Closet Christians

Superman Returns

Rating: 5 out of 5
Directed by Bryan Singer
Starring: Brandon
Routh [Clark Kent/Superman], Kate Bosworth [Lois Lane], Kevin Spacey
[Lex Luthor], James Marsden [Richard White], Parker Posey [Kitty
Kowalski], Frank Langella [Perry White], Sam Huntington [Jimmy Olsen],
Eva Marie Saint [Martha Kent], Marlon Brando [Jor-El], Kal Penn
[Stanford], Tristan Lake Leabu [Jason White]
Viewed on the big screen

Yeah! This is how it’s done, baby!

Superman Returns is a well-made, well-thought out film. And I say this because the whole movie screams it! I stated ten reasons why I thought this film will fly and at the end of that entry I said, "I know I won’t be let down!" And I wasn’t!

It
is such a moving, dramatic experience. It is an intense, thrilling
superhero flick. It is a good story treated well, executed well and
told well. People who would want to make (or even those who would even
want to think about making) superhero movies should take certain cues
from what Bryan Singer and his team did in Superman Returns (SR).

They paid attention to character dynamics. Superman (Brandon Routh) is really emotionally conflicted in this movie and it makes him much more "human". His relationship with Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth)
is much more profound and deepened. In fact their romantic tension
anchors the film emotionally. You will really feel something when
watching this movie — Superman’s heartache (when Lois tells Richard
White she wasn’t in love with the Man of Steel), disappointment
(finding out that there were no other survivors from Krypton), pain
(getting beat up and stabbed by a Krypto-knife [coined that myself. hehehe]),
pride (when he was speaking to Lois’ sleeping son toward the end of the
film [no spoilers here!]). The dramatic richness of this film alone
makes it worth watching!

They paid attention to smart action
sequences. The production team of SR really did cool things with
Superman’s powers and they worked than into the action scenes really
well. There was more panache and speed in his flight (I love the scene
where he does a 180-degree turn while flying parallel to the ground)
and more varied uses of his other capabilities. As for the set pieces,
the airplane/space-shuttle sequence was spectacular, followed closely
by the lifting of the crystal landmass.

They paid attention to
the relevance continuity. This key in any sequel. Most glaring of all
is the main title sequence — the flying names, the original Superman
score, the traveling through space as a background. I was gushing like
a kid set loose in a candy store. I was like, "Wow! Good job, Bryan!
Good job!" The others were the tiny details like Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey)
still being a wig-wearer, Lois still being spelling-challenged ("How
many Fs are there in ‘catastrophic’?" or something like that), and
Superman still endorsing air travel as "statistically still the safest
way to travel." It’s bits and pieces of the first two Superman films
strategically placed here and there that made SR such a treat for those
who’ve seen its predecessors. I loved it when Kitty Kowalski says, "You
act like you’ve been here before." To which Lex just roll his eyes
slyly as if to say, "Woman, you have no idea how many times I’ve been
here before!"

They paid attention to the importance of drama and
letting audiences take it in. Perhaps a little too much attention as
the film does drag on a bit. But no biggie. It actually makes the film
more haunting, more poignant. When Lois and Superman have their
conversations you are given time to "feel" the moment with them. When
Superman gets his ass whooped by four big guys you are also given time
to "feel" his behind get kicked. There are a lot of moments that let
you truly get involved with what’s going on that it’s not hard to get
anxious about Supes saving a plane, or to get lovestruck when Supes
takes Lois for a night time flight, or to get sentimental each and
every time Supes says, "Goodbye Lois!" [Crap! Now I'm getting
sentimental! hahaha XD]

They paid attention to good
storytelling. Supes was gone for five years. His absence was explained
well. Lois had a child and now has "man" in her life. That was
explained well too. How his departure affected the planet and how his
return impacted those around him was explored and given due exposition.
No plot holes. No cop outs. Bryan has always been a good storyteller
and he tells a good story in SR.

They paid attention to the
significance of pleasing the audio-visual senses. The explosion of the
red Krypton sun and subsequently the planet itself was just so
beautifully done. Using John Williams’s Superman March as the
base musical score was genius. The texture and other details of
Superman’s costume was impressive. Certain camera shots and scenes were
very outstanding like the closeups of Superman from flight to pause.
There’s plenty in SR to please the senses.

