vfX: Making of X-Men First Class

Did you thoroughly enjoy the visual effects (VFX) of X-Men First Class? And would you believe if I told you that the VFX was rushed due to the short production time allotted by Fox for the movie? Well, we can all thank the movie's supervising VFX Designer, the legendary John Dykstra, who was also responsible for the VFX of the ULTRA EPIC Star Wars, for executing the effects in style!

UPDATE (15/12): X-Men First Class is now being considered for nominations in an Oscar category for VFX! PLUS a nomination from the Screen Actors Guild for the stunt team! AND check out the pre-visualization for an unfilmed scene for XFC! Scroll down for more...

XFC contains over 1000 visual effects shots all created with the help of several leading effects studios: Rhythm & Hues, Cinesite, Luma Pictures, Digital Domain, MPC & Weta Digital, all coordinated by Dykstra himself.

The following are the effects shots they were responsible for...

Rhythm & Hues: Emma Frost, Mystique & Angel as well as set extensions and environments at the Lincoln Memorial, the X-Jet hangar and a CIA facility.

^These last two images are Emma Frost concept art made for the movie

^This is one of the many concept art images for Angel

Cinesite: Azazel, Cerebro & environment effects (eg. Soviet Red Square parade)

Luma: Banshee, Havok & Darwin

MPC: Beast, Riptide & yacht destruction

Digital Domain: Sebastian Shaw

Method Studios: Havok’s training scene, sequence where Erik & Charles meet Angel for the first time at the Hellfire Club.

Weta Digital: Final Battle (around 350 shots in total)

Now I was gonna provide brief descriptions of how the effects were created, but FXGuide has an in-depth (read: lengthy :P) article detailing the same! So, hope you enjoy reading it whether you are from the Animation/VFX industry or not...

UPDATE (15/12): Below is the pre-vis for XFC for an action scene, created by & using the technology of Xsens, 3D motion tracking experts. You'll notice the very last scenes in this video was enacted in the film...


In other news, X-Men First Class is being considered for an Oscar nomination for Achievement in Visual Effects! It goes head-to-head against 14 other competitors! Just so you know they include ALL the CBMs from 2011 except Green Lantern! The Academy will eliminate 5 of these films in January & from the resulting 10 shortlisted movies will emerge the lucky 5 nominations! The Academy Awards will be presented on Feb 26, 2012...
About GL I think it's a bit sad really, cos in my opinion though the film bombed at the US BO, I thought the VFX was pretty good. And when I watched the movie last week myself, I didn't think it was bad either! In fact, I'll be one of those rare few in this world who'll go ahead & say that I liked it!

Besides being considered for an Oscar nomination, XFC has already been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture! We'll find out whether XFC emerges victorious at the SAG Awards on Jan 29, 2012. Till then I think all we X-fans can only cross our fingers & hope that X-Men First Class gets its deserved rewards! All the best team!

Someone who's already proved his mettle? Michael Fassbender of course! He won the Best Actor Award at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for his work in X-Men First Class, A Dangerous Method, Shame & Jane Eyre! Congrats to the Fass! You truly deserve it!

(Thank you Daniel Reinoso for mentioning this blog post of mine in your article on AETuts+!)

Analyze the VFX of XFC in HD anytime you want at home! Pre-order your Blu-ray &/or DVD today!

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XD I Just Saw X-Men First Class! (Movie Review)

OK so you guys have read all the glowing reviews, all the 4 starred (some 5 starred) ratings & are wondering if it's all too good to be true? Well fear not! It is true. The movie is extremely well executed in more ways than one! Finally a movie that us X-fans have truly deserved!

Let's get the basics out of the way first. The year is 1962, the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Great instability & distrust leads to fears that the World is on the brink of her Third War. But not many know that these chain of events were spurred on by a maniacal mutant called Sebastian Shaw (who can convert energy to radically increase his own strength), the leader of the secret Hellfire Club. He is aided by his right hand woman, Emma Frost (a telepath having additional powers of turning her body to diamond).



The crux of the story is all about the friendship of Charles Xavier & Erik Lensherr, how they meet & how things turn sour between them. To go against Shaw's small but powerful army of Frost, Riptide (who can create all types of winds) & Azazel (a demon-like teleporter), Xavier creates his band of merry mutants consisting of Mystique (our beloved shapeshifter from the original trilogy), Beast (the blue furry mutant with a high IQ), Banshee (with his supersonic scream), Darwin (reactive evolution) & Angel Salvadore (a winged mutant who can projectile a nasty acid vomit!). I won't get into any more details for fear of getting spoilery, so let's get to what makes the movie so great...

Firstly, Matthew Vaughn with his trusty writing partner Jane Goldman have penned a great story. True it isn't at all what the X-Men First Class comic series was, but keeping in mind that they are trying to be true to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as much as to the comics, it's a great adaptaion of the characters.

