Roger Ebert thinks that Storm is really the top mutant. I have to disagree, if only because Halle Berry’s character can’t produce a funny one-liner to save her life. (Remember her horrible delivery of the “toad” line in the first movie?) If Buffy has any legacy at all, it’s that superheroes should always dispatch their foes with a witty pun.
robert
May 19, 2003 — 10:54 am
Sadly enough, Joss Whedon actually admits that he wrote that line. you’re right, it was possibly the worst bit in the film.
and sorry, roger, the top mutant would have to be jean grey. no doubt about it. 🙂
brigita
May 19, 2003 — 1:57 pm
i remember that line sticking out like some sort of sore, out-of-place thumb. was it supposed to be funny? or punny? or some reference to an arcane old wives tale? it was totally lost on me, and i i’m always down for a good/bad pun.
good thing for The Mister. 😉
Kris
May 19, 2003 — 2:45 pm
Oh right! I think I read an interview with Joss where he talked about it. Basically, he said that he meant it to be said as kind of an off-the-cuff, sorta funny thing. (Like when Wolverine says, “You’re a dick.”) Instead Halle had to make it all overly dramatic and ponderous. Plus she has really bad timing.
I’m just not a Halle fan. I think she’s beautiful and I’m willing to admit that she’s a decent actress (in the right role), but I can’t get over the fact that her whole “career resurgence” in the past couple of years was kickstarted by her agreeing to get her tits out in Swordfish. I just don’t see a lot of artistic integrity there.
Stairs
May 19, 2003 — 6:59 pm
I suppose not, but it is the appeal that it has to the greater, general audience that governs the effect of things like that, which is a shame. I am greatly relieved to hear that I was not the only one who cringed at the lameness of the toad line, but do see how it could have been used effectively, when contextualised by Joss W.
Anyhow, every X-Men geek knows that (spoiler – highlight to read) Jean Grey is the most powerful, but that her power is yet to be discovered, we saw hints of it in X2 as she shows signs of her novel transformation into the Phoenix, hence the firey halo and eyes. They could make it a great story arc if they don’t go all bizarre on us.
Jenny
May 20, 2003 — 3:25 pm
All that said, we can’t expect everything to measure up to Buffy. In fact, *sigh* not much will. I’m wearing all black tomorrow.
How long is mourning?
Stairs
May 21, 2003 — 2:43 am
If you went to my old school, 102 years. We went in to mourning at the death of Queen Victoria, the uniform changed colour to black accent, and hasn’t come out of it yet.
Sounds just about appropriate for Buffy…