They paid attention
to good casting. Brandon Routh was just so perfect for the role. It
wasn’t difficult believing him as Superman/Clark Kent, even with the
huge shadow of Christopher Reeve cast upon him. He actually did a good
job. There was a subtlety in his acting that ironically made his
portrayal of Supes really strong and convincing. I knew there had to be
a good reason for Bryan’s decision to cast Routh. And I believe that
was it. Kevin Spacey was also fun to watch as Lex Luthor. As I
previously said, there is no better actor more suited to play this bad
guy than Kevin. I am more convinced now after watching his performance.
Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane was also a good casting decision.

Superman
Returns got me engaged with its story. It got me excited about its
characters. It made me use my thinking tools. It pleased my senses of
sight and sound. It gave me the "you-have-to-watch-this-again" vibe. It
was certainly worth my 110 pesos. And it is definitely one of the best
films for 2006 for me.

Shopgirl

Rating: 4 out of 5
Directed by Anand Tucker
Starring: Steve
Martin [Ray Porter], Claire Danes [Mirabelle Buttersfield], Jason
Schwartzman [Jeremy Kraft], Bridgette Wilson-Sampras [Lisa Cramer], Sam
Bottoms [Dan Buttersfield], Frances Conroy [Catherine Buttersfield]
Viewed on DVD

It
kinda drags on at first. Slow moving. Talky. Seemingly incongruous…
everything. It plays out like a boring love story you’ve already (and
many times) seen before. It had it all: the lackluster opening, the
somber narration, the plain-looking lead character. Shopgirl
paled in comparison to the action film I had earlier view (The
Chronicles of Riddick) and I thought it would put me to sleep in no
time.

Wrong!

As the film starts to unravel, you get to appreciate how carefully crafted this story is. A (lonely) young woman (Claire Danes),
who works as a counter girl at the glove department of Saks Fifth
Avenue, longs for love and tries to find it in a young man (Jason Schwartzman), who’s as romantically inept as he is conversationally challenged. Then enters an older man (Steve Martin), who’s so refined and so suave that he just comes and sweeps Mirabelle off her high-heeled feet.

Here
the story becomes interesting. We get to see how different the two men
are in their approach in trying to have a relationship with Mirabelle.
One seems to succeed over the other, but that’s what the creators of
the film want viewers to think. We also get to see how different
Mirabelle’s responses are to both men. They’re showing the familiar
aspect of the "typical" love story only to turn it on its head towards
the later part of the film.

I enjoyed this movie because of how
beautifully everything played out: the characters were brilliantly
developed, the relationships between the three leads were resolved, and
the life and love lessons are just so abundant (nice guys finish last
after all! hehehe)

There’s also something different (and refreshing) about director Anand Tucker’s
style — must be his camera movements. I liked the opening sequence
where everything zooms in on Claire Danes standing behind her counter.
It sort of singles out the character of Mirabelle and gives the feel of
how lonely she is. That worked. Another shot that worked was the first
time Mirabelle is shown going to sleep on her bed. It starts out with
the camera looking down on her, slowly pulling up and away until her
room becomes smaller and smaller and eventually turns into one of the
stars in the night sky, which then becomes the early morning sky as the
camera pans back down on Mirabelle’s apartment. Really lovely. Stylish.
Very stylish.

In terms of acting, I think all three leads did a
fine job. I kinda liked the formal, non-comedic Steve Martin here. It’s
not often he does characters (and films) like these, so I cherished his
presence in this film (which by the way is based on his novella).
Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman are also admirable here,
particularly Schwartzman whose character goes through a major
"makeover".

