Do you want to know what power is? Real power? It’s not ending a life, it’s saving it. It’s looking in someone’s eyes, and seeing that spark of recognition. That instant, they realize something they’ll never forget… They owe you.
And all you have is scars..
Increased intensity for the land that birthed Dostoevsky and superior to the 1st trailer. In Russian, of course, but really, as with most moments of import, words are not necessary. All you have to do is look at their faces to get all you need.
Is the story new? No. It is an antediluvian tale, retold through the ages. Folk tales, poems, novels, plays, comic books, movies, the medium does not matter. It is the essence of the conflict that garners our attention. Two men, young, idealistic, hoping to change the world.
Two men, similar, but not the same. We want to believe that we have the will to overcome whatever hand destiny has dealt us, but in our heart of hearts, we know better. Erik Lehnsherr’s fate was sealed the moment his mother was taken from him. With a predilection for pain, compounded with the effects of a harsh environment, our antagonist never really had a choice.
Erik is a walking, talking scar, an incarnate representation of the heinous crimes that were commited against him and his family. Is he not justified in his rage and cynicism? Is it not fair for him to question the verisimilitude of humanity’s progress after what he has experienced? Can he find a way to move beyond his pain, and, if so, what does that imply? After all, if you had the power to move mountains, would you be so compelled to have a moment of grace?
Although we already know the answer, it is the furtive hope for redemption that draws us to such archetypes. If such a man can find forgiveness, both for himself and for his persecutors, then perhaps there is hope for the rest of us. But, then again, difficult questions demand difficult answers, and platitudes on peace, love and forgiveness are not always sufficient or just explanations.
In order to sway a man such as Erik, whose external struggles pale in comparison to his internal ones, you will need to go above and beyond the norm, and watching Charles try to persuade his friend to adopt the path of peace will be a mesmerizing spectacle, if properly executed. This struggle was, and alway will be, the heart of this story.
What I always found most compelling about the characters, was that both Charles and Erik were inherently good people. They simply developed distinct philosophies for approaching the world and its people based on their innate tendencies and personal, life experiences. My favorite story lines always involved the exposing of the hypocrisies that came with adopting a pure version of each character’s approach.
After all, good and evil, right and wrong, are idealistic abstractions that have no analogue in an honest life. Reality is messy, and contemporaries demand shades of gray. So, here is hoping for ambiguity.
The acting talent seems to be there. Now, throw in a great script, poignant score and excellent special effects, and the beginnings of another blockbuster trilogy you have, indeed.
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