disappointing by many of the fans, but I think the criticism is a bit exaggerated. I agree, it's certainly not as good as what came before it. However, there's enough action and comedy on show to engage, even if The Dark Phoenix Saga isn't given enough time to be developed properly. That really is the main problem with the film; action is successful at the expense of the story. What you get is a genuinely entertaining film, but by comparison with the first two it's simply not as rewarding an experience.

Now the Blu-ray treatment. First, I watch my blu-ray films on a 42" Sony Bravia full HD 1080p TV, and use an extremely hefty surround sound kit. Both get a good workout from these films! The video quality is stunning (despite what the releases from other regions might look like), and the sound is just amazing, particularly in the sequence in X2 with Storm vs. the jet fighters.

Also, unlike some other hi-def releases, the extras aren't just direct copies from the old special edition dvds. Even though the extras on the previous 6-disc special edition box set were impressive, these go a step further by containing a good load of blu-ray exclusive special features, such as picture-in-picture features, which are particularly entertaining.

If you don't own the films at all, this is definitely the version to buy. If you own them on DVD as I did, this is definitely worth the upgrade. At £34.99 from most retailers and probably cheaper if you shop around, it's one of the best blu-ray deals around in terms of value for money.

Great entertainment in great quality. Highly recommended.

I won't bother reviewing the film u should prob know by now what there about!!!!
X Men - PQ is ok, it has a tad bit of grain on it & some of the f/x is getting old. Is an ok transfer but not as '3d' as u would expect 3/5 AQ is much improved with greater sense of involvement without being harsh 4/5
X2 - PQ again is just ok more or less the same as X1 3/5 AQ is again much improved with greater sense of depth with more use of surrounds.
The Last Stand - PQ is best looking of the bunch, but some dodgy cgi shows a lot more than on std DVD 4/5 AQ Brilliant, again best of bunch & as it is 6.1, sound transitions a lot better.

All in all a def upgrade on the DVD versions, but not as great as I hoped!!!

The visuals on the first film are breath-taking. We first meet the famous Wolverine at a bar cage-fighting, being carefully watched by a teenage runaway, Rogue. Under the hard-core image of Wolverine, their appears to be a soft side to him when he is with Rogue. When the villan Magneto, who turns into an aly in the second film, kidnaps Rogue, Wolverine, Xavier and the team go out to look for her. If your a fan of Rogue or turn into one, at the end you get a scare. All-in-all, this movie is really good. With the movie's success the well-known actors, such as child-star Anna Paquin, Aussie Hugh Jackman, the beautiful Halle Berry and Star-Trek's Patrick Stuart, in this will have a long career ahead of them.

X Men United (X2)surpassed the first one. There are a lot of cool special effects, new characters, and the story line is very good. You should buy this movie. By the way, pay attention to Wolverine and Pyro. He has a serious attitude problem.

And now for Part 3, well it may be the Last Stand but apparently the spinoffs regarding Magneto,and Wolverine are still in the offing.Much maligned by critics but the expectations were high too. I personally loved it.
The extras are the best bit of the X Men DVDs and the character profiles save you from browsing the Net or looking for some dusty Marvel mag.Recommended at all costs.

A Brilliant end to the X-men triology. Action packed with thrilling fight sequences. Excellent performances from all the cast. The Addition of the new characters was sensational and very effective. A very exciting MUST see film!!

I went to see this yesterday, after very nearly missing it at the cinema. I'd read all the reviews saying "shallow", "big on effects, lo on plot and drama", so I thought I'd give it a miss rather than be disappointed after the excellent X-Men 2. All I can say is, what are all the reviews talking about? Honestly, what do they expect? The plot continues directly on from the previous film, all the same actors reprise their rolls and no-one does anything out of character. Basically, this felt like Brian Singer's film. He'd done such superb groundwork, his friend Brett Ratner just had to finished the job off. The story completes itself with aplomb. The ending is heartstopping and if you liked the previous films I'm sure you'll love it. Ok, so maybe it's not like the comics, but it's NOT a comic, it's a movie. And as such, I can't wait to see it again!

This Blu Ray trilogy has the audio track in castilian spanish too in 5.1 Dolby. Also all the extras have subtitles in spanish. The three films have a German audio track in 5.1 Dolby, and a tru HD english audio track.

About the story: The first film is fantastic, the second one isnot as good as the first but it's also a good film, and the third film is great. The story is like the classic comic books of the X-Men. A very interesting title to enjoy the full High Definition. This box set collection have a lot of extra features. It's a six Blu Ray collection (3 for the films and extras, and another3 Blu Rays for more extras of each film).

Amazing special effects. Highly recomended for a full HD television.

I watched the previous two movies in the "X-men" series, but I almost didn't watch this one. The reason is simple: pretty much all the reviews I read said it was awful. I should have known better than to pay too much attention to them!

I ended up going to watch "X-Men - The Last Stand" this morning, because my sister wanted to see it. I had a very welcomed surprise. This movie is probably the best in the series, at least so far. Of course, you shouldn't expect too much: this is a movie designed merely for entertainment purposes, and it is quite far from being a classic or anything similar to that. That having been said, it engages the audience easily, and it entertains.

This movie doesn't pretend to be more than what it is: a blockbuster with lots of action and not too much character development. However, that is all right in my book, at least in some of the films I watch. Yes, "X-Men - The Last Stand" could have been better, but it is nonetheless a film you will probably like, specially if you are already a fan of the series.

The inspiration for the plot is taken from the "X-men" comics, even though the story has been substantially modified. In a nutshell, a cure to treat mutations has been found, and mutants react differently to that discovery. The Brotherhood, a group of mutants whose leader is Magneto (Ian McKellen), plans to destroy the cure. The X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), think that every mutant should be able to choose without pressures whether to remain one or not.

There is also a secondary plot: Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), an X-Men that died in the second film of the series in order to save her teammates, is reborn, but as someone different, more powerful, and much more dangerous.

On the whole, I think that you will like this film a lot, if you are already a fan of the series. It is more of the same, only a little better. In case you haven't watched the previous movies, give them a try before watching "X-Men - The Last Stand", because then you will understand better what is happening in this film. Of course, recommended :)

Belen Alcat

PS1: Don't leave the cinema as soon as the movie finishes, as there is a little and very surprising scene just after the credits finish rolling up. You will have to wait a few extra minutes, but believe me, it is worth it!

PS2: There are new additions to the X-men, the most noteworthy being Beast, that is Dr. Hank Mcoy (played by Kelsey Grammer).

Enough said. Whether you like X-Men or not, these movies deserve a chance and you'll probably end up enjoying the trilogy. Great direction, very good screenplay, ensemble of fine and renown actors, and compelling story that makes you wanna see it till the end.