It’s not your typical love story (all the way) and
it isn’t a romantic-comedy (though there are funny moments), but I
think this film will find its place in your heart because it is very
endearing and sincere. I hope you guys get to see it. ;o)

Hostel

Rating: 4 out of 5
Directed by Eli Roth
Starring: Jay
Hernandez [Paxton], Derek Richardson [Josh], Eythor Gudjonsson [Oli],
Barbara Nedeljakova [Natalya], Jan Vlasák [The Dutch Businessman], Jana
Kaderabkova [Svetlana], Jennifer Lim [Kana], Rick Hoffman [The American
Client}
Viewed on DVD

I’ve read a few reviews of
this film (including one here in Multiply) and I really became curious.
An officemate, Vic (the same one who lent me Hotel Rwanda), offered to
let me borrow his copy of Hostel.

Okay first off, this
film is not for the queasy and there is little here that one might not
end up dreaming about. There are several disturbing images of pain
infliction throughout the second half of the film. You will see a lot
of blood, body puncturing, body part blow-torching, chainsawing, gun
shooting, throat-slitting and gore. If you can get passed seeing that,
you’ll be fine.

The rest of the film is just about good
storytelling: two Americans and a friend from Iceland are backpacking
across Europe where they are enticed to check out a hostel in
Bratislava that promises to give them a good time with really beautiful
Slovakian women. Of course that was just the cover story and
protagonists Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) soon find themselves in an unimaginable nightmare.

Hostel
does well in telling an interesting story, albeit abhorrent and
unpleasant, and it succeeds in creating fear, tension and suspense. The
actors were also interesting enough to watch, making the film engaging.
I love it when movies do this!

It also gave off a similar vibe to Stefan Ruzowitzky’s Anatomie.

And by the way, director Eli Roth also wrote the script. What does this say about the way his mind works? hehehe

X-Men: The Last Stand — My Last Stand

This is the last of my four-part review of X-Men: The Last Stand. After this, I’ll be totally over it!

I
wanted to watch X3 again last week hoping that I might feel differently
about it, as I so wanted this to be the best X-Men film, and a great
movie on its own.

Thinking back to my initial reaction (which was confused) to Brett Ratner’s
work days and days after seeing it, I realized that there was nothing
to go back to. So why bother spending another hour and 44 minutes at
the movies? I didn’t get satisfied with the story during the first two
screenings I sat through (on the same day). I don’t think viewing it a
third time would change that.

With that said, I’m sticking to my
initial stand: X3 is a good action movie, "fast-paced and not totally
deficient in drama". But with predecessors like Bryan Singer’s X-Men and X2: X-Men United,
The Last Stand falls far short of what everything was leading to. X3
was supposed to be the big payoff of what fans have been waiting for
since X1 came out.

Sure the action in the movie was a big payoff. I had no objections to that. In fact I pointed it out as one of the things that worked well for X3.
However, the way the story — the very promising cure and Phoenix
plot-lines — and the script were handled made it feel more like going
to a bank to cash a check only to have it bounce! No payoff!!! Big time!

The movie already crossed the $200 million mark
in the US box office last weekend. For the first time in my life I
actually felt sad because a film made lots of money, which usually is
an indication that a movie is really, really great. It pains me because
it’s going to make the bosses at 20th Century Fox think that
they can always put out haphazardly made films so long as they make
lots of money with it (I hope I’m wrong). This would give them more
gall to treat their other potentially emotionally engaging summer
releases poorly, the way they did the third X-Men film.

"Why all the fuss? It’s just a movie!"
Well, I’m a movie buff and I’ve seen enough movies in my lifetime to
know when I’ve been had. And with X-Men: The Last Stand I’ve been had!

And that’s my last stand!

Hope for Worriers

As Is

From Our Daily Bread
- - - - -

The
beat-up old car sits on the used-car lot, rusty and forsaken. Years of
abuse and hard driving have taken their toll on the formerly shiny
automobile.

A man walks onto the lot and is attracted to this
rust bucket. He plunks down cash and the salesperson hands over the
keys while saying, "I’m selling you this car ‘as is.’" The new owner
just smiles; he knows his cars, and he’s about to restore the castoff
to its former beauty.

Across town, a troubled woman sits in
forlorn sadness, contemplating where she went wrong. Years of abuse and
hard living have taken their toll on what was once a vibrant young
girl. She’s been mistreated by others so many times that she feels she
had little value anymore. And after making her own mistakes and living
with her own bad choices, she’s sure she will be left on life’s junk
heap forever.

