Ian McKellen: The Man, The Mutant, The Magician

Ian McKellen is packing a resume that makes him one of the most badass men in Hollywood, I mean who else can say they were both Gandalf and Magneto? No one, that’s who. He’s the old man who I want to point to while telling others, “Hey, that’s my grandpa over there, wielding the staff and fighting orcs”. Unfortunately for me, Ian McKellen is not my grandfather, and I will never get to say that. However, I will get to say, “Hey that’s my grandpa over there, watching the Yankees game while baking banana bread”. So my grandpa isn’t quite as cool as Ian McKellen, but until then, I can reflect upon some of the movie moments that made Ian one of the most badass old men in the movies.

“You Shall Not Pass!”

I think we all remember this moment in The Fellowship of the Ring, don’t we? I mean who could forget it? Gandalf versus the Balrog, one of my favorite moments in the entire series. The tension is palpabable as the Balrog flicks his fire whip while Gandalf stands his ground, looking a little worse for the wear, but full of power. Then with all the strength his has he shatters the stone bridge and the Balrog collapses into the fire, but not before wrapping his whip around Gandalf’s ankle and brining him down with him. and we all thought that was the end. However, we later found out Gandalf fell through fire and water, and fought the Balrog to the death. Two things incredible about this scene: first of all, he is literally fighting the Balrog while falling thousands of feet, and it’s incredible. Second of all, he comes back from the dead, what is more badass than being resurrected? I dare you to find something.

“You “homo sapiens” and your guns!”

Noone makes me feel quite as inferior as Magneto in his altercation with Charles and the police. Magneto made me realize how weak the human race really is. Our guns mean nothing in the face of threats such as a mutant with control of Earth’s electromagnetic field. It’s so easy for others to use our own weapons against us, and Magneto makes it very clear that others aren’t afraid to destroy us with our own creations.

Unfortunately, Ian did not make an appearance in the latest X-Men movie, X-Men: First Class, but thankfully he will be back at the end of the year in the long awaited film The Hobbit. I have no doubt that Ian will once again make me go, “Man, I wish my grandpa was Gandalf the Grey”, and until that day, I’m just going to imagine that Ian is my grandpa. So what are your favorite Ian McKellen movie moments?

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