3. Listen To The Fans (Or Rather, Dont)
If theres one piece of evidence that supports the argument that fans shouldnt be given control over the media they love, its a name: Steven Moffat. Theres a difference between what fans
want and what fans
need. They want their favourites with funky powers and substantial roles. They want nods and references to the original comics and other films and obscure corners of canon. They want Dean and Castiel to hook up. What fans need isnt as simple, easy or clear-cut. They need solid stories, character development and a strong cast first, to feed what they create (what they want) out of the media; fanfiction, graphics, fanvids, articles about the media on dorky websites. Unfortunately, Origins forgot about this and was altogether too generous when as a film, it didnt have what it needed to back it up. Gambit? Sure, well fit him in! Sabretooth? Ok! Vaguely anti-war, anti-government message? Alright! Patrick Stewart? Yep! Deadpool? Um, hell yeah! Theres no reason as to why Gambit is there, or why it had to be Scott Summers who was captured, and we ended up sitting in a theatre thinking three things Why is will.i.am in this movie? 2. Ryan Reynolds as
Deadpool! 3.
Thats Deadpool? People have been asking for a movie about Deadpool for years, but any film focusing on him is going to be exceptionally hard to pull off well. This wasnt the film for it in any way, shape or form. Too late now. In short, just because fans want you to do something, doesnt necessarily mean you should. 2. Repeat Yourself (Or Rather, Dont)
Logan falls in love with a mysterious, intelligent woman with psychic powers. For reasons beyond their control he loses her and thinks her gone forever. At the end she redeems herself to him and dies, with a hell of a lot of collateral damage. Am I talking about Jean or Logans love interest in Origins, Kayla? Sure, details and side characters mean they do play out in different ways, but after three films of a Logan-Jean-Scott love triangle, did we really need another film of Logans-lost-love-is-a-psychic (but-sane-this-time)? Surely the opening montage of Logan and Victor battling their way through 150 years and historys most famous wars could have made an excellent film in its own right, a mediation of the nature of humanity and perhaps proving Magneto right, that humans will always fight and resort to violence? What could that much violence do to a persons psyche? Strykers mutant special Ops team and their actions, Logans realization at how hes turned down a darker path leads him on a quest for redemption where he takes the team on solo, or with Victor? Where an earlier version of the X-Men team assists him? Either way, we get cameos from fan-favourites, characters from other eras of the canon (but we can avoid 1980s-era Dazzler) and avoid repeating a story weve already seen played out, and one that ends in a very similar manner. Noting is worse than sitting in a theatre and watching a much better film pass you by in montage and time skips, in favour of a convoluted love story.