But then someone tells her about Jesus. Someone
mentions that Jesus specializes in castoffs, that He is waiting to
transform anyone who trusts Him — even her. Someone tells her that
Jesus begins to restore another lost person to the abundant life He has
promised. — Dave Branon

- - - - -

The new life in Christ has begun –
The past with its darkness is gone;
Look closer to see what the Savior has done,
For change is beginning to dawn. — Hess

- - - - -

Salvation is not turning over a new leaf, but receiving a new life.

Prayer Works

I got this from an email sent to me by my friend, Frenza. It’s very astute and goes straight for the jugular.
_ _ _ _ _

This
Pastor has guts!! Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given
in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still
upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright
was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was
expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly
Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek
your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to Those who
call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost
our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Amen!"

The
response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the
prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where
Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47
of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving
international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and
Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio
program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to
this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord’s help,
may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our
desire so that we again can be called "one nation Under God."

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. "If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything."
_ _ _ _ _

How’s that for an effective prayer?

X-Men: The Last Stand — The Bad

Rating: 3 out of 5

The third of my four-part review of X-Men: The Last Stand. Ten things I think didn’t work well in the film…

THE PACE
The film moved too fast considering it had a lot of subplots to flesh out. The fast, frenetic, ADD-friendly pace set by Brett Ratner
worked for some parts of the film like when he moved between two action
scenes taking place simultaneously. For example, when the Phoenix and
Professor Xavier have their confrontation in the Grey residence,
Ratner’s interspersion of the melee scene between the X-Men (Storm,
Wolverine) and the Brotherhood (Callisto, Juggernaut, etc.) worked
really well. Also, when he quickly moves from action scene to action
scene, it helps you get the feel of importunateness. And that worked.
However, Ratner takes the audience through the movie so fast there
isn’t even time for a thoughful pause — to reflect, to soak in the
emotions of some scenes, to mourn the deaths, to process the ending.
It’s because of this storytelling speed that I felt the main plot
wasn’t very well fleshed out. The fast pace worked for the action part
of the movie. It didn’t do the same for the dramatic, character moments.

THE PLOT
The
cure. The Phoenix. Either one could actually work as a stand alone plot
for an X-film. Putting both together is quite aggressive. The people
behind X-Men: The Last Stand have been saying in interviews that this
is by far the best story of all three X-films and that it is ambitious.
And after seeing the film I believed what they said was true. It is the
best story so far and plot-wise it is ambitious.The problem, I think,
was that the cure story arc and the Phoenix one wasn’t that well
integrated as the X3 production team might have hoped it would be. I
also felt that the story of the Phoenix wasn’t really given enough time
to develop and flourish into what it was promising to be and it wasn’t
given a thorough and satisfying resolution. Such a waste. There were a
lot of things they could have mined from that rich storyline. It’s most
definitely unforgivable.

THE SCRIPT
This one is a
hit and miss (more of the latter, actually). XMTLS has some good
writing (Magneto’s speeches, Beast defending mutants who might consider
taking the cure after Storm calls them cowards) and great lines (Xavier
to Storm: "You of all people should know how fast the weather can
change"; Mystyque to interrogator: "I don’t answer to my slave name!")
that were sadly overshadowed by campy cliches (the dialogue between the
Phoenix and Logan in the final battle) and weak storytelling. There are
some dialogue that feels forced, some lines that are just down-right
cheesy, and some that are completely unnecessary. I’m tempted to blame
this on Simon Kinberg (who wrote "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", which had great action but a weak story), but I can’t totally exonerate Zak Penn. They both contributed to the script.

THE MONOLOGUE
Or the absence thereof. The opening monologue delivered by Patrick Stewart
as Professor Xavier was a trademark kick-off for the previous two
X-films. That and the main titles sequence set the tone of the films
and gave the audience an idea — and clues (in the visuals of the
opening credits) — of what was to come in the movie. Having no
monologue in X3, for me, was a bad idea. It was the film’s first
noticeable difference from X1 and X2. It would have added to the
continuity between three films. The monologue in the teaser trailer
might have worked. I wonder why they didn’t polish and use that.

