If it wasn't already clear, then the absence of nuance in the X-Men film casts are quite a problem. Wolverine is the only three-dimensional character in the franchise, and that's because he's had more screen time than anyone else; Ian McKellen has elevated Magneto into being one of the more intriguing screen "villains" of our time, and Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy can't help but make Charles Xavier more interesting than his do-gooder nature suggests. Everyone else is either a total bore (the rest of the X-Men) or a ridiculous pantomime villain (every bad guy thus far). Gambit isn't really any of those things. He's a little sleazy, a little difficult to trust, with the confidence of a thief and the sly charm of a scammer. He's not wholly evil or wholly good, but his motivations are also strikingly different to Magneto. He's a different type of character, which means that the X-Men filmmakers haven't got a track record with his sort before. Here's hoping he won't be reduced to a stereotypical creep with a silly voice. Like he usually is.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
