Yes, I
just did a Favorite Characters post.
Yes, the funeral-baked meats for my Days
of Future Past review aren’t cold yet.
Yes, Quicksilver is only featured in one extended scene of the film. I’m okay with it. I could
have talked about Quicksilver in my original review, but he was easily my
favorite part of the entire movie and warrants a more thorough write-up.
Before
getting down to business – it’s been common knowledge for a while that
Quicksilver was going to appear in upcoming films for two Marvel franchises,
X-Men and the Avengers (with his sister the Scarlet Witch joining in for the
latter.) The franchises’ film rights are
owned by two separate production companies, so the twain ordinarily never meets;
we’re not going to see Iron Man palling around with Wolverine, and Drs. Banner
and McCoy won’t be comparing notes on what it’s like to turn into big ol’
monsters on occasion. However,
Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are two of the very few characters whose
rights are shared by both camps.
But
like I said, the production companies are still entirely separate. That means two different interpretations of
the character played by two different actors (incidentally, it also means the
Avengers literally aren’t allowed to call the Maximoff siblings “mutants.”) In other words? Dueling Quicksilvers! I previously assumed, sight unseen, that I’d
find the Avengers version to be unquestionably superior, the Avengers films being
the awesome-sauce that they are and the X-Men films being enjoyable but
uneven. Now, though, I’m not so
sure. The Avengers had better bring
their A-game, because X-Men’s Quicksilver is amazing.
In the
interest of avoiding spoilers, I won’t go into how Quicksilver gets involved in
the action. Suffice it to say, his
particular skillset – super-speed – comes in handy, along his penchant for
rebellious behavior. He takes to the
mission with distracted but bemused gusto, taking unnecessary risks and detours
because he knows he can get away with it.
Throughout, he’s funny, unexpected, and very impressive.
Beyond
simply moving really fast, Quicksilver embodies a speedster in every way. He has no patience for anything – in the
course of one conversation, he ping-pongs from watching television to playing
games to picking pockets in the blink of an eye, and his annoyance at having to
repeat himself is blatant. His mind
similarly races among thoughts, and he’s all too happy to make puzzling declarations
without feeling any need to explain himself.
What I
really love about Quicksilver is his relish for his ability. No angsting about wanting to be normal for
this guy! He’s a teenager who loves what
he can do, who’s figured out how to use it to his advantage, and who’s obviously
spent time exploring the myriad possibilities it presents. He’s also cheeky, reckless, and more clever
than he seems at first glance. The instant-classic “Time
in a Bottle” scene is the highlight of the film and rivals Nightcrawler’s
attack on the White House from X2 as
the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in an X-Men movie. Really looking forward to seeing him in
future installments.
(Side
note: there’s been some Internet teeth-gnashing
about how the movie changed his name from Pietro to Peter. I don’t mind – since the Avengers is sticking
with Pietro, it’ll make it easier to discuss the two interpretations without
confusion once Age of Ultron comes
out.)
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