THE LENGTH
An
hour and 43 minutes (or something like it). This just wasn’t enough
time to smoothly detail the stories within the story and to establish
the many characters in the film. There wasn’t enough room for thorough
exposition. It may have worked for other movies with fewer players and
a less hefty plot. But with the amount of details, characters and
action in X3, 103 minutes just doesn’t really quite cover it.

THE CONTINUITY ISSUE
When
all three films are watched together, X3 will definitely stand as the
odd one out, not just for its plethoric action scenes but mainly
because the feel and quality of X3 is blatantly disparate from X1 and
X2. The continuity between the three ended with the shift of overall
tone in X3. Bryan Singer’s films were a bit toned down, whereas
Ratner’s version is more flamboyant. There was no opening monologue
from Xavier. And on top of that, the Jean Grey/Phoenix continuity is
incongruous.

THE PHOENIX
As previously mentioned, Famke Janssen
kicked ass in her role. But the way her character was written leaves
more questions than answers and wastes what would have been one of the
best performances of an actress in a comic book movie to date (Michelle
Pfeiffer’s Catwoman still holds the title in my book). Zak Penn said he
wanted to reinvent the Phoenix and I think he succeeded in translating
her into film. Instead of the cosmic ties of the character, X3’s
Phoenix is the manifestation of Jean Grey’s raw power that is purely
instinctual, full of rage and totally let loose. She’s also presented
in a way that makes her look schizophrenic — I loved that aspect. But
the writing. Oh, the writing. A few more (meaningful) lines here and
there would have really launched her into greatness. It just wasn’t up
to par to what Singer and company did in X1 and X2. Everything about
her that’s been set up is all thrown out of the window. There just
doesn’t seem to be a connection to the previous films (except maybe
flashes of Jean being flushed by Alkali Lake). It’s terribly glaring
and that just bites me. So, regretfully, instead of heating up the
screen, the Phoenix just fizzled out.

THE ENDING
The
ending also whisks right on by. Denouement-schmenouement! It was a
hodge-podge of scenes that, again because of the hurried pace, just
didn’t stay with you emotionally. To sort of borrow Logan’s line in X1:
"You call that an ending?" The Last Stand is supposed to bring closure
to the "trilogy", tie up loose ends, conclude certain story arcs. It
didn’t feel that way to me for the most part. In some parts, the
conclusions didn’t even seem logical. As part of the X-Men trilogy, TLS
left too many questions unanswered and too many loose ends (and I don’t
mean the sequel set-ups).

CYCLOPS
I had no beef with
Cyclops getting killed. It was how it was done that baffled me. What
did he do to deserve it? There wasn’t enough reason in the film to
merit Scott’s demolecularization (or whatever) in the first act of X3.
Cyclops may have always been a side dish in the X-films, but at least
in Singer’s movies the character was put to good use. Killing him
without justification just doesn’t seem right to me. He should have
been the one reaching out to Jean at the end of X3 since he obviously
had more going on emotionally with her. Jean’s thing with Logan was
nothing more than a flirtation. But hey! It’s not my movie.

ROGUE
I
wanted her to change her mind and not take the cure and show up in the
final battle kicking ass. That was not the case in X3. And I am
actually fine with that. But the way it was done and the way it was
written doesn’t work so well in the film. Sure, her motivations were
there but they weren’t played out to a really satisfying level. Her arc
could have really been quite gripping.

X-Men: The Last Stand — The Good

Rating: 3 out of 5

The second of what I think will be a four-part review of X-Men: The Last Stand. Pointing out the 10 things that I think worked for the film…

THE ACTION
The
movie captured the action-packed essence of the X-Men and gave a better
visual presentation of what the mutants can do when they maximize their
abilities. In this aspect, X-Men: The Last Stand excels. Cool action
sequences like the fastball special, Storm’s spin cycle, the
confrontation between the Phoenix and Professor X, the dis-articulation
of the Golden Gate Bridge and the final battle on Alcatraz Island make
the motion in this picture very dynamic. Brett Ratner did a good job
action-wise.