Unlike X3, this movie has heart, loads of it! Right from the dilemmas of Mystique & Beast, to the entire backstory of Magneto, everything is handled really well! In fact, Magneto is portrayed so well out here by Michael Fassbender that I think he's become my fave character in the movie! Jennifer Lawrence excelled as Mystique- be it her comic timing or emotional scenes. Looking forward to seeing more of her true-blue self in the sequel (which seems inevitable now). James Mcavoy has really given us a fresh new take on the Professor & I was really digging it! Though many accuse her of being wooden, January Jones' Emma is spot on actually cos in the comics she is a cold character, known for switching her loyalties as she pleases. So her "wooden performance" was just what the role called for! The entire cast has done a swell job!



The direction is brilliant! Some really cool shots. I loved the manner in which the XFC emblem is displayed as the movie title for one. And then there were shots that simply gave me the chills- kiddo Magneto unleashing his powers, Xavier's first use of Cerebro, Azazel's main fight scene!

I love that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, something X-Men & X2 lacked in. I delighted in the jokes & enjoyed hearing the cinema hall roar with laughter along with me! Great references to the previous movies. And the cameos?? Yes, yes, Wolverine does make an appearance- which I know many will be happpy with- the gasp emitted from the guy sitting next to me was enough to let me know that. There's another cameo too (another actor from the OG trilogy) & two other character cameos to watch out for...

One thing I relished also was the camaraderie shown between the characters. The actors didn't seem to be "acting" here, it all seemed to come so naturally. Especially when watching the scene where they choose code-names, I felt this sorta thing- the actual friendship & team bonding between the characters was something else lacking from previous X-movies.

^Yup, that's me grinning besides the XFC standee at the cinema after my first encore of the movie! :D I went for XFC thrice in total! LOL

The visual effects? WOW! I was apprehensive about Mystique's transformation when seeing the trailers, but after seeing it on the big screen I can certainly say it's executed well! Ditto for Emma's diamond power. Actually all the powers in fact have been depicted really well. And don't get me started on the sub-lift scene lol! Even scenes that make subtle use of CG look great! My only grouse with it was in one scene, but telling that might give stuff away so I'll keep that for my "tell-all review" I'll be posting maybe a month from now (by that time all of us may have watched the movie twice at least? :P ) so that I don't spoil it for anyone.

The action never seems to be just some mindless explosions & fighting for no rhyme or reason. Each action has a specific reason behind it, & doesn't just seem like a desperate way to just give all the mutants a time to shine & show off with their powers. Quite unlike what we were served with in X3 :P

OK now I may be going a bit too deep in my review here but I felt the costumes deserve a special mention. They really brought on the 60's feel. The suits, jackets, skimpy dresses, sunglasses (loved some really retro ones on some characters!) & how can we forget Emma Frost's wardrobe & the uniforms!  Frost is known for her barely-there apparel in the comics so that's simply a very faithful portrayal of the character (in case any girls thought, 'What the heck is she wearing?!?' lol). The yellow-&-blue uniforms are a fresh change from all that black leather we got used to seeing in X-movies! AND I adored Fassbender's ENTIRE wardrobe! Amazing suits & jackets! The Fass carried off everything in style! Why on earth did Magneto sack his fashion designer when he got older is a real mystery LOL! A mystery that may be answered in the next sequel perhaps? ;P

Bottomline? My rating for it would be 4.5 / 5! Where's the 0.5 go? Well that question will be answered in my tell-all review post of course!

Wanna watch XFC in HD anytime you want at home?? Pre-order your Blu-ray &/or DVD today!

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Xtraordinary! X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

This concludes the Xtraordinary series run wherein I rewinded back the X-Men movies & posted my fave scenes from all of em...Just finished rewatching X-Men Origins: Wolverine & while X3 had many great CG scenes, however ineffective they may have been in the whole scheme of things, I just didn't really find a scene in X-Men Origins: Wolverine that REALLY excited me!

Probably because the story itself is so mutated- the Origins have been changed A LOT compared to what they were in the comics & characters have been thrown in just to keep the fans happy (when in fact, it resulted in quite the opposite)!

Anyways it's not like the movie didn't have it's moments AT ALL...They were some great scenes. My personal faves? Well the first HAS to be Wolverine taking on the helicopter! Cool scene! And the second fave is Deadpool showing what he can do with a katana for the first time in the movie!

Once again the fans' uproar against this movie probably led to the fact that there are no "fave scenes" vids on Youtube. So this time also I give you the "Legends" trailer of the movie from marvel.com itself which contains snippets of both the scenes I was talking about before...



Right now I'm just glad that X-Men: First Class has managed to rejuvenate (as I hear & have read) the X-Men series on the silver screen...It's FINALLY releasing tomorrow in India (though they did have paid previews today itself that I was unaware of!! Arrrrrgh). So goes without saying I'll be watching it tomorrow itself :P! Expect a full (spoiler-free) review in the days to come after that...

Looking forward to see what comes next- X-Men: X-Grads or X4! And it better have Mr. Vaughn at the helm & Singer as producer! :D

Wanna watch Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in HD? Order your Blu-ray/DVD right here!

