Gambit: 10 Lessons It Must Learn From X-Men Failures

9. No Political Subtext

The political parallels between mutants and various oppressed real-life groups have been somewhat overstated, in both the comics and X-Men movies. For one thing, it's a little offensive to draw parallels to things like the Civil Rights movement and the struggle of queer people in modern America with duelling opinions of Professor X and Magneto, since they're two crusty old white dudes who wield phenomenal power. It's also started to getting a little tired, despite fun new twists like Days Of Future Past taking the comparison to the Nixon administration. It's getting tired, and it really doesn't suit Gambit as a character. Remy LeBeau is not a character who is designed to carry any sort of heavy political subtext, or really a whole lot of dramatic weight at all: he's a more fancy free, consequences-be-damned sort, owing to his early life as a professional thief and con man. A Gambit film should be more like a caper flick, or else a big silly action film, with everybody being witty and charming and nobody pointing out the similarities with what Martin Luther King, Jr went through.