THE SOUNDTRACK
Music always plays an
important part in movies. The right score can heighten the emotions of
a scene. The wrong one can send mixed signals to the audience. John
Powell’s score for X3 is actually quite appropriate for the film. His
opening titles theme, I feel, really set the right tone for this
sequel. I felt the tension, the drama and the sense of urgency of the
story through Powell’s music.

THE SPECIAL EFFECTS

This
is another area of excellence for XMTLS. Definitely superior to the
first two X-films, the visual effects here are very satisfying. From
the individual display of powers from each mutant to the jaw-dropping
bridge sequence that topped all the action sequences in the world so
far (imo), Ratner and company succeeded.

THE VISUAL CONTINUITY
The
production team behind X3 managed to retain the look of the already
established world of the X-Men in the movies. The costumes looked the
same. The mansion and the basement looked the same. The X-Jet looked
the same. Ratner even took some specific camera shots right out of X1
and X2 and incorporated them in the film. The med-lab scene with Jean
and Logan was a reversal of sorts of the med-lab scene in the first
film. Magneto playing chess at the end of X3 is also like in the ending
of X1. There are quite a lot of visual links, winks and nods to the
previous films.

THE OVERALL LOOK
Visually, X3 looks
good. It had a certain degree of class in style and production design.
Together combined, the action, the effects and the actors make this
film a feast for the eyes.

THE CURE
As I mentioned in
my first review of XMTLS, I thought the idea of a cure for mutancy was
a brilliant plot device. It is an issue that really affects every
mutant in the story, and it poses some tough ethical and moral
questions. For mutants like Storm and Professor X whose powers aren’t
immediately obvious, the cure may not be a welcome idea and the thought
of it might be offensive, even insulting. But for mutants like Rogue,
whose mutation has made her unable to touch others, and Beast, whose
evolution is physically and unmistakable manifested, the idea of a cure
may make them look at life a lot brighter as an opportunity of being
able to live a “normal” life is finally made available.

FAMKE JANSSEN
She
is great in this movie. Her character? Not so much (will discuss in a
follow-up review). Famke Janssen did a terrific job as the conflicted,
sort of schizophrenic Jean Grey/Phoenix. She made the most of what was
given to her to work with. I think she pretty much conveyed the version
of the Phoenix that was written for the film. You gotta love her. In
one scene she switches from cool and collected to smoldering temptress
to sarcastic bitch to disoriented and confused to desperately
distressed to angry and stringently evil. I found her emotional
transformations in this scene amazing. She also potently delivers the
rage of the Phoenix in the confrontation scene with Xavier.

IAN MCKELLEN/MAGNETO
Both
the actor and the character are of note in XMTLS. Magneto is much more
intense here and this time he lets his action speak louder than his
words. He suffers great losses in the story but like the militant that
he is, he puts his cause before him and carries on his mission without
batting an eyelash. That’s a villain for you. I felt Sir Ian McKellen
upped his portrayal of the metal manipulating megalomaniac as evidence
by the intensity of Magneto’s words and the extremity of his deeds –
you don’t uproot bridges like that everyday, don’t you? I particularly
enjoyed him in the scene at Jean’s house where he and Xavier were
bickering in front of the Phoenix. His naughty and playful delivery of
the line “He does” is such a treat to watch, even if it was but a brief
moment.

AARON STANFORD/PYRO
Now that Pyro finally
chose a side and stood by Magneto, we get to see Aaron Stanford’s
character develop and be the badass he was building up to be by the end
of X2. Pyro is one of the better written characters in X3 and Aaron
looked like he had fun playing him based on how much gusto he brought
to the role. His rapport with Sir Ian was evidenced by how well Pyro
related to Magneto on screen.

KELSEY GRAMMER/BEAST
One
of the new additions to the cast, Kelsey Grammer, I think, brought a
lot to the character of Beast. Another better-written character, Hank
McCoy is smack in the middle of the plot being the Secretary of Mutant
Affairs and a once full-time member of the X-Men. I felt Kelsey really
nailed the part. He exuded the smarts, the diplomacy, the aura and the
overall bearing of Beast. His part in the film, though almost minimal,
is integral and in the end he shelves his diplomacy for a more direct
approach to problem solving.