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Xtraordinary! X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

We are down to the third X-Men movie in the Xtraordinary series! Now X3 did have many great scenes (although the movie as a whole is an entirely different story!). The main problem is that these scenes only seem to be inserted for shock-value & to deem the movie trailer-worthy! And all of us know that though the movie sucked, the trailers were awesome! (Thankfully something that didnt happen in the case of X-Men First Class I hear).

Anyways so as a result to what a huge dud the movie was (critically), there aren't many videos from X3 available for the scenes that I actually wanted to showcase out here :(

The scene I wanted to post out here was mainly the one in which Magneto stops the tuck holding Mystique & helps her escape. Other scenes I liked from the movie: Mystique in the interrogation room, Storm flying, Angel's wings & Magneto's bridge transportation (although this was one of those scenes that really wasn't needed & was just used for the drama & CG. Couldn't there have been a huge trailer truck on the road that the Brotherhood stood on top off & Magneto move that entire truck. But where's the fun in that! lol).

Though the transformation of Mystique was done well it wasn't my favorite scene cos I remember when I first saw it I was PISSED they made her turn human so early in the movie! lol

Bottomline is that the video posted below is a X3 trailer, but hey, it contains most of the best scenes from X3. Enjoy!



Next stop- X-Men Origins: Wolverine! AND THEN? I'll be going to see X-Men First Class on Friday! WUHOO!

Watch the entire X-trilogy- in HD! Order your Blu-ray/DVD from out here if you don't have it yet!

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Xtraordinary! X2 (2003)

So as promised here's my fave scene from X2! I think all of you guys might unanimously agree it's gotta be the opening sequence of Nightcrawler's attack on the White House!

The blue smoke effect looks amazing! And when the action goes into slo-mo it's just spectacular! A really well executed scene from SInger...Great vision!



After X2, Nightcrawler really became a fan favorite, & all us X-fans were shocked by his exclusion from X3. But i guess Singer might've included him if he was at the helm...

Other standout scenes from the movie include Storm's tornado X-Jet escape, Wolverine's fight with Lady Deathstrike & Magneto's escape from his plastic prison. But none of these scenes are as EPIC as the one I've posted with Nightcrawler doing what he does best. Nooo, not attacking the White House! Bamfing of course!

Watch the entire X-trilogy- in HD! Order your Blu-ray/DVD from out here if you don't have it yet!

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Xtraordinary! X-Men (2000) Pt. I

In this "Xtraordinary!" segment, I'll be showcasing clips or artwork from X-media that I really love...

Now, X-Men: First Class has yet to be released out here in India. It was to release on the 3rd like everywhere else but has gotten postponed to the 10th :( So I thought why dont I rewatch the previous X-movies & post clips of my fave scenes from em?! It's more awesome than posting a review or something like that. Besides there's no point of a review cos we X-fanatics must've watched em an umpteen number of times anyway lol!

So I've finished watching X-Men (2000) & my first fave scene from the movie is posted below...
In this scene, Mystique's first-EVER transformation is shown & to say it's glorious would be an understatement (for me at least). The way the scales rise & envelope her body with such grace & beauty is gorgeous. And I especially love the way they enclose right down to her toes! When I watched the movie today I dunno how many times I rewinded & rewatched this scene frame by frame just to see the way those scales move...And dontchya just enjoy the face kicking she delivers to Senator Kelly?? Geez this chick doesn't even need a gun! lol



The above is a slightly weird video i know (the uploader seems to be some sort of feet fetishist! lol) but the video still serves it's purpose here :P

Personally, I think the makeup & prosthetics for Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique is WAY better than what Rebecca Romijn had to go through (Rebecca's makeup is too shiny to look like real blue skin & the prosthetics look a wee bit plasticy imo) BUT from what I've seen from the trailers I didnt go so gaga over Jennifer's FX transformation as I did over Rebecca's. There seems to be much more detail to that of the original trilogy's Mystique than in First Class. But I can only say for sure once I see it on the big-ass screen on the 10th! :D

Watch the entire X-trilogy- in HD! Order your Blu-ray/DVD from out here if you don't have it yet!

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Xtraordinary! X-Men (2000) Pt. II

Hope you guys enjoyed that last video scene as much as I do whenever I watch that scene in the movie! Alright now onto our next & final Xtraordinary video for X-Men 1!

Yes, both my fave X-Men 1 scenes involve Mystique cos as you may have read on my Blogger profile that's the movie that made me fall in love with the X-Men canon & especially with the Mystique character.

In this scene Mystique has transformed into Wolverine & the two Wolverines claw at each other for some time. Then my second most thrilling scene in the movie occurs: Mystique jumps into the air as Wolverine, transforms into her true-blue form MIDAIR! Amazingly done! And some really great wire-work done by Rebecca...Enjoy! And do share your fave moments from X-Men too!



Watch the entire X-trilogy- in HD! Order your Blu-ray/DVD from out here if you don't have